The Mysterious Afterlife of Betsy Ross

Tonight on the Sci-Fi Channel, Ghost Hunters returns with an investigation of the Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reports of paranormal activity inside the home have been reported by staff and visitors alike and vary from the overwhelming sensation of being watched when no one is around to hearing disembodied voices. The activity has been attributed to the spirits of Betsy Ross and Charles Weisgerber - a duo forever connected to the story of the making of the America's Stars and Stripes. Ross is widely credited as the maker, due in a large part because of Weisgerber's painting, Birth of Our Nation's Flag.

Today, there are some that question whether Ross was the creator of the American flag. They argue that the first time she was connected to it was almost 100 years after it was first created when her grandson, William J. Canby, related an account she had told him. Canby's account later served as the inspiration for Weisgerber's painting. As it turns out, it is not the only mystery surrounding Betsy Ross. While Weisgerber most definitely lived in the "Betsy Ross House" some 60 years after Ross's death, there is some question of whether Ross ever did or that she actually lived in a house next door that had since been demolished. Even the final resting place of "America's Seamstress" is cause for speculation. Although her grave is now at the site of the Betsy Ross House, it is her third such burial plot, having been exhumed and reinterred twice before. During the last move during America's Bicentennial in 1976, the crews were surprised to find no remains underneath her grave. The body that was laid to rest at the house was remains that were located elsewhere in her family plot that was assumed to be hers.

So before the Ghost Hunters go "lights out" tonight and probe the paranormal stories of the Betsy Ross House, read up on the tales themselves; as well as all the other mysteries and controversies of the afterlife of Betsy Ross.

Pay a visit to the Betsy Ross House.

-Casey H.