Proud to be new host of Hauntings page. (Personal Experiences)

Those are the two places I have been in my life where I swear I met a spirit. I know people may laugh, but I walked the Wheat field at dark on July 2 2013 and I could literally feel people at my feet, it was the oddest experience of my life, and walking the sunken road is like being put through an emotional ringer, I have never felt such melancholy or sadness

The first time I walked Bloody Lane was in 1991 while I was attending some Civil War seminars out at Gettysburg, and we took a day trip down to Antietam. One of the attendees for these seminars was a darling little elderly lady from Florida who was also president of the local chapter of Daughters of the Confederacy.....she never went anywhere without wearing her grey kepi. Us big strong guys would take turns lending her a strong arm when we walked anywhere and it was my turn when we went to Bloody Lane. She and I had a bad habit of breaking away from the seminar group and walking off on our own so she and I got to know each other pretty well, we had done this exact thing while walking the lane and we were up towards the observation tower and about 100 yards from the group. As we walked I told her that I felt crowded, almost like I had to wedge myself through a large crowd (even though we were all alone). She smiled at me and asked me if I knew what happened there, when I replied in the affirmative, she asked me "well what do you think happens to all the life energy from all those soldiers dying at once?" I just looked at her and she said "all that energy has to go somewhere, it gets absorbed by the ground and the trees and the grass, and you're one of the fortunate ones in that you can feel it"........

to be honest, I didn't feel very fortunate to have that ability, it was pretty unnerving. I did enjoy wandering around with that sweet lady though, she definitely knew her history.

a couple of my photos from a recent trip (2010)
 

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Here are a couple of photos from the area that I took. One is of the sunken area, believed to be the old gravesite. The second is taken from the gravesite in the opposite direction, with a couple of buddies of mine.View attachment 46405 View attachment 46406

Yes, that's it, thanks very much! I just couldn't believe the photo ap on my Kindle QUIT like that because it worked that morning, works right now! None of the Gettysburg pics on the Kindle came through. I'd only used that for this grave unfortunately. Appreciate the photos.

I understand most people disbelieve anything odd transpires on the battlefield, and there must be a rational explaination for everything. It's odd, that's all, that THREE different forms of taking photos gave me problems while there. 2 quit entirely, the third did not include photos I knew I'd take, when I got home and downloaded the batch.
 
At East Cavalry Field, Gettysburg in Nov.'14, I got a huge lump in my throat, started to sweat, shook, and told my guide to stop the car. I could barely talk, but saw the groves of trees with open field that I've dreamed of for 52 years, since I was there last at 8 years old...I managed to whisper "This is where I was shot..."
 
I completely forgot about this! Last November, at Gettysburg I stayed at the Baladerry Inn, just a couple miles out of town. Great place, btw--I highly recommend. Anyway, I had the entire Inn to myself for 4 of the 5 days I spent there, and the owners (in all seriousness) told me to not be surprised if I got a visit, because the inn was on Hospital Road, across from a former Union hospital. I thought "yeah, sure...". But now that I think of it (and it baffles me I didn't think of this before), the gas fireplace went out every night-they said that had NEVER happened...and my door kept closing. I do believe I was a Confederate cavalry officer in a former life---I don't think the Yanks wanted me there...
 
That is soooooooooo cool. Have you ever came across any photos that bring back memories Rhettbutler?? faces, other places??
Well, some of the places at Gettysburg definitely gave me chills...and when I was 8 (my recently deceased mother told me) I stood up in the front seat and said, "I've been here before...gray...horse"...(and I don't even like horses--they have tried to buck me every time I've ridden. Sometimes a photo will make me uneasy...I'm absolutely smitten with "Gone With the Wind", but it's usually my recurring dream with the same details every time--Charging on horseback, shoot 2 Yankees, then a pressure on the left side of my chest, and I'm falling to the right....then I wake up. I hadn't had the dream for months, until recently again--exactly the same.
 
I always have to mention the Confederate Soldier I saw at Antietam. We had left the Park proper and were heading down the road toward Sherpherdstown and he was standing there in a random place by the side of the road He was young and he was looking back over the park. There was nothing special going on that day...no ceremonies...no reenactments. My glimpse of him was brief as I was in a moving car and I said something out loud like "That was random!" My children still remember my reaction and my turning back to them with a confused look on my face and asking "Did anyone else see that?" No one did. I have the impression that he was real though...as in flesh and blood alive real but why he was standing there in that unremarkable place I have no idea.
 
