There are several ghost stories surrounding both Gettysburg battlefield and Gettysburg college. Most notably, the girls' sorority house, Stevens Hall, has some bone-chilling stories like The Blue Boy.
The story that grabbed my attention years ago though, and has stuck with me all this time, was about a female ghost that supposedly is completely taken with modern fashion.
One poor young lady walked into her dorm after coming back from a late party, to find a young woman dressed in period garments, admiring her wardrobe in a mirror. When the woman confronted her, the girl dropped the dress and sprinted right into the closet, disappearing completely.
I can't quite remember if this actually took place in Stevens Hall, but I'm almost positive it happened on the Gettysburg college campus. The thought of how a semi-closeted transgendered person encountering this same situation might react has always kind of amused me, so I've started a fictional piece that takes place at an unnamed college, inspired by the original story.
I'm posting about it here because, while I'm trying to research the original story through other means (including good old-fashioned Google :-)), I thought I'd ask here if anyone's familiar with this story?
Personally I'm on the fence about whether or not ghosts exist. I have personal experiences that I don't talk about, but I'll just leave it at that and stick to "Ghosts can exist in fiction, damit" :-P
Comments
Paraphrased from
Paraphrased from haunted-gettysburg.com, this is the story as I've also heard it told on two occasions:
("Paraphrased" because I had to clean up their God-awful spelling mistakes :-P)
Alternative spin...
There are several possible TG takes on this:
a) TG person spots the ghost (who was a genetic girl)
b) Genetic girl spots the ghost (who was TG when alive)
c) TG person spots the ghost (who was TG when alive)
I suppose the trick with any version is for the living person to attract the ghost's attention in such a way as not to startle them into disappearing, and hang around long enough to have a conversation (assuming ghosts can talk...)
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Both "A" and "C" are
Both "A" and "C" are distinct possibilities already, given the current set-up, though with this still in the early pre-writing stages, B could very likely be in the running as well. I love the idea of the living person trying to find a way to coax her out, since, from what I understand she's very much a sentient/intelligent haunting, bordering on poltergeist (though non-malicious).
I'm not sure how the ultimate conversation would play out, exactly, or what it would accomplish (partly dependent on whether it's A, B, or C above :-D), but the paranormal is a bit of a personal fascination anyway, so I know I'm going to have fun with this.
Hey, if I can help, I will!
I did a college paper on the idea that ghosts do exist, and that they are actually fairly common. I used historical data, along with current beliefs and even found possible belief from people such as Stephen Hawking! My professor thought it was "unique, humorous and believable". I am not familiar with this story, but I think it could be a great story!
Wren
I liked it
Zoe I have to say I loved this story very much I look foward to your stories very much keep up the good work.
Love Samantha Renee Heart
Love Samantha Renee Heart