It isn't very often that I read a new or original thought dealing with the reenacting hobby, but this is a passage I had to share - the notion that ghosts of Civil War soldiers are drawn to modern reenactors bcause of the familiar uniforms, or that they could be fooled by mere mortals. Whoa. - Jonah

Fooling the Ghosts!

From Costume: Performing Identities Through Dress by Pravina Shukla


"Union private Mark LaPointe, like many reenactors, has experienced some spiritual moments on the battlegrounds where thousands of men died and where their ghosts might remain. In Gettysburg, at McPherson’s Woods, Mark and his friends saw lights that responded to the sound of their voices, and at Little Round Top they smelled tobacco smoke. Mark told me, 'These spirits are drawn to you, perhaps because you look familiar. You’re wearing a uniform that they relate to. They think that you are a comrade, so they are coming up to say hello.' The way reenactors look can enhance the experience of visitors to the battlefield; it can even fool the ghosts of slain soldiers."