The Ghosts of Gettysburg

by Donna Teresa, Homefront Journal

Do you believe in ghosts?

There is a good chance that we have all been asked that question. For those who have indeed had encounters with the unexplained phenomenon, author and historian, Mark Nesbitt has written a series of books called “The Ghosts of Gettysburg,” which focuses on ghostly haunts and happenings at the site of Civil War battlefields.

The Civil War was a tragic time in our nation’s history. More than 2.9 million men served and over 620,000 died. In the Battle of Gettysburg alone, more than 50,000 lost their lives. With so much loss of life, suffering and destruction at all these battlefields, it is not surprising that people claim to have witnessed apparitions of soldiers during their visits to these locations.

Nesbitt didn’t have to look far to get the inspiration to write his books.

“The inspiration to write the first ‘Ghosts of Gettysburg’ book came from the fact that while I was a park ranger at Gettysburg, I had collected a number of ghost stories from other rangers, Gettysburg College employees and visitors. When the first book was out, people who had been reticent about telling their ghostly experiences at Gettysburg realized they were not alone. So far, I have collected about 1,000 ghost stories, published and unpublished, about Gettysburg and about 100 or so about Fredericksburg, Va., another haunted Civil War area.”

Nesbitt’s first visit to Gettysburg was as a child. It was his first opportunity to have an unexplained encounter.

“I first visited Gettysburg with my parents when I was about 7 years old. I do remember feeling ‘different’ while touring the battlefield. Subsequent visits continued to engender unusual, but not ‘ghostly’ feelings. When I was a park ranger, most night patrols were uneventful, but occasionally I’d get that chill up my spine when going into a certain area. As far as the paranormal experiences I’ve had, since we began investigations in the mid-1990s, they are really quite numerous.

“I liken the feeling most people get on Civil War battlefields to walking into a church: It really is just a building, but it feels different — you know you’re in a special place. Craig Haffner, the producer of my videos, called the feeling ‘the great crush of souls.'”

If there are ghosts, why do they remain at sites like Gettysburg and other sites? Mark offers his theory.

“The reasons why ghosts remain at Gettysburg are numerous and range from religious, in that so many people were buried in unconsecrated graves, to energy-based. There were so many dying and wounded soldiers, emotional and electrical energy that embedded itself in the buildings, fields … the large amounts of quartz-laden granite captured the energy of men who fought there and release it periodically when conditions are just right. And of course, these are just theories.”

There are so many stories, it’s difficult for Mark to pick his favorite ghost story, however, he did mention there are a few.

“My favorite stories are from my books that repeat themselves and are seen over and over again by different people.”

Mark has a new e-book coming out soon about the electronic voice phenomena of Gettysburg and a new “Ghosts of Gettysburg,” Volume VII is in the planning stages as well. If you would like to read more about Mark’s books, or take his popular ghost train tours as seen on the Travel Channel, see www.ghostsofgettysburg.com. Future plans include taking the ghost concept to Fredericksburg and venturing into a haunted bed and breakfast.

Do ghosts exist? I don’t know, I’m not an expert in ghosts or other paranormal activity, but if the memories of living through a terrible war can come back to haunt people for many years, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least.

Donna Teresa can be reached at [email protected].  She writes about Mark Nesbitt’s series of books, “The Ghosts of Gettysburg.” www.montereyherald.com