2. Philadelphia is home to the world’s largest
clothespin!
Click here to find out who invented the clothespin.
PIN IT
3. Check out the PhiladelphiaZoo here! Click here to watch a video to learn more
about Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin started the country’s first
zoo in Philadelphia.
4. The Farnsworth House Inn on Baltimore St, Gettysburg, was 53 years old when it was riddled with
bullets from the famous Civil War battle that takes its name from the town. It displays the hundred
bullet holes from that battle proudly, and its staff is well versed in lore and legend of the era. The
staff also has a spirited way of promoting the place as one of the top ten most haunted inns in
America. Whether it’s the Mourning Theatre, the candlelit ghost tours, or the ghostly dinner
theater presentation, the hostelry has a knack for turning occult happenings into palatable
entertainment.
But it’s not all fun and games at the Farnsworth House Inn.One of the rooms, the Garrett, is closed
and padlocked because things used to get too hairy there.The lock on that door sometimes rattles of its
own accord, and meanwhile, up in the garret’s ensuite bathroom, a bloody mess that’s almost impossible
to clean sometimes appears.The room was apparently a post for three Confederate sharpshooters
during the conflict, and presumably at least one of them was seriously injured or killed there. In another
upstairs room, a bereaved man is heard sobbing inconsolably, and seen carrying a child wrapped in a
quilt.The door to the cellar often opens to an apparition carrying a wounded comrade down to the
catacombs, where a voice is heard singing quietly. And in true Sixth Sense mode, the temperature
suddenly plummets inexplicably. Other rooms feature less frightening occurrences.The McFarland Room
often contains strange sounds, including unusually heavy breathing (and close-up, not from neighboring
rooms).The Schultz Room is supposedly often visited by a solicitous midwife who tucks you in, and a
little boy. Both are considered very benign presences, but apparently one of them smokes cigars.The
smell of particularly acrid cheroot often pervades the room in the wee hours of the night.
With all the media attention paid to the Farnsworth House, it’s amazing they can fit any paying guests
into the place. Carol Kirkpatrick the psychic, Ghost Hunters International, the Sci-FiChannel, Unsolved
Mysteries, andThe History Channel have all visited and reported on the place. None of them reported
getting tucked in for the night, but one can only assume that they just attracted a different ghost.
Haunted Gettysburg
Farnsworth House
Take a virtual tour of the Farnsworth House Inn
6. In Philadelphia there's an abandoned prison called
Eastern State Penitentiary.The first part was built in
the early 1800s, shutting down in 1970. Apparently at
night ghostly orbs and lights appear. It was the first
prison that had solitary confinement in the states, and
executions were also held there. So you can imagine all
the souls that may still be there.
Tours are given to the public, but you have to wear hard
hats. In high school my sociology teacher took us there
on a field trip. I stepped in there and got the eeriest
feeling. It looked like all the prisoners had just left. Cell
doors were left standing open, and remnants of beds
and chairs were left in some of the cells. The cell
doorways looked like they were made for dwarves.You
had to bend over to get inside. I felt like someone was
going to walk out of one of the cells at any moment. We
all huddled together, whispering.
The silence was deafening. I didn't even hear any birds.
It was dank, dreary, and crumbling. We eventually made
our way to the prison's prime exhibit, Al Capone's cell!
Apparently he had served time there at one point. His
cell was huge with carpet and a nice bed––the only cell
of its kind in the whole prison. He got the "special
treatment," so to speak. If you guys haven't been there
already I definitely recommend seeing it, especially on
their Halloween Tour! –Jenn
Ghosts and Gangsters at Eastern State Penitentiary
Watch a video about Eastern State Penitentiary here
7. The Steagles
70 years ago things were much different when for one season in 1943 the Philadelphia
Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers merged to form one team-The Steagles
Read more about the Steagles here!
8. UFO Sighting in Harrisburg?
A Harrisburg woman claims she captured a ufo on her cell phone
camera. See below for details!
Unidentified flying object?
9. As you head west down Route 30 through
York County, around the small town of
Hallam, you’ll catch sight of a building
that’s enough to make you swerve out of
your lane. It’s enough to make you
wonder what on earth was going through
the mind of the person who built it. It’s a
giant shoe with three levels of ornate
windows, standing next to a tiny
doghouse, also shaped like a shoe. This is
the Haines Shoe House, the brainchild of
the most single-minded shoe salesman in
Pennsylvania —Mahlon Haines.
Haines Shoe House
See a video about the famous shoe house!
10. This is just plain weird! In which city is there a law that prohibits a person
from sipping a carbonated drink while lecturing students in a school
auditorium?
Now it’sYOUR turn! See if you can find the
answers to these PATrivia questions…
11. Which city is home to the cheesesteak sandwich,
water ice, soft pretzels andTastyKakes?
