The Ghost of John Brown
Photo taken from media-2.web.britannica.com
John Brown is considered to be one of the most important men in United States history for his actions as an abolitionist against slavery. On October 16th, 1859, Brown led a group of men in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and overtook the federal arsenal there. They killed the mayor and then took a number of high-ranking men as hostage. By doing this, Brown thought the slaves would start a rebellion with this spark. However, this did not happen and U.S. Marines were sent to Harpers Ferry to put down the situation.
The Marines broke into the firehouse where Brown and his men were, and about half of them were killed. Brown was severely wounded when captured and he was sentenced to be killed on charges of treason. On December 2nd, 1859, Brown was hung but before he died he predicted there would be a bloody Civil War over the issue of slavery.
Two years later, Civil War did break out, and this incident was one of the main things that sparked it. Brown sparked abolitionists with a passion and made them hate slavery even more after he was killed for the cause. Presently, Harpers Ferry is a tourist attraction with many people coming to visit the old 19th century town for its authentic houses, streets, and of course, the Harpers Ferry building commonly referred to as John Brown’s fort. What these tourists do also see is the ghost of John Brown still wandering the streets of Harper Ferry. He is seen walking in the center of town as a tall figure wearing black, having a full beard, 19th century clothes, and a black dog. People usually think he is part of the tourist attraction and is someone merely dressed up in the period for show. They have taken pictures with the ghost not realizing it until this person mysteriously disappears.
(Source: Cohen, Daniel. Hauntings and Horrors. 2002.)
John Brown’s Ghost http://www.itshaunted.com/blogs/733/316/john-brown-s-ghost
I have had this picture ever since I went to The Haunted Cottage on Saturday, April 23, 2011, The picture was taken at 10:07:49 PM
My wife gave me the ghost tour as a birthday gift.
The spirit picture was of some guy, but I never knew who he was until last night when I was doing my research on the slave movement.
I saw a picture John Brown the abolitionist and said wow! he looks just like the spirit ghost in the window that I captured on my ghost tour of The Haunted Cottage in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
For me the mustache was what caught my eye first.
I found a picture on the net and cropped it some for better comparison.