In 1978, I was asked to explore an area of bottom woodland that was the property of the P.H. Glatfelter Company of Spring Grove, Pa. This property was below the Lake Marburg dam and bordered Codorus Creek on both sides. The nearest town is Porters Sideling, Pa. This particular area was somewhat familiar to me since many of my mother’s relatives had lived near there before the dam was built. As well, I had hunted deer in this general area when I was younger.The original report stated the phenomena of a woman’s scream that came from this hollow area usually at night. Several of the Glatfelter employees had heard the sounds at various times over a 2-3 year period starting in 1975. As well, a hunter (Bruce Rudisill) had also reported strange blue fog coming from the larch swamp one January 1976 morning at about 5:30 am while sitting in a deer stand approximately 500 yards north. The hunter stated to me that he noticed (what he thought) was a deer running out of the swamp bottom and that he noticed a bright blue fog hovering above the reeds and grasses where the deer had flushed.
I investigated the area of the screams and fog on February 22, 1978 near dusk and I was accompanied by a local friend, Rudisill and 2 Glatfelter employees (I was asked not to identify the 2 employees in my report). The weather was clear and very cold with little wind. We walked around the muck and thickets for a few hours. I estimate we covered 10 acres or so. I tried to pickup a sense of spiritual energy while walking but was unsuccessful. It was approximately 8:00 pm by this time so we decided to walk back to our car which was parked on a dam access road about 200 yards from the area of initial investigation. We got into the car and discussed some of the prior phenomena reported and tried to gauge a smaller area to closely examine.At about 8:45 pm, while still seated in our vehicle, my friend stated there was a person walking on the access road coming towards us. I looked up and noticed a dark figure walking slowly about 40 yards from the car. I turned on the headlights and was amazed at the spectre I saw. Though the figure was a bit shadowy, I could make out a young negro or mulatto woman in a long dark dress and a tattered blouse that barely covered her breasts. She was rocking her head back and forth and looked like she was talking to someone...then she suddenly turned around and disappeared.
I immediately got out of the car and looked around the area hoping to pickup some sense of what we had witnessed. The others agreed to help me but, frankly, they were in a state of panic and shock. After about a half hour of further investigation, I agreed to drive the others back to their residences. I also tried to gather my wits since this apparition was very dramatic. I decided to call off further exploration that evening.I returned to the area several times since that initial night of investigation and did not witness further activity. As well, I was not able to pickup any individual spiritual energy though one thicket of heavy boughed trees eminated a sense of malevolence and hatred. I’m not sure what caused this feeling and my spiritual guidance was unable to give me any information in order to identify residual spirits.
After many years of investigating the history of the area and possible reasons for what we witnessed my best conclusion is that this was a ghost of a slave woman who was either captured by fugitive slave bounty hunters or was subjected to another horrible fate. Since this area is close to the Mason-Dixon line and that the Underground Railroad out of the Maryland eastern shore and Baltimore brought fleeing slaves into this vicinity, I am confident that this was the result of what we witnessed.
