It’s been a long day at work, you say to yourself. As you put your car on park, you turn the keys and take them out of the ignition, you pull on the driver’s side handle and the door opens with ease. You get out of the car and slam the door shut and push the lock button on your keys twice just to make sure that it is in fact locked. Your car beeps twice, confirming that it is locked, and then you begin to walk down a dirt path. As you walk down the path, you check your watch 102 am. You read aloud. You roll your eyes. I should not have taken that extra three hours at work.
A moment or two of walking more, and you come across a large red covered bridge. It is lit from all sides but still has an element of mystery to it. You take two cigarettes out of your pocket and a lighter and make your way over to the side of the bridge. You take a lighter out of your pocket and light one of the cigarettes that are in your hand. You then take it and put it on the ledge in front of you. You take the other cigarette and pretend to light it, and then bring it up to your lips and pretend to smoke For a few moments. Nothing happens. Then the cigarette on the ledge lights up and smoke comes out, almost as if someone was standing right beside you smoking. The cigarette lights up a few more times. Hello Tennessee, you say to the air in front of you.
This is just one of the many tales of the haunted and historic Socks Covered Bridge in Gettysburg, pennsylvania. Hello and welcome to the Sanctum of Strange. This is episode three. We’re still in Gettysburg, but having fun After the orphanage. We were pretty pumped Emily, jane and myself that is so we decided to go to Socks Covered Bridge. This is a very dark bridge Well, not literally, but its history is dark. When we got to the bridge it was something out of an old thriller or horror movie where the main character is running from the person chasing them and they come across a bridge to hide. Is it just me? Maybe? Maybe I’ve seen too much TV, I don’t know. But you can find photos at sanctumofstrangecom, definitely, and they’ll also have photos of our expeditions and adventures.
Construction of Sox Bridge started in 1854. According to the legends, three Confederate soldiers who were convicted of being spies were unalived from the beams in the bridge and their bodies were found by Union soldiers who were patrolling the area. Jane said a few years ago when she and her family went to the bridge they did the cigarette thing, like I told you about Tennessee, to see if the rumors were true. They lit a cigarette and put it on the ledge of the bridge. It started to give off smoke. They lit a cigarette and put it on the ledge of the bridge. It started to give off smoke and started to burn, like someone was right there smoking it. The locals call him Tennessee because a local ghost hunting team called him that Seemed to get his name from one of their EVP devices. Socks Bridge was very well lit, but I assume it’s because it’s over a little lake and they don’t want you to have a lawsuit, which is, I mean, understandable. They don’t want you to drown or anything like that. You know, get unalived on accident, something like that.
When we went there there were few people exploring the bridge. It’s a quiet area but totally spooky. You can walk up and down the bridge no problem and for an older bridge which is just a little, I wouldn’t say a little over 100 years, it is over 100 years old, I believe it’s 150 plus. It still looks very good for 100 years plus. The back half of the bridge is like a field where people were walking around.
I walked up and down the bridge a few times, taking it in. Jane laid on the back side of the bridge there’s like a cute little area. It’s like a little off-ramp type thing so she sat on the edge of that. There was a spot to sit and lay next to the water. Emily walked up and down the bridge and then also hung out on the backside of the bridge. I made one half a turn and faced the little lake. It was peaceful and quiet. Saying that sounds so strange and surreal due to its dark history. I hope that the spirits and ghosts of the area got to experience some peace. After looking out on the lake a few more minutes, I turned and looked at the bridge’s wooden beams. They were old and well wooden. I scanned the rest of the bridge and a few people were going up and down the bridge taking photos and videos, I assume trying to get photos of the ghosts or spirits or whatever else is around there. Another few minutes went by and I joined Jane and Emily.
We decided that the ghosts and spirits were probably tired and nothing was going to happen, so we decided to go to the battlefield. Sometimes that does happen. When you go to a place that’s super crowded, with a bunch of people coming in and out, different energies shifting and different auras and experiences coming in and out, sometimes it’s just too much for the spirits and ghosts. That’s why when you see ghost hunters, like a TV show or something, there’s only typically one group of people that go into the area. The battlefield was on our way home, which was a good thing, because all of us were getting very tired.
Jane pulled the car over and we walked across the dark road to the battlefield, which is closed at nights. So around it is a wooden fence which we all stood on top of and looked out at the open field. There was a very big tree to our left and countless other trees in the distance. Across this long stretch of land, on either side are statues, a few run-and-down houses. I would have liked to go on a tour of the battlegrounds, but they were closed at the time. We went and unfortunately in the morning we would have had to go home. We went and unfortunately in the morning we would have had to go home.
Anyway, we looked out onto the battlefield as far as our eyes could see. For a few moments I didn’t really see anything. I was a little disappointed, I’m not gonna lie, until I looked over at the tree to my left. It looked like a soldier carrying an old weapon running across the field to the tree. I pointed to the soldier, but unfortunately he was already gone in the blink of an eye. I didn’t think that Jane and Emily saw the soldier, which they unfortunately didn’t. I thought it was really cool looking, but it was also kind of weird. It was like a shadowy soldiery. It was kind of like you could see through him. It was very weird, like never had that experience before.
