Ghosts and Hauntings - Union Soldier in My House

(Northern Virginia)

My father has told me many ghost stories of his youth, and until three years ago, I shook them off as great campfire stories.

I never really believed in ghosts, but rather thought that people wanted to see something extraordinary for attention getting purposes.

Yet, in 2006, my views about ghosts changed.

My husband and I moved across the country from California to the Washington, DC area because his job required him to locate. We purchased a beautiful house (much cheaper than CA real estate) in Northern Virginia a week within our arrival and promptly had our furniture shipped out to us.

Every morning, before the family wakes up, I do 30 minutes of yoga and meditation. It relaxes me and helps me to clear my brain in order to focus on the day's work.

My very first morning in our house, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get a jump on the day. I settled into my new basement office with my yoga pad and began my stretches. Clearing my mind, I focused on a clear running stream while I warmed up my muscles. Fifteen minutes into my stretches, I was in zen mode, completely relaxed. I laid on my back, arms above my head in prayer stance, and closed my eyes.

Yet, before me wasn't the clear stream of consciousness. Instead, it was a Union soldier, looking down at me. Within an instant, I saw the detail of his uniform, the dirt in his hair, the hollows in his cheeks. He smiled at me, as though to welcome me. I immediately opened my eyes and sat up, with my heart beating radically.

First of all, I didn't even know what a Union uniform looked like. I had to look it up online (I thought he was a Confederate). Then I looked up the area where I lived. Apparently, there had been a battle during the Civil War on the land where our house was built.

Then, I didn't believe it. I refused to believe it. However, as the months followed, I heard him talking, giving orders to his troops in our bedroom hallway. I would block it out, turn on the TV, watch SNL, whatever I could to block it out. Even my younger children could hear talking beneath the bedroom where they slept. I assured them it was just "Daddy's computer making noises."

Then, one night before I was leaving on a business trip, I was falling asleep while my husband was in the shower. As I dozed off, I felt a presence beside my bed. At first I thought it was my husband getting out of the shower. Then I heard a voice that wasn't my husband's. "Don't go," it said, "I will miss you."

Again, I shot up out of bed. At that point, I was so freaked out I said, "Please, you are scaring me. Could you please leave my house."

That was the last I've heard or seen of this ghost.

Needless to say, I now do believe in ghosts.

- an anonymous Northern Virginia resident

Ghost from the Civil War

by Kristie
(Pensacola, Fl)

This happened in the summer of 1999 in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

I was staying the summer with my cousin Sarah but this one wasn't a normal stay.

It was the last part of June and the beginning part of July. We were up all night one night just talking. It was about 1 or 2 am. She was sitting in front of the window and I was sitting on the bed facing her. We both heard cannons and guns firing. We also heard people screaming for help. She got up and came over to where I was and sat down beside me. I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. I looked out the window and saw people walking past the window wearing straw hats and overalls. They were carrying pitchforks and shovels. I asked her if she had seen what I did and she said yes.

I got up and went in the bathroom. I felt like somebody was looking at me. I looked out the window and there was a face looking in.

A few days later we were sitting in the living. About the same time, 1 or 2 am. It was storming. I was sitting in front of the living room window and my cousin was standing up. I looked out the window and saw blood coming off the roof. I asked Sarah if she had seen that and she said yes. I looked in the backyard and seen a figure coming towards the house, it had red eyes.

After that Sarah went into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. She left a knife on the counter. What was strange is that the knife disappeared.

To this day that knife has not been found. During the time i stayed with her we had to take her dad back and forth to work, he drove 18 wheelers. We were going by a few houses and we could see people sitting of the front porches. The thing about it is that the people were wearing old 1800`s style clothing.