John Brown's Ghost
militia stormed the armory and Dangerfield Newby, another free African American man, was killed along with other members of Brown’s group.
John Brown holed up in the engine house with his remaining men. While trapped inside the small brick building he watched his son Oliver die slowly. On the morning of October 18, US Marines stormed the building, knocked Brown out, and captured him.
On December2, 1859, one month after a jury trial, John Brown was executed by hanging.
John Brown’s body was taken to a family farm in Essex County, New York. In 1889 admirers of Brown paid to have the bodies of Oliver Brown and others who had died in the raid exhumed and re-buried next to their leader.
Brown’s ghost has remained in Harpers Ferry. In the Kennedy farmhouse, Brown and his 21 men stayed mostly in the attic. Sometimes ghostly pacing is heard when no one is there. Others have heard many heavy footsteps, much like the sound of a crowd of men, as they tromp up and down the stairs. Witnesses have reported the sounds of voices, breathing, and even snoring! Once, a psychic said that she had contacted Brown in the home. He is reportedly happy with the way the building has been cared for.
More commonly, his shade has been seen walking the streets of Harpers Ferry. Sometimes he smiles at visitors. Perhaps he is thinking of what has transpired as a result of his vehement opposition to slavery.
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