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The Civil War was marked by various paranormal occurrences that persist in intrigue, from cryptids and UFO sightings to tales of reincarnations and prophetic dreams. Here are ten of the most fascinating supernatural events tied to this brutal conflict.
10. John B. Gordon's Reincarnation
In 1991, fire chief Jeffrey Keene visited Civil War battlegrounds. At Antietam's site, he was overcome with emotion and collapsed. Upon returning home, he consulted a psychic to interpret his experience. The psychic repeatedly mentioned the words 'not yet.'
Shortly after, while reading a historical magazine about the Civil War, Keene was struck by a familiar phrase. The magazine stated that General John B. Gordon had used the same words to hold back his troops during the Battle of Antietam.
Keene delved into researching General Gordon’s life and uncovered eerie similarities between their lives. Both men shared a striking physical resemblance, and many of Gordon’s soldiers bore an uncanny likeness to the firefighters Keene worked alongside.
On his 30th birthday, Keene experienced a sudden sharp pain in his jaw that vanished soon after, with doctors unable to determine its cause. Interestingly, General Gordon had also been shot in the jaw at the age of 30. Keene also bears three distinct marks on his face, matching the locations where Gordon had been wounded.
One of the strangest connections emerged when a linguist analyzed both men’s writing styles. Keene’s firefighting reports were found to be remarkably similar to those written by General Gordon, who had chronicled his Civil War memories in a book. The two reports seemed to belong to the same individual, separated only by time. Keene is convinced that he is the reincarnation of the Civil War general.
9. General McClellan’s Encounter with George Washington’s Ghost
During the early years of the Civil War, the North faced significant setbacks. General George B. McClellan, one of the Union's leading generals, was struggling to execute successful strategies against the Confederate forces. It was during this difficult time, in early 1862, that McClellan reported a peculiar vision of George Washington.
One night, while studying battle maps and planning his next moves, McClellan realized that the enemy seemed to have an uncanny understanding of his positions, making any offensive efforts futile. As despair began to set in, a powerful voice suddenly echoed through his cabin.
The voice revealed that only divine intervention was allowing the Union to fend off the Confederate attacks, and that without it, the South would have triumphed. Looking up from his maps, McClellan was stunned to see the faint, ethereal figure of George Washington standing before him.
Washington reassured McClellan that the Union’s cause was not yet lost and that the United States would endure for centuries. After speaking, Washington raised his hand over McClellan’s head in a gesture of blessing, and thunder rumbled throughout the cabin.
When McClellan woke up, he found himself lying on the table. At first, he thought it had been a dream. However, upon looking at his maps, he noticed new markings that showed him the way to attack the Confederate positions. He couldn’t recall making those markings himself.
This story helped to reinforce the belief that the North received divine assistance during the war. However, it wasn’t until after the war had ended that the tale became public. Whether this event truly occurred to McClellan remains uncertain, but it certainly adds to the collection of fascinating paranormal tales.
8. The White River Monster
The White River, a crucial trade route in Arkansas during the Civil War, was frequently the site of battles. Strangely, these battles may have also involved a mysterious cryptid known as the White River Monster. Although the creature wasn’t officially reported until the 20th century, local folklore and paranormal researchers suggest it could have been active during the Civil War.
Local legends describe the White River Monster as a gray-skinned, reptilian being that sometimes ventures onto land, leaving behind distinct three-toed footprints. Despite numerous attempts, no one has been able to capture the creature.
There were reports of sunken ships during the Civil War, leading some to speculate that the White River Monster was active at the time. Sailors told tales of their boats being violently struck from below by a mysterious and aggressive creature.
Other accounts suggest that soldiers stationed along the riverbank occasionally fired at a massive, elephant-like creature in the water. Despite their attempts, they were never able to kill the beast, resulting in several boats being lost to the cryptid.
7. Beauregard-Keyes House
For those who believe in the supernatural, the Beauregard-Keyes House in New Orleans is one of the prime locations to experience a real Civil War ghostly encounter. The house once belonged to General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, a prominent Confederate leader during the war.
Beauregard was in charge of the bombardment at Fort Sumter, which ignited the Civil War, and played a key role in the Confederacy's early successes. After the war, he retired to his New Orleans estate and passed away there in 1893.
