Shades of Blue and Gray: Ghost stories inspired by the America...

This collection of Civil War-inspired ghost stories sprang from my interest in the conflict: a fascination that initially began when I was in grade school. It also didn’t hurt to originally come from southeastern Pennsylvania, where summer vacations spent in part with my maternal grandparents often included a side trip to nearby Gettysburg, where a day would be spent tramping over the battlefield with my grandfather, plus a sibling, cousins, or both, in tow. It’s nothing new that there are a number of these battlefields that are alleged to be haunted. Considering that that war happened in 10,000 places—from those with well known names, like Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, to the seldom referred to Glorieta, Kolb’s Farm and Opequon—it should come as no surprise that folks might think they are so: some more paranormally active than others. One can’t help but stand on such hallowed ground today and not come away with some sort of an inkling of what happened there without it even having to be spectral in nature. These stories spring from the feelings and impressions gathered during these visits. They are a blend of actual history—incidents, such as axes being used by Union troops to chop up fire hoses in Columbia, South Carolina to keep local firemen from putting out house fires, are a matter of public record—as well as an added phantasmagorical element that’s not so much Steven King as it is Ambrose Bierce (who was himself a Union veteran that wrote some classic Civil War short stories).

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