Ghosts of the Civil War
February 17th, 2009 by John WolfeI swung by You Tube to grab a couple of my favorite videos featuring potential Civil War ghosts. The first video recorded a family outing at the Manassas battlefield. According to the owner, the woman in white was not visible to the naked eye during filming and there were no reenactments scheduled during their visit. Upon closer inspection, during playback, the woman in white revealed herself to the family. If you watch closely, she appears to slightly fade out as the camera pans by for a second time.
The second clip was filmed at Gettysburg and seems to capture the repetitive image of a soldier disappearing into the trees. His shoulder and back are clearly visible and seem to manifest out-of-thin air, disappear and reappear several times.
On a related note, my uncle and I were supposed to go ghost hunting on the anniversary of a local Civil War battle, but he’s injured himself, so we’re postponing the trip. I’ll keep you guys updated on the details.
Video source: You Tube
Video source: You Tube
Posts Related to Ghosts of the Civil War
February 17th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Spooky, spooky!! I have stayed overnight at a campground at the Vicksburg battlefield, and it IS spooky. I think if I had filmed something like that, I would be OUTTA there! Great videos, thanks!
February 17th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
A related story that may be complete bulls**t. Former buddies of mine were Civil War reenactors who went to be on the film, Gettysburg as extras. One claimed to have been driving one of the roads near the battlefield at night and seen a ghost at the side of the road.
Another claimed that a bunch of guys (dressed as Northerners)had set up camp and gone to bed for the night. The next morning, they supposedly woke up bruised, as if they’d been fighting. They asked a historian what the story was and were told that they had camped in a spot where the Southern army had camped.
Don’t know if any of that is true, but it does make for a good story!
February 17th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Dawn,
Thanks for checking the videos out. Are there a lot of paranormal stories associated with Vicksburg? It seems almost all Civil War battle sites have their fair share of hauntings – far more so than the Revolutionary War.
ShellHawk,
That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing! I got to see Gettysburg as a kid, but can’t remember a lot about it. I would love to go back now. I’m really looking forward to checking out Fort Craig (here in New Mexico), after dark, just as soon as my uncle feels up to it. I’ve been in the daytime but never late at night. Hopefully, I’ll have something to share with you guys.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Hi John,
Vicksburg has a few scattered ghost stories – but not near as many as Gettysburg or Antietam… especially the latter, because it is known as the bloodiest single day of battle during the war – there are a lot of tales in that area. I have been fascinated by the War Between the States for many years, and the possibility of spirits lingering there just creep me out – whether they are true or not!
Thanks for such a great post, I really enjoyed it!
February 18th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Thank you, Dawn. You’re absolutely right, there’s something even creepier about an old soldier haunting a graveyard or battlefield than a “standard” haunting. I used to be absolutely fascinated by the tales of some sort of half-man half-beast thing which was said to haunt the cemetery at Gettysburg.
February 19th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Woah! I’ve seen the second video and I remember watching it the first time I saw it and said just that, “WOAH!” There are millions, if not billions, of “fake” ghost videos on youtube BUT there are some that you simply cannot deny are something supernatural. In that second one, it was most interesting because it seemed to favor that one location and I love the reaction of the woman video taping, who clearly saw it, and the guy she’s with who was clueless
Now the FIRST video….amazing! I just now watched that for the first time and though, “oh cool, look at the lady all dressed up in white” but was confused why the guy filiming didn’t stop to take a better shot. He seemed to skim right through it like he didn’t see her. Can you imagine his amazment when he went over his video footage
What gets me is how perfectly formed she is: her hat is detailed, her clothes, her arms are slender like a woman although even her arms are as white as her dress. I was stunned that she was a ghost for she looks like someone who worked there. That’s got to be the cleanest shape of a ghost I’ve seen. Ok, since it’s day-light out John, LoL–you know me, I’ve got to find that collage of really creppy ghosts video………the video just spooks me out, and some images more so than others. Some of the best footage I’ve found to this day. This is the one with the camera set up and the chairs that move on their own. The last half of this video really…….scare me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deoJUBW9CI8
5:30 mark……this is what I was talking about the other night, I darn near can’t watch it now! Plus another dead give-away is hearing the person taping, scared stiff right out of thier pants. I better NEVER see anything like that–or those in this case. I hope you and your relatives can make that journey John for I truly feel you would indeed catch alot of action on both video and your camera. Ghosts like you, they’re drawn to you it seems
February 19th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Goldie,
You’re absolutely right. With the trend in technology continuing to develop at light speed, it’s not difficult at all for individuals to create fraudulent, yet believable videos – especially in the realm of ghosts and UFOs. But what struck me about the potential for these two to be legitimate is that the people filming appeared so genuine. Even though many of the other You Tube videos have impressive (potentially fake) footage, the whole thing breaks down when they try to act surprised. The sheer fact they can’t act and it’s obviously not happening in a spontaneous manner undermines their technical skills for creating hoax ghost images.