So we all stood on the fence’s bottom section for a little bit longer. The air had gotten cold at this point and none of us were really prepared for it. If I’m being quite honest honest, I was in a hoodie. It was very cold. I’m just gonna let you know it was cold. It was the middle of October. It was cold. We were all pretty cold, like I said. So we decided it was time to go back to the cabin and rest. We packed a little once we got back in order to make it easier for us in the morning and then we all proceeded to fall asleep.
The morning came and we packed the car with our stuff and checked out. We decided to eat breakfast and stop by the ghost tour headquarters, and Jane picked up a shirt for our friend Olive. Before getting in the car to leave Gettysburg we all said a little mantra. So here’s the thing Sometimes if you don’t tell ghosts that they can’t come with you, they will come with you, and we definitely didn’t want that. I don’t know about Jane and Emily, but I have a cat and he would not like it if I brought a ghost home. Let me rephrase that my mother also would not like it. If I brought a ghost home, I would probably be kicked out. The ghost would also somehow be kicked out with me. We would have to find a place and I would charge the ghost rent. So our mantra was like this we appreciate the experiences, but no ghosts or spirits can come back with us, or something along those lines. We thank them for their time and their patience with us, and just the experience in general, and then headed home, and that is the story of our trip to Gettysburg. And that is the story of our trip to Gettysburg.
So now it’s time for some stories and encounters from other people who have gone to Gettysburg. Some of these stories are from our tours when we went throughout the town. Others are kind of from the internet Credible sources from the internet. But, as always, please take this with a grain of salt. And now we go back to the haunted orphanage, or well, at least next door to it. Imagine having a job close to a haunted place. Now imagine the activity your job would have if it was right next to the orphanage. Our story is just that Next to the orphanage there used to be a shop and they would stay open until about 9, 10 pm every night.
In one instance a woman let’s call her Mary was walking all alone, was working all alone in the store. Well, mary had just moved to Gettysburg and didn’t really have that much of an idea, Like she knew about the stories and stuff, but she just passed them on. She was just like, okay, yeah, guys, whatever, sure. So she really had no idea how haunted the place next door was, ie the orphanage. Meryl was closing up the shop to go home one night. She went to the front door and locked it, turned the open sign to closed and pulled the curtain down. Past the window, she turned around and headed to the office to count the till, which is the drawer that she had put there a few moments prior.
Mary sat down and started to count some of the money in the till when she thought she heard a door open to the shop. Uh, but that was impossible because she had just locked it. But that was impossible because she had just locked it. She was retracing her steps in her mind when she heard footsteps in the shop. Okay, now that was really impossible, because she definitely knows she locked the door. None of this is making any sense. I don’t understand, she was thinking to herself. She flew up from her office chair and ran to the front area. She stopped, her eyes went wide. Nothing, she thought how, how, how is that possible? That does not make any sense. There is no way that that is possible. She rubbed her eyes. I must be tired, she thought.
The night after was pretty unremarkable. However, the door opening and the steps continued for a few more of her shifts. She told her boss, and although her boss said he believed her, there was nothing he could do, which, in his defense, is true he couldn’t do anything about the ghosts. Well, for the most part, anyway. The straw that broke her was the same events happening, except one night the events got worse. She heard the door slam and footsteps, just like the other nights. Except one night the events got worse. She heard the door slam and footsteps, just like the other nights, but this time they were accompanied by a male voice. She stopped counting the till and put the money down. She went to the entrance area where she thought she had heard the voice, but again, like every other night before, there was nothing. She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath and headed back to the office. You have got to be kidding me. She said. I just want one night of them, just leaving me alone, have one regular shift without footsteps and without.
When she got to the office, nothing was as she left it. There was money everywhere. It was like someone came in and threw all the money up in the air. The safe was open, which, before she left it, was closed. It was open and all the money from in there was all over the floor. Her chair was pushed all the way back and was tipped over, and the wheels were still spinning. All of the cabinets were open and random objects from inside were hanging out of the cabinet or somehow hung onto the cabinet’s corner. She stared in disbelief.
Now if something like this happened to me, I’d probably be like what is happening? Can, can, can, can. Can you not like I? I just I just counted this money. Are you gonna count it with me? Like ghost? If you’re not going to count my money with me, please don’t mess up my money. Okay, deal with cabinets. The cabinets are fine, you can mess with them, but I just counted this money and now you took it all out and spewed it on the floor and now it’s all over the entire room Like come on, ghost. I’d be a little pissed off, but that’s just me.
She took her phone out of her pocket Mary, this is not me and called her boss. She quit on the spot and walked out of the store and to her car. She sat and waited for her boss and walked out of the store and to her car. She sat and waited for her boss. Her boss finally came and Mary got out of her car and handed her boss the keys without saying a word. She then got back in her car and drove away, far, far, far away from the shop and from Gettysburg.