A decade later, the Giacona family, an Italian family with mob ties, moved into the house. In 1909, a mob-related shooting took place at the residence, resulting in the deaths of three Giacona family members.
The Giaconas moved out quickly and transformed the house into a macaroni factory. Despite local opposition, the house was preserved as a heritage site. Soon after, the hauntings began.
Around the time of World War II, people began reporting strange occurrences in the house, such as sightings of Civil War soldiers. Legend holds that General Beauregard himself makes appearances on certain nights, accompanied by a full contingent of soldiers.
The most frequent supernatural event reported at the Beauregard-Keyes House involves the eerie sounds of gunfire and battle noises echoing from the yard. In 1993, paranormal investigator Victor Klein documented his experiences with the house’s strange activity, describing it as follows:
Men with mutilated limbs and shattered faces move in a chaotic dance of death. [ . . ] Horses and mules are struck down by grapeshot and cannon fire. The air is thick with the acrid scent of blood and decay, filling the uneasy atmosphere.
If this is true, it suggests that General Beauregard and his soldiers continue to fight the war in the afterlife.
6. The Tale of Old Green Eyes
The legend of Old Green Eyes, a cryptid or ghost associated with the Battle of Chickamauga in Tennessee, actually comprises two distinct legends that share the same name.
The first tale is of a Civil War soldier whose head was blown off during the battle. His comrades buried his body without the head, and according to legend, his ghost still haunts the battlefield, moaning as he searches for his lost head. People claim to have crashed their cars after being startled by glowing green eyes on the roads near the battlefield.
The second, much older legend speaks of a mysterious cryptid known as Old Green Eyes, which was reportedly first seen during the Civil War. According to the myth, soldiers witnessed this creature during the Battle of Chickamauga. The folklore describes it as a small being with glowing eyes, a jutting jaw with large fangs, and long, thin, straw-colored hair, similar to a woman’s.
Witnesses claim that the creature was spotted wandering among the corpses after the battle. Sightings continued into the 20th century, with Chickamauga park ranger Edward Tinney recalling a personal encounter with the mysterious being. Tinney insists that Old Green Eyes still prowls the deserted battlefield, silently observing those who dare to visit.
5. Bigfoot Sightings
As the Civil War raged across the United States, numerous tales of Bigfoot sightings emerged, with the infamous creature being one of the country's most renowned cryptids. One of these accounts came from the Battle of Chickamauga, the same battlefront linked to the eerie tale of Old Green Eyes.
Before the battle commenced, Privates Ott Morton and Billy Chandler were stationed on a sentry line when they heard bloodcurdling screams coming from the woods. Investigating the source of the noise, they came face to face with a monstrous creature that stood 3 meters (10 ft) tall and reeked of decaying flesh.
After fleeing from the woods in terror, Morton and Chandler reported their encounter to their commanding officer. The officer ventured to the area, and to his astonishment, found footprints in the dirt that measured 55 centimeters (22 inches) wide.
Bigfoot also made an appearance in Virginia. While on guard duty at Harper’s Ferry one night, Private Moore heard cries emanating from his barracks. The soldiers were panicking, shouting about a creature resembling a man-beast lurking nearby, and were arming themselves in preparation to confront it.
As Moore listened from his post, he heard the sounds of gunfire echoing from the river. The following morning, his commander shared a chilling account of spotting a hairy monster that was 3 meters (10 ft) tall the previous evening.
Another Bigfoot sighting was reported in Virginia. A young soldier, who had fallen ill, returned home from the front. Aware that death was near, the soldier requested his family to bury him in the nearby mountains, a place known for numerous Bigfoot sightings.
When the soldier passed away, his family honored his request and buried him in the mountains. A few days later, his father visited the grave only to find it disturbed. His son’s body was discovered nearby, mutilated and stripped to the bone. The father suspected Bigfoot was the responsible creature.
4. Nicolas Cage: Civil War Vampire
Jack Mord, an antiques dealer, came across a fascinating photograph while going through old documents. The photo, taken around the Civil War period, depicted a man from Tennessee who bore an uncanny resemblance to actor Nicolas Cage. This led Mord to speculate that Cage might actually be a vampire, cursed to live for centuries.