Speaking of Custer--my mom was born on Dec. 5th, like Custer.....and died on June 25th, like Custer---true -and gives me chills to tell you this, CustersLuck.
Especially because I was informed by my guide that if I indeed fought at East Cavalry Field that 3rd day, I was up against Custer...:cold:
 
I always have to mention the Confederate Soldier I saw at Antietam. We had left the Park proper and were heading down the road toward Sherpherdstown and he was standing there in a random place by the side of the road He was young and he was looking back over the park. There was nothing special going on that day...no ceremonies...no reenactments. My glimpse of him was brief as I was in a moving car and I said something out loud like "That was random!" My children still remember my reaction and my turning back to them with a confused look on my face and asking "Did anyone else see that?" No one did. I have the impression that he was real though...as in flesh and blood alive real but why he was standing there in that unremarkable place I have no idea.
I have friends who go out in uniform at random times to battlefields....
Very much a possibility it was a reenactor just randomly visiting Antietam, or on their way back from a reenactmnt and stopped off there while passing through. The event could have been in VA... If you are 100% sure it wasn't a reenactor then that's a pretty cool sighting.
 
I have friends who go out in uniform at random times to battlefields....
Very much a possibility it was a reenactor just randomly visiting Antietam, or on their way back from a reenactmnt and stopped off there while passing through. The event could have been in VA... If you are 100% sure it wasn't a reenactor then that's a pretty cool sighting.

He might well have been a reenactor but I can't figure out why was he standing in that place outside of the Battlefield among some trees.. He was across the road in front of a fence....in that strip of land that is usually mowed and maintained by the state. There were trees around him. You had to be looking at the right place at the right minute to be able to see him. The best guess I can come up with is that he KNEW that was a place where his ancestor might have been during the war. I know that around here people will do that. They come here specifically to retrace their CW's ancestors steps.... 'My great great grandfather ran up that hill' or whatever.

I do know that whoever or whatever he was...he was very young and he was staring across the road at the Battlefield.
 
Speaking of Custer--my mom was born on Dec. 5th, like Custer.....and died on June 25th, like Custer---true -and gives me chills to tell you this, CustersLuck.
WOW THAT is awesome!!!!! I run it to Custer stuff all the time.... theres a guy out here ART Reynolds that"s related too Charley Reynolds... (Custer"s scout) Art wrote a book about his family history and has of course Charley in it. Hes cool, its just kinda really cool to see in the flesh a descendant.
 
speaking of ghost.... do you guys ever wonder how many of our relatives shot one of your relatives and now we are on here talking to each other with out knowing it, hmmmm wonder what the chances are if it could be traced ........ just a thought. I think I need more sleep at night.
 
speaking of ghost.... do you guys ever wonder how many of our relatives shot one of your relatives and now we are on here talking to each other with out knowing it, hmmmm wonder what the chances are if it could be traced ........ just a thought. I think I need more sleep at night.

I admit I've thought about it.
 
Welcome as host! I've been to a lot of battlefields over the years. The strangest occurrence I've experienced was at Antietam. A fairly new Nikon digital SLR with a full battery charge unexpectedly lost all power while shooting a photo of the "Dunker Church." After much grumbling and finally walking away, power was restored.

Last week I was at Andersonville Military Park in Georgia and was suddenly overcome with an intestinal illness/distress. As soon as I left the park, I felt much better. I've experienced feelings of unease while at Gettysburg on several occasions. This should be an interesting forum.
 
I was just at the National Civil War Museum of Medicine in Frederick, MD and I asked the docent if the museum was haunted. He said no but most of the other docents had. Wonderful museum, btw. Well, it was a funereal home for around 140 years and Union soldiers were brought there for embalming before being shipped home. I didn't see anything odd, but I was down in the back hallways and looking at the Clara Barton exhibit - with actual recently discovered relics from her office and the building that housed her office in DC, including blood soaked stockings, a stretcher - all original. I started to feel (but not at all creepy or malicious) a feeling of energy or a coolness buzzing around my arms. When I would walk to towards the front of the building it would go away but when I would back into the hallways or the back exhibits I would feel it.

In the front of the building is the gift shop and entry way. I asked the woman who had the security camera about it and she said the hallways and towards the back are definitely the most haunted. Her security screen is divided up into 9 sections. Very regularly, she and another (but NOT the docent we had) will watch and see a white mist walk from one screen into another but then disappear. She was quite blase' about it but she said she never felt threatened by anything there, just that it (or they) are there or some part of their energy is.
 