Like I said, I’m not gonna lie, if I was in mary’s situation I might have done the same thing. Hopefully mary has found a job that isn’t quite as active and treats her decently. I’m not talking about her boss, I’m talking about the actual building. I hope the building that she is in. If she is in a building working, I hope it treats her well because she deserves it. You know, we all deserve a little peace and quiet when we’re working.
For the last story for Gettysburg, at least for now. We might go back at some point in the future. I don’t know yet, but it takes place in the orphanage. I don’t know yet, but it takes place in the orphanage. It happened on a tour and we’re going to call this big, muscular guy Charlie. So he’s big, muscular and a biker and he has long hair and today he has decided to put his hair in two pigtails, one on either side, and he also has them braided. So Charlie and his family are on the orphanage tour and it’s just like a normal tour, kind of like ours. Nothing paranormal happened, at least not yet.
Then the tour group descends down into the dungeon and things get a little strange. Charlie stands next to one of the beams that are holding the roof up. He leans against it and he’s just looking around the room examining everything the stone walls, the benches on all the sides and the tour guide is explaining more of what the children endure at the orphanage by Rosa Carmichael, and Charlie feels something tug on his left braid. He looks down and nothing’s there. He’s like okay, that was a little weird and shrugs it off.
This happens again, but this time he looks around the room to see if anyone noticed anything. And of course, why would anyone notice anything? They’re all enamored by the tour guide. She’s talking about Rosa and what she did to those children and it wasn’t. You know, it’s not a very good experience for those poor children, so naturally no one sees anything. Of course, the tour guide asked the group, like ours. She asked the group to turn the lights off and they all agreed, exactly like our tour, which was very interesting.
The room got dark and quiet, didn’t have me or anyone else talking to the ghosts this time. I still would have loved to talk to Tommy, but you know he just didn’t want to talk and that is okay. I forgive you, tommy, don’t you worry, you could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked at the room and nothing was moving. After a few moments, the tour guide turned the lights back on and Charlie jumped Stop pulling my hair. He turned around and everyone looked at him.
They’re like what, what is going on with this dude? Like, why is he? What’s going on? So this man, charlie, nothing, nothing spooks Charlie. He doesn’t believe in the paranormal. That’s why he went on this trip to prove that stuff like this didn’t exist. And he wanted to bring his family with him to be like guys. I don’t know what you think these people are trying to fool you with, but it doesn’t exist at all. Zero percent. I don’t know what, how gullible you people are, but it doesn’t exist. It was to prove that the stuff didn’t exist. Charlie calmed down and the tour continued. Calm down and the tour continued. After Charlie’s yell, all the activity stopped.
It was kind of like a light bulb moment, except instead of turning the light bulb on, you turn the light bulb off. Unfortunately. I’m sure everyone else would have loved to have an experience, but Charlie was. You know, I assume Charlie was like not having it that day. The tour was finally over and Charlie walked up to the tour guide you in this place he mentioned he motioned over to the orphanage have really turned a non-believer into a believer. That was such a weird and strange experience. It was so weird that from that point on the tour guide made sure to tell the strange story for years to come.
I actually heard this story in our tour when it was happening and I couldn’t believe that this big, bulky biker dude with pigtails and braided hair that’s not the funny part, I just find him big and bulky biker dude was afraid of a ghost. Like he wasn’t afraid, he just didn’t know what was happening. And I can’t blame him at all for it, because I also would have loved to have someone pull my pigtails, but I don’t have that long of hair like this gentleman Charlie did, or like my friend Jane did. I’m sure if we hung around there a little more her hair would have been pulled, because she does have long ponytails and braided hair, which I unfortunately do not have. Me and Emily both do not have that.
So I hope that you have enjoyed the first few episodes of the podcast and Gettysburg. I hope that if you have the chance that you go and visit. Regardless of ghosts or anything paranormal, it is a very pretty place. I recommend the chocolate shop because it’s got ice cream. I mean, who doesn’t love ice cream? I recommend the Christmas tree shop because it just makes you feel all warm and tingly inside. I recommend all the mom and pop shops there the little place. We got coffee early in the mornings, all of it. Just the people were so nice and friendly and they would love striking up conversations and it was just a really genuine experience. Even if it wasn’t for the paranormal, it was a really nice experience.
The campground that we stayed at was absolutely phenomenal. I just loved it, minus the acorns. I mean, the acorns took a little bit of getting used to, you know, crashing on our ceiling every night, but for the most part we did get used to it and we were able to sleep. We had a blast, and I hope you guys did too.
I don’t know what story is next. To be quite honest with you, I’m gonna do some research and I will let you guys know. But if you have stories like the ones I told you today or the ones I’ve been telling you, please don’t hesitate to write to me. I’m always open to either a paragraph or a sentence or anything. I just love talking and making new friends. So you can email me at staff@sanctumofstrangecom and you can also listen on YouTube, spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. So you can also go to the Sanctum of Strange website where you can check out the website, which is going to have all of the photos and stuff from our Gettysburg trip. Thank you for making Sanctum of Strange your home for the strange and spooky. I am Nikki. Stay safe out there, folks, until next time.
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