It’s difficult to determine how seriously Mord took this theory, but in 2011, he remained adamant about it. He believed Cage reinvents himself every 75 years, changing his profession and identity. To support his argument, Mord pointed out that Cage has barely aged since his 1987 film Moonstruck.
At one point, Mord tried to sell the photograph for a whopping $1 million. To add weight to his claims, he asserted that several photography experts and historians had confirmed the authenticity of the image, which depicted a Civil War prisoner of war.
Since 2011, the photograph has mysteriously vanished. Furthermore, Mord’s articles on the subject have been taken down from his website.
3. Abraham Lincoln’s Vision Of His Assassination
Abraham Lincoln was deeply religious, placing great importance on the dreams he experienced. He frequently spoke of them, noting how God had communicated with many people in the Bible through dreams, and he believed the same was true for him.
In the 1880s, Lincoln's close friend Ward Hill Lamon published a story recounting the president's dreams. Lamon shared that in 1865, Lincoln had an unsettling dream in which he woke up and wandered the White House, hearing cries echoing down the hallways.
When he entered the East Room, Lincoln discovered a group of soldiers and mourners gathered around a body. Upon asking who had died, a soldier responded that it was the president, who had been murdered by an assassin.
This was not the only death-related premonition Lincoln is said to have had. Lamon also recalled an instance when Lincoln looked into a mirror and saw his own face change, becoming an eerie, ghostly white.
On the day of his assassination, Lincoln told his cabinet that the night before, he had dreamed of swiftly sailing across a large body of water. It is said that Lincoln experienced similar dreams before every critical moment in the Civil War.
2. Joseph Smith’s Civil War Prophecy
Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon faith, remains a figure of great controversy in history. Throughout his life, he devoted much of his time to documenting what he believed were prophecies and divine revelations from God.
Among the most striking of his prophecies is one from 1832, where he foretold a forthcoming war over slavery in the United States, predicting it would begin in South Carolina. Smith also prophesied that the South would seek assistance from Great Britain. This prophecy is included in the canon of Mormon scripture as Doctrine & Covenants Section 87.
While the Civil War did indeed begin in South Carolina, skeptics are critical of the claims made by the Mormon faith. Critics argue that anyone in the US during the mid-1800s, with even a basic understanding of politics, could have predicted a war over slavery. Abolitionist movements were already gaining momentum during Joseph Smith’s lifetime.
Critics also point out that Great Britain played little to no role in the Civil War, and that Smith’s prophecy about the war involving all nations ultimately turned out to be inaccurate.
Nevertheless, devout Mormons assert that such criticisms are unfounded. They emphasize the prophecy's remarkable specificity regarding South Carolina. Additionally, they argue that the prophecy was intended to cover all wars leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
In 1842, Smith reiterated the Civil War prophecy. After his death in 1844, the church continued to promote and publish this strikingly precise prediction.
1. Jefferson Davis’s Ghost
Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, remains one of the most significant figures of the Civil War. While Davis passed away in 1889, some paranormal investigators claim that his spirit continues to roam the Earth.
Davis’s postwar property, Beauvoir, located in Mississippi, is said to be the home of his lingering ghost, with reports of sightings dating back to 1986.
During a Civil War reenactment at the Beauvoir estate, a photographer captured an image of some girls dressed in period costumes. Upon developing the photograph, an eerie detail emerged: two figures, one wearing a white dress and the other in a dark suit, appeared in the windows.
During the event, the house had been locked by the organizers. Additionally, the woman in the white dress appeared on the balcony level, ruling out the possibility that she was merely a reflection of the reenactors.
As rumors about the apparitions spread, employees at the estate eventually spoke up, sharing that they had witnessed Jefferson Davis’s ghost on numerous occasions. Unlike many other paranormal sites, Beauvoir has a notable frequency of full-body apparitions, with the president even being captured in photographs.
Other members of Davis’s family have also been sighted, along with Confederate soldiers who are said to walk the estate’s grounds. The site has become a favorite among ghost hunters, and Beauvoir is now a well-known hotspot for those interested in the paranormal.