The lady who filmed the Gettysburg footage is amazingly sincere. She emailed me (after I initially sent her an email) and was super kind and down to earth in her exchange. I fully believe the Gettysburg footage is legit and seems to depict some sort of ghostly maneuvers of one or more soldiers.
I haven’t checked out your link yet, but I’m in the process of switching computers, so I’ll take a look after I post this message.
Thanks for watching and sharing with me, Goldie.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I was witness to a strange occurrence at Vicksburg Battlefield park over seven years ago when I watched a “fog” like phenomenon come out of a grove of trees and cross over an area where Union troops had attempted several failed charges against a heavily fortified Confederate position known as the stockade redan. The ”fog” appeared from the wooded area, traveling from east to west against the wind, followed the terrain, and climbing to the top of the confederate position, and disappeared as quickly as it appeared from the woods. It took me almost four years before I would speak to anyone about what I had seen. It took me six years before I would go back to the battlefield to visit again.The thing about the “fog” was how solid it was and the dark glow that was emanating from it. Of course, I was the only one in the area when this occurred, and had pulled off on the side of the road with my camera still in the car. I had just pulled over to try to decide where to get the best pictures of the area. To further add to things, the name of the road was graveyard rd.
March 11th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Jim,
Wow, what a powerful experience! Thank you for taking time to share it. I’m itching to visit a local New Mexico battlefield, but am waiting on my uncle to recuperate as he knows the grounds and will be my guide. Were you able to get any photos before it disappeared? The fact it traveled against the wind with an apparent intent and purpose sounds very much like it wasn’t any ordinary fog. Thanks again.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures as I was quite frankly scared to death when the “fog” came out of the woods. At first I didn’t know if it was going to come towards me or follow the course it eventually took. I was unable to move or take my eyes off it and it took a few minutes after it disappeared for me to fully grasp what had just happened. I left the battlefield immediately and drove home trying to dispel what I had seen. I have visited Civil War battlefields for 35 years, and have never had any other unusual experiences. I have been to Gettysburg, the mecca of ghost sightings and haunted areas, and also Stones River, which I personally thought was the eeriest place I have ever seen. I had visited the Vicksburg battlefield several times before and had seen nothing out of the ordinary. I just never expected to see anything like that. It hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm on touring battlefields though, because I feel we are very lucky to have such great places to experience our history, but I can definitely say I have a different perspective while I am visiting one, and I try to always have a camera handy.
March 13th, 2009 at 1:54 am
I can understand that. I’ve been involved in a few paranormal experiences and when it happens, it feels so surreal it’s hard to get your bearings. My family and I visited Gettysburg when I was a child and I have spent time at the New Mexico fort I mentioned above. However, I’ve never been at night and am looking forward to eventually doing some late night investigating. Both my uncle and grandfather have had experiences at Fort Craig, including hearing cannon fire around midnight on the anniversary of the battle. The fort’s located in the middle-of-nowhere and the majority of their experiences occurred in the 1970′s before any reenactments were going on.
Keep that camera handy.