Hey guys! I am very happy to be one of the new hosts for the Ghosts and Hauntings page and I thought a good way to get the ball rolling would be for us to share some personal experience we may have had on a battlefield or a Civil War era site. I truly look forward to reading the posts and I hope that the conversation can stay civil. If you don't believe a person's experience or think ghosts are bunk then just don't read the posts; no need for snarky comments or mean-spirited responses.
Hey guys! I am very happy to be one of the new hosts for the Ghosts and Hauntings page and I thought a good way to get the ball rolling would be for us to share some personal experience we may have had on a battlefield or a Civil War era site. I truly look forward to reading the posts and I hope that the conversation can stay civil. If you don't believe a person's experience or think ghosts are bunk then just don't read the posts; no need for snarky comments or mean-spirited responses.
 
Has anyone experienced or heard of any of the conspirators hauntings? Except for Mary Surratt because I've heard a lot about her and Abraham Lincoln being seen or heard at so many different places.
 
I have had a couple of experiences lately that I would like some opinions on. I have been very involved in learning about the assassination of Lincoln and the conspirators so I've been visiting some places to get more of a feel of who they were and why they did what they did. I've had two incidences that I'm wondering if it's a friendly prankster ghost or just coincidences. I visited The Carson House in Marion NC. The second floor is dedicated to the civil war. I was in awe of it all. The house was closed but this lady let me in to see that floor and all the artifacts because she could see my over enthusiasm. So it was just me and her. She let me take my time with questions and photos. I walked into one particular room (while talking about Powell and Surratt)... All the lights went out just in that room. She had no idea why. When she went to check she told me stay right where I was until she could fix it. Before she could find out she came back into the room and the lights came back on. I wasn't afraid. There was no evil to it. It just felt like a friendly ghostly prank or letting me know 'they were there'. That was about three weeks ago. Two days ago I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC. I was loading this poor employee down with the Civil war questions comparing it to the ending of the 19th century when the house was built. As soon as I mentioned Powell all the lights, fans, all electricity went out just in that one room instantly. He said that had not happened before in just one room and he left to get maintenance. I stayed in the room with the same funny, friendly feeling I had at the Carson House. Before the employee came back I went on into the next room (#18). Same thing.... Everything went out. I was alone so I just waited. I had never felt so safe. When they came to try to fix the problems, they had to shut those two rooms off because it kept getting darker and they were having to use flashlights. I moved on to the next rooms and nothing else happened. I no longer felt a presence. It was heartbreaking. I wasn't looking for anything supernatural at either place. Am I crazy? Could it have been the same presence at both houses? Or does it seem more likely a simple coincidence. I would love to read other's opinions or more so maybe some similar experiences...
 
I have had a couple of experiences lately that I would like some opinions on. I have been very involved in learning about the assassination of Lincoln and the conspirators so I've been visiting some places to get more of a feel of who they were and why they did what they did. I've had two incidences that I'm wondering if it's a friendly prankster ghost or just coincidences. I visited The Carson House in Marion NC. The second floor is dedicated to the civil war. I was in awe of it all. The house was closed but this lady let me in to see that floor and all the artifacts because she could see my over enthusiasm. So it was just me and her. She let me take my time with questions and photos. I walked into one particular room (while talking about Powell and Surratt)... All the lights went out just in that room. She had no idea why. When she went to check she told me stay right where I was until she could fix it. Before she could find out she came back into the room and the lights came back on. I wasn't afraid. There was no evil to it. It just felt like a friendly ghostly prank or letting me know 'they were there'. That was about three weeks ago. Two days ago I visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC. I was loading this poor employee down with the Civil war questions comparing it to the ending of the 19th century when the house was built. As soon as I mentioned Powell all the lights, fans, all electricity went out just in that one room instantly. He said that had not happened before in just one room and he left to get maintenance. I stayed in the room with the same funny, friendly feeling I had at the Carson House. Before the employee came back I went on into the next room (#18). Same thing.... Everything went out. I was alone so I just waited. I had never felt so safe. When they came to try to fix the problems, they had to shut those two rooms off because it kept getting darker and they were having to use flashlights. I moved on to the next rooms and nothing else happened. I no longer felt a presence. It was heartbreaking. I wasn't looking for anything supernatural at either place. Am I crazy? Could it have been the same presence at both houses? Or does it seem more likely a simple coincidence. I would love to read other's opinions or more so maybe some similar experiences...

I think you should see it as a wonderful experience.
If it was Powell who approached you, I can imagine you did not feel unwell. Wikipedia says:

In his early years, Powell was described as quiet and introverted, and well liked by others.[2] He enjoyed carving, fishing,[6] singing,[7] reading, and studying.[3] He also loved attending church, Sunday school, and prayer meetings.[6] He often nursed and cared for sick and stray animals, earning the nickname "Doc" from his sisters
 
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