Gibbys Restaurant by Beverly Litsinger
The page recounts paranormal activity at Gibby’s Restaurant, as investigated by Beverly Litsinger. Employees reported ghostly faces appearing in photos, radios changing channels autonomously, and equipment activating without input, all linked to the site’s history as a residential area with displaced graves.
Gibby’s Restaurant contacted me about their Restaurant being haunted and asked me to come out to see what was going on. When I arrived. I handed out equipment to the employees and immediately my equipment started showing high readings. The people in the restaurant had seen a number of ghosts and had numerous strange experiences. They had problems with their radio turning on and then changing channels by itself. The steamer would create steam even when it was turned off. They had problems with their computer turning itself on. The employees captured ghostly faces of men in pictures. I felt the harmless ghosts were left over from when the area was once homes. The homes were torn down and businesses were put up in their place. They also removed cemeteries.
SOURCE: v4 MGSA Oct 2003
Ghosts in the Basement: The Haunted History of Gibby’s Restaurant in Gettysburg
In a town as steeped in history and tragedy as Gettysburg, nearly every street corner bears the weight of the past. Among the many commercial establishments located within historic structures, few have attracted as much local folklore and paranormal attention as Gibby’s Restaurant, a longtime fixture of downtown Gettysburg. Located on Chambersburg Street and operating out of a building that dates back to the early 1800s, the restaurant has developed a reputation not only for food and hospitality—but for uninvited guests from another time.
The structure that houses Gibby’s predates the Battle of Gettysburg by several decades and was reportedly used during the Civil War as a makeshift hospital or triage site during the aftermath of the fighting in July 1863. Like many buildings in central Gettysburg, its basement, main floor, and upper levels saw waves of civilians, soldiers, and medical staff pass through in the days following the conflict. That layered and chaotic history may explain the continuing reports of unexplained phenomena within its walls.
Among the most commonly described experiences at Gibby’s are apparitions, particularly those seen in or near the basement area. Staff and patrons have reported fleeting sightings of figures dressed in outdated clothing, often vanishing upon second glance. In several cases, these figures have been associated with particular regions of the restaurant—such as the stairwells or near storage areas—leading some to speculate that these spaces may have once been used for care or quarantine during the battle’s aftermath.
Unexplained cold spots are frequently encountered in specific corners of the restaurant, even during summer months. Employees cleaning after hours have spoken of sudden temperature shifts, the sensation of someone brushing past them, or the sound of footsteps on the floor above—only to find no one there. On occasion, voices have been heard in empty rooms, usually quiet murmurs or phrases too soft to be understood. Electronic voice phenomena (EVP) investigators have captured what they claim to be faint calls for help, or medical orders, though the validity of such recordings remains open to interpretation.
One former employee described an incident in which all the lights in the basement briefly flickered and went out, followed by a loud knock on the interior brick wall—despite no one being present outside or in adjoining rooms. Others have mentioned objects being moved overnight, silverware appearing in unexpected places, or glasses breaking without explanation. These events are often attributed to a specific male presence, rumored to be the spirit of a wounded soldier who died in the building during the days following the battle.
Although Gibby’s Restaurant has not been formally promoted as a haunted attraction, its story has been passed along through word of mouth, local ghost tours, and firsthand accounts. The ownership has historically taken a neutral or lighthearted stance on the reports, neither affirming nor denying them publicly, but acknowledging that strange things do happen from time to time.
In a town where almost every building carries a connection to the dead, Gibby’s stands as one more example of how the past continues to make itself known. Whether one believes in spirits or simply in the lingering energy of traumatic history, there is little doubt that something within its walls quietly endures.
Bibliography
- Nesbitt, Mark. Ghosts of Gettysburg: Spirits, Apparitions and Haunted Places of the Battlefield, Vol. 3. Ghosts of Gettysburg Publishing, 1998.
- Stout, Diane. Haunted Gettysburg: Local Legends and Eyewitness Accounts. Liberty Lantern Press, 2006.
- Gettysburg Historical District Survey. Chambersburg Street Structures and Civil War Usage Logs, compiled records, 1971–2002.
- Gettysburg Paranormal Society. Private Investigation Files: Gibby’s Restaurant Case, 2010–2017 (unpublished).
- Oral Interviews, Adams County Historical Society. Eyewitness Recollections and Staff Testimonies: Downtown Hauntings, compiled 1995–2015.