Join Vince Wilson (Ghost Investigator and author of Ghost Tech) and his guests on a trip into HAUNTED HISTORY! Dare to join them in hunt for the paranormal and the macabre while staying in an area in one of America's most haunted towns!

May 16th and 17th 2008. A total of two persons per cabin is allowed.

One person in one cabin: $225

 

Two persons in one cabin: $300

 

SATURDAY HIKING TOUR

Just the scheduled tour on Saturday! Meet us at the Hilltop House! Get directions here and see you at Noon on Saturday!

JOHN BROWN CIVIL WAR THE HAUNTINGS WHAT YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU WILL NEED SCHEDULE DIRECTIONS

John Brown's Raid

John Brown believed he could free the slaves, and he selected Harpers Ferry as his starting point. Determined to seize the 100,000 weapons at the Arsenal and to use the Blue Ridge Mountains for guerrilla warfare, abolitionist Brown launched his raid on Sunday evening, October 16, 1859. His 21-man "army of liberation" seized the Armory and several other strategic points. Thirty-six hours after the raid begun, with most of his men killed or wounded, Brown was captured in the Armory fire engine house (now known as "John Brown's Fort") when U.S. Marines stormed the building.

Brought to trial at nearby Charles Town, Brown was found guilty of treason, of conspiring with slaves to rebel, and murder. He was hanged on December 2, 1859. John Brown's short-lived raid failed, but his trial and execution focused the nation's attention on the moral issue of slavery and headed the country toward civil war.

The Civil War

The Civil War had a profound and disastrous effect on Harpers Ferry, leaving a path of destruction that wrecked the town's economy and forced many residents to depart forever. Because of the town's strategic location on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry frequently. The town changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865.
On April 18, 1861, less than 24 hours after Virginia seceded from the Union, Federal soldiers set fire to the Armory and Arsenal to keep them out of Confederate hands. The Arsenal and 15,000 weapons were destroyed, but the Armory flames were extinguished and the weapons-making equipment was shipped south. When the Confederates abandoned the town two months later, they burned most of the factory buildings and blew up the railroad bridge.

Federal forces re-occupied Harpers Ferry in 1862. During the Confederacy's first invasion of the North, on September 15, 1862, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson surrounded and captured the 12,500-man Union garrison stationed here. When the Federals returned to Harpers Ferry after the Battle of Antietam, they began transforming the surrounding heights into fortified encampments to protect both the town and the railroad. In 1864, Union Gen. Philip H. Sheridan used Harpers Ferry as his base of operations against Confederate troops in the Shenandoah Valley.

The Hauntings

Harpers Ferry is home to some of the most macabre stories in haunted American history!

Why the very campgrounds, the Harpers Ferry KOA, you will be staying at is supposed to be haunted by a multitude of ghosts! Some of the campgrounds is actually on a Civil War battlefield!

Perhaps in the town you will meet John Brown himself! His ghost is said to prowl around the streets and alleys of Harpers Ferry. Appearing so real that tourists have tried taking pictures with him. Alas, that was no re-enactor! When the film is developed - no one is there! Although many think he was a hero, he was in fact a ruthless killer who allowed the slaughter of innocent women and children!

Look out for Hog Alley! A former slave and member of John Brown's raiders, Dangerfield Newby was the first killed in the conflict in October 1859. He was killed by a six inch spike fired from a powder loaded gun! The angry townsfolk mauled his body and through the corpse into a pen full of veracious hogs (hence the alley's name!). The swine made short work of the tasty human treat offered to them!

Up the mountain you will hike to St. Peter's Church where a phantom monk walks through the door at dusk- without opening it! You just may hear the cries of the infant killed on the church's steps during the raid. Many have!

Past the church and through the graveyard where dark specters lurk to the path that leads to Jefferson's Rock where one of the most terrifying events in Vince Wilson's ghost haunting career occurred! Will the events that happened to Vince year's ago repeat themselves again? Be there and find out!

What you will get with reservations to this exciting event:

• Guided tours of Haunted Harpers Ferry hosted by Vince and his guests!

• The use of the some of the most advanced ghost hunting equipment in the Mid-Atlantic area!

• Two nights at the beautiful KOA Campgrounds. Heated and air-conditioned cabins will be provided.

• Breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning at 9PM sharp!

• A booklet to remember your trip on this fantastic haunted weekend in Harpers Ferry that will include historical information, ghost info, maps and a place for notes!

What you will need:

• Sheets, pillows and blankets and/or sleeping bags for the cabins (the cabins have beds but no linens).

• Very comfortable shoes! You will be hiking around town a lot! At some point you will be going on a mountain trail too!

• Something to drink (water, coffee, etc.)

• A camera - for photographing ghosts of course!

• Any ghost hunting equipment you might have.

• A flashlight.

• A jacket and warm clothes.

• Proof of ID.

• An open mind!

Please read the following:

Once reservations are made, they are non-refundable. You must be 18 years-old to participate. All participants must make reservations through this website and stay at one of the assigned cabins at the KOA. If you choose the stay somewhere else you will not be able to participate in ANY activities. There can be no more than TWO PEOPLE TO A CABIN (to discuss exceptions please contact Vince Wilson). All guests are responsible for their own safety.  No exceptions. Sorry.