Haunted hotel guide · Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

The Haunted Gettysburg Academy: Ghost Hunts and Overnight Stays in an 1810 Field Hospital

Two blocks from Lincoln Square, the brick school where Tillie Pierce was a pupil became a field hospital in July 1863. Today it is a bed and breakfast, and one of the places Haunted Rooms runs its own Gettysburg ghost hunts.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

4.0/5Haunted Rooms Score

1810Academy chartered

5Historic bedrooms

Book our ghost hunt here Meet the ghosts

The easiest way to spend a night in the Gettysburg Academy after dark is with us. Haunted Rooms runs the 1810 Gettysburg Academy Ghost Hunt and Overnight VIP, where you investigate the old classrooms and former hospital rooms from 8 PM, then sleep in one of the building’s five historic bedrooms. Ghost hunt only tickets are available too if you would rather head back to your own hotel.

The Academy stands at the corner of West High and South Washington Streets, two blocks from Lincoln Square. It was the first home of both the Lutheran Theological Seminary and Gettysburg College, a girls’ school by the time of the battle, and a hospital for the wounded in July 1863. A Confederate artillery shell is still lodged in its brickwork. After well over a century as a private home it now opens to guests as the Gettysburg Academy Bed and Breakfast, and it sits comfortably alongside the better-known haunted hotels in Gettysburg.

Gettysburg Academy at a glance

4.0/5
Haunted Rooms Score

Haunted reputation3

History5

Ghost hunter access5

$$ · $150 to $300Haunted room bookableGhost tours or eventsHotel embraces its ghostsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts

Address 66 West High Street (66 to 68), Gettysburg, PA 17325, at the corner of South Washington Street
Built Chartered as the Gettysburg Academy in 1810; the school opened in the building around 1813 to 1814
Most haunted spots The former classrooms and hospital rooms, the upstairs bedrooms, the front portico and the side yard
Best-known ghosts No single named ghost; investigators look for traces of the wounded soldiers, students and nurses tied to the building
Booking the haunted room On Haunted Rooms event nights the five bedrooms are sold as Overnight VIP tickets, which include the ghost hunt and breakfast. On other nights, book with the B&B.
Good to know Free on-site parking, central air and breakfast with B&B stays. Haunted Rooms events are for adults (check the age rule on the listing before you book).

Book our ghost hunt here

Ghosts and investigations at the Gettysburg Academy

A field hospital in the middle of town

On July 1, 1863, the fighting swept through Gettysburg’s streets, and the Academy was pressed into service as a hospital. Tillie Pierce, who had been a pupil here, later wrote that she saw wounded and dying soldiers inside, and neighbors said a Confederate shell struck the school’s second story. The shell that is still lodged above the entrance is the most visible reminder.

Buildings with that kind of history attract investigators, and the Academy is no exception. Most of what people report here is the kind of thing heard all over Gettysburg: footsteps in empty rooms, the feeling of being watched, and voices that seem to come from nowhere.

The students and teachers

Before the war the building spent half a century as a school. Boys boarded here in the early days of the Academy, the first Lutheran seminary students studied here, and by 1863 it was Rebecca Eyster’s Young Ladies Seminary. Investigators often look for traces of that long school life as well as the battle, which is why our events include sessions in the old classrooms as well as the former hospital spaces.

The side yard

The side yard is one of the places guests ask about most. It may have been used for temporary burials during and after the battle, when the dead were buried wherever there was room before being moved to the National Cemetery and to cemeteries in the South. We have not found a record that confirms burials here, so treat it as a possibility rather than a fact.

What we have not found

Unlike the Farnsworth House or the Jennie Wade House, the Academy has no famous named ghost, and we have not found a well-documented story about one. That is part of the appeal for investigators: you go in without a script. If you have had an experience here, tell us in the form below.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

The former classrooms: Used for structured vigils on Haunted Rooms nights, these are the rooms where the Academy’s students and seminary men studied.
The former hospital rooms: The parts of the building used to care for the wounded in July 1863, and the focus of most investigations.
The five historic bedrooms: Queen or king rooms with high ceilings. On event nights they are sold as Overnight VIP tickets, so you can keep investigating into the early hours and sleep on site.
The front portico: Where Tillie Pierce and her classmates were standing when the first troops came through town. Look up to see the shell lodged in the brickwork above the entrance.
The side yard: Said to have been used for temporary burials during the battle, though we have not found a record that confirms it.

History of The Gettysburg Academy Bed & Breakfast

Pennsylvania incorporated the Gettysburg Academy on March 19, 1810, with a $2,000 grant from the state, and the brick school at High and Washington Streets was ready by about 1813 to 1814, with Samuel Ramsay as its first teacher. It was a boys’ boarding school that gave the young county seat a classical education.

