History & local legend
Gettysburg’s historic Adams County Courthouse was built in 1859 and used as a hospital after the July 1863 battle. Its original courtroom contains elaborate painted illusions by George Seiling, including apparent pillars and an alcove. Even the door behind the judge’s bench is false, included to preserve the room’s symmetry.
A different kind of puzzling figure appears in a ghost account attributed to author Mark Nesbitt. Police officers reportedly saw a gray, human-sized shape floating between rooms after closing time on more than one occasion.
A separate tradition describes a wounded soldier walking outside on the grounds.
Sources
- Haunts & History, courthouse report attributed to Mark Nesbitt’s Ghosts of Gettysburg IV
- Adams County Bar Association, the painted courtroom, false door and 1863 hospital
- Main Street Gettysburg historical marker, eyewitness Fannie Buehler’s recollection of the hospital
- PANICd, tradition of a wounded soldier wandering the Adams County Courthouse grounds
