Strange Events and Unexplained Occurrences
Antiques Roadshow
Port Hudson State Historic Site — Jackson, La.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW host Mark L. Walberg’s favorite story of possible paranormal activity took place at the site of the longest battle (48 days) of the Civil War: Port Hudson, La.
Mike Fraering, chief historian at Port Hudson State Historic Site, told me the building was notorious for “cold spots.” Even in the blazing heat of summer, someone walking one of the trails will suddenly encounter a place that feels ice cold. “It’ll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” said Fraering.
These are the kind of stories that stick with you because they come from real people. And real places. And it’s hard to dismiss the possibility that something supernatural really did happen there!
He told me that cold spots are thought to be spirits passing through a particular area. If you feel one, it could be a ghost near you — or passing through you!
On May 27, 1990, the Port Hudson Peace Monument was dedicated in an afternoon ceremony on the grounds of the historic site behind the park’s museum. May 27 was also the date, in 1863, of the first Federal assault against Port Hudson.
As part of the ceremony, the remains of a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier found nearby on what was by then private property were being interred at the monument. “Both remains were buried in the same coffin, a classic ‘toe-pincher’ pine box,” explained Fraering.
There was nothing unusual about the ceremony, but about an hour later, odd things began to happen. A sudden, strong storm appeared — one that had not been forecast that day. Winds and rain pelted the monument. “The coffin was being forced out of the grave by the rapidly rising water in it. And… the backhoe had to quickly fill the grave to force the coffin back down into it.”
Around this time, an oak tree on the other side of the museum split down through its trunk. No one saw it happen, but everyone heard something that sounded like an explosion. Fraering speculates it was the strength of the wind that caused the damage.
Lastly, a photograph of a Confederate soldier who had fought in the battle of Port Hudson “fell off the wall [in the museum] a few minutes after the tree split,” Fraering said.
Was this strange series of events the result of supernatural forces at work? No one will ever know for sure what — or who — created this disturbance at the Peace Monument.
Port Hudson State Historic Site — Jackson, La.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW host Mark L. Walberg’s favorite story of possible paranormal activity took place at the site of the longest battle (48 days) of the Civil War: Port Hudson, La.
Mike Fraering, chief historian at Port Hudson State Historic Site, told me the building was notorious for “cold spots.” Even in the blazing heat of summer, someone walking one of the trails will suddenly encounter a place that feels ice cold. “It’ll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” said Fraering.
These are the kind of stories that stick with you because they come from real people. And real places. And it’s hard to dismiss the possibility that something supernatural really did happen there!
He told me that cold spots are thought to be spirits passing through a particular area. If you feel one, it could be a ghost near you — or passing through you!
On May 27, 1990, the Port Hudson Peace Monument was dedicated in an afternoon ceremony on the grounds of the historic site behind the park’s museum. May 27 was also the date, in 1863, of the first Federal assault against Port Hudson.
As part of the ceremony, the remains of a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier found nearby on what was by then private property were being interred at the monument. “Both remains were buried in the same coffin, a classic ‘toe-pincher’ pine box,” explained Fraering.
There was nothing unusual about the ceremony, but about an hour later, odd things began to happen. A sudden, strong storm appeared — one that had not been forecast that day. Winds and rain pelted the monument. “The coffin was being forced out of the grave by the rapidly rising water in it. And… the backhoe had to quickly fill the grave to force the coffin back down into it.”
Around this time, an oak tree on the other side of the museum split down through its trunk. No one saw it happen, but everyone heard something that sounded like an explosion. Fraering speculates it was the strength of the wind that caused the damage.
Lastly, a photograph of a Confederate soldier who had fought in the battle of Port Hudson “fell off the wall [in the museum] a few minutes after the tree split,” Fraering said.
Was this strange series of events the result of supernatural forces at work? No one will ever know for sure what — or who — created this disturbance at the Peace Monument.
George Roberts
During the Civil War in America a young man of the name of George Roberts enlisted on the Union side. He was with those troops when Port Hudson, Louisiana, was attacked, and in an assault made upon that place on Sunday, June 14th, 1863, he was killed. He fell about 10 o'clock that morning. His parents, living in Chenango Co., State of New York, knew that he was in the neighborhood of Port Hudson, and that there might be a battle some time, but nothing more. On Sunday, June 14th, 1863, Mrs. Roberts was getting ready for church, and the first bell that rings a quarter before 10 had just ceased, when Mrs. R. heard George's voice calling to her, 'Mother! Mother!' It was perfectly distinct and clear, as though in the room. The fright and conviction of her son's death afflicted her so much that she be-came ill. Shortly after this, came the news of the death of George before Port Hudson, at the very hour that his mother heard his voice in her room calling her.
Hardison, S. A. (2013). A Study of Several Reported Cases of Crisis Apparitions During the American Civil War.
During the Civil War in America a young man of the name of George Roberts enlisted on the Union side. He was with those troops when Port Hudson, Louisiana, was attacked, and in an assault made upon that place on Sunday, June 14th, 1863, he was killed. He fell about 10 o'clock that morning. His parents, living in Chenango Co., State of New York, knew that he was in the neighborhood of Port Hudson, and that there might be a battle some time, but nothing more. On Sunday, June 14th, 1863, Mrs. Roberts was getting ready for church, and the first bell that rings a quarter before 10 had just ceased, when Mrs. R. heard George's voice calling to her, 'Mother! Mother!' It was perfectly distinct and clear, as though in the room. The fright and conviction of her son's death afflicted her so much that she be-came ill. Shortly after this, came the news of the death of George before Port Hudson, at the very hour that his mother heard his voice in her room calling her.
Hardison, S. A. (2013). A Study of Several Reported Cases of Crisis Apparitions During the American Civil War.
More to come. I heard about several unexplained occurences and will post them as soon as I get the details.