In 1826 the new Lutheran Theological Seminary began classes in the building, and in 1829 Samuel Simon Schmucker bought it at a sheriff’s sale and reopened it as the Gettysburg Gymnasium. That school grew into Pennsylvania College in 1832, known today as Gettysburg College. Both institutions soon moved to their own campuses, which is why the building is often called the first home of the seminary and the college. Haunted Rooms’ event research also records Female Institute classes and anti-slavery meetings here in the 1830s.

By 1863 the building housed Rebecca Eyster’s Young Ladies Seminary, and 15-year-old Tillie Pierce was one of the pupils. In her book At Gettysburg, or What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle, she remembered Mrs. Eyster calling the girls out to the front porch to watch soldiers pass, then sending them home with the words “Children, run home as quickly as you can.” During and after the battle the Academy served as a hospital, and it still carries the scar of a Confederate shell.

Mrs. Eyster’s school continued after the war, and from the 1880s the building became a private home. It was later used as officers’ quarters in World War I, and in 1972 the borough extended its historic district to include it. Today it operates as the Gettysburg Academy Bed and Breakfast, with spacious high-ceilinged rooms, a two-story back porch, landscaped grounds and free parking, a short walk from the square and Steinwehr Avenue.

Tips for a haunted stay

If you want the full experience, book an Overnight VIP ticket on a Haunted Rooms night: you get early access from 6 PM, the ghost hunt from 8 PM, extra time in the early hours, a private historic bedroom and breakfast.
Ghost hunt only tickets run from 8 PM to 2 AM, so you can stay elsewhere in town and still investigate the building.
Bring photo ID and your booking confirmation. Video is not allowed during events, but photos and voice recorders are welcome during free investigation time.
Before your hunt, read Tillie Pierce’s account of the battle; the Academy and its front porch appear in it, and our team reads from it on the night.
Look for the artillery shell above the entrance in daylight; it is easier to spot than after dark.
The Academy is a two-block walk from the Farnsworth House and the Gettysburg Hotel, so you can add their ghost tours or a drink on Lincoln Square before your event.

Investigate the Gettysburg Academy with Haunted Rooms

Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.

1810 Gettysburg Academy Ghost Hunt and Overnight VIP: Investigate the former classrooms and hospital rooms from 8 PM, then sleep in one of the five historic bedrooms. Ghost hunt only tickets available.
Haunted Cashtown Inn Ghost Hunt and Sleepover: Confederate headquarters in 1863, eight miles west of town, with the whole inn booked.
Fort Mifflin Ghost Hunt: The Revolutionary War fort on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.

See all Pennsylvania ghost hunts

More haunted hotels nearby

Farnsworth House Inn, Gettysburg: the sharpshooters’ house on Baltimore Street, still marked by bullet holes
Hotel Gettysburg (Gettysburg Hotel): two blocks away on Lincoln Square, home to the nurse ghost Rachel
Cashtown Inn, near Gettysburg: Confederate headquarters and a cellar hospital, where we also run ghost hunts
Haunted places in Gettysburg: the battlefield, the orphanage and the town’s other haunts
Haunted hotels in Pennsylvania
Haunted hotels in Gettysburg

Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened

We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Gettysburg Academy haunted?

It has a strong claim to be. The building was a school for half a century and a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg, and investigators report footsteps, voices and the feeling of being watched. There is no famous named ghost here, so the stories are guests’ and investigators’ experiences rather than an established legend.

Can you do a ghost hunt at the Gettysburg Academy?

Yes. Haunted Rooms runs the 1810 Gettysburg Academy Ghost Hunt and Overnight VIP. Ghost hunt tickets run from 8 PM to 2 AM, and Overnight VIP tickets add early access, extra investigation time, one of the five historic bedrooms and breakfast.

Was the Gettysburg Academy a hospital?

Yes. During and after the battle in July 1863 the building was used to care for wounded soldiers. Tillie Pierce wrote about the wounded she saw there, and a Confederate shell is still lodged in the wall above the entrance.

What is the connection between Tillie Pierce and the Gettysburg Academy?

In 1863 the building housed Rebecca Eyster’s Young Ladies Seminary, where Tillie Pierce was a pupil. She describes being on its front porch as troops arrived and being sent home by her teacher in her book At Gettysburg, or What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle.

Is the Gettysburg Academy the same as Gettysburg College?

Not quite. The Academy building was the first home of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1826 and of Pennsylvania College, now Gettysburg College, before both moved to their own campuses.

Where is the Gettysburg Academy?

At 66 West High Street, on the corner of South Washington Street, about two blocks from Lincoln Square in downtown Gettysburg. There is free parking on site.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

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