Phantom Army of the Civil War and Other Southern Ghost Stories

by Frank Spaeth (Editor)

This is a haunting collection of personal encounters with the spirit world as they appeared in FATE magazine. These are tales handed down over the years that have their basis in the horrors of the Civil War.

Genres: History, Paranormal, Civil War, Nonfiction, Ghosts, Ghost Stories, Horror

238 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Tina Haigler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. This book is a compilation of southern ghost stories published in FATE Magazine and each story is written by a different person. I was expecting one person writing about different ghost stories after research and interviews. Some stories are trivial, some offer no resolution, and some are downright spooky. All in all, it was a decent read but I would have enjoyed more consistant writing, or at the very least, a spookier feel throughout.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was located in the science section of my library. Never knew ghost stories were science, but what do I know? I've been reading these a few at a time and some of the stories are better than others. It's a compilation of "true" Southern ghost stories and sightings of spirits from the files of Fate Magazine over the course of 50 years. Some of the spook sightings reside in historical places around the South. While not entirely what I expected, the historical accounts and legends are interesting and entertaining.

[Maryse · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Some stories were good; others were more of the slippery-slope type (i.e. someone's half-sister claims to have broken her arm because the ghost tripped her. Their neighbor falls off the boat and dies. Since he must have tripped to fall off, the ghost tripped him. Ergo, the ghost killed him). Read it when you've exhausted all other ghost story collections.

[Chip Hunter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really don't know what kind of evil spirit must have possessed me in order for me to purchase and read this book!! I guess I was hoping for some kind of usolved mystery of the Civil War (like a phantom army that fought a battle and dissapeared or something), but I was completely disappointed.
The cover of the book was designed for just the purpose it accomplished with me: to fool people into thinking that the book would talk about some kind of Civil War story. However,it delivers nothing of the kind. The story about the phantom army is all of five pages (short ones) and really doesn't have anyting to to with the Civil War. The rest of the book is comprised of poorly written and almost certainly fictitious stories of haunts in the South.
Trust me, this book isn't worth your time. There are much better ghost stories out there.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many ghostly tales of the Civil War and other Southern ghost stories that people had sent to Fate Magazine. I enjoyed them all. A good book to read while at the beach or for any summer read.

[Dennis Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable book that is just filled with accounts of encounters with Southern ghosts. Even though there is only one story having to do with the Civil War and even though I really think that the title should be changed in any future editions, I found this to be a highly interesting and very readable book.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok book. Some stories and laughable and the research is so-so. I still found interesting enough to finish.

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bethany, Central patron, July 2019, 4 stars:

A good book based on true compiled ghost stories from the Civil War period and some more recent tales.

[Bob Murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light read concerning ghosts in a number of states. Bed and breakfast inns, houses, and other unworldly places.

[Cammie Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories in this book were really good, others not so much. I was thinking there might be more stories about the Civil War, but there were only a few.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. Some of the stories were interesting, some not so much.

I have to admit I can get caught up in a good ghost story. Some stuff is just hard to explain. THis book tells a series of stories but overall they are fairly similar.

I did get through the book rather quickly and the short stories made it easy to read here and there.

If you are into ghost stories, haunted places, and/or the paranormal, this may be a decent read for you.

I would give this 3 stars even.

[Jerry Mrizek · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucked. It's written along the lines of a fourth grade reading level and is nothing more than unbelievable stories. "I felt an unseen presence try to push me out the window. Four months later we moved out." Really, you thought a ghost was trying to kill you and you moved out four months later?

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the perfect Halloween read I was looking for. This book is a compilation of stories, some carried down through generations, of either folk lure or perceived real events, you be the judge. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a few fun, spooky short stories.

[Fritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read of Civil War ghost stories

[BreeAnn (She Just Loves Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book of ghost stories. It's worth a read when there isn't much else around.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was decent

[Debye]

Fun reading about Civil War ghosts--love stories about the ghosts of Gettysburg.

[Danny Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good little read...most of the tales are related in the sitting around the campfire style of ghost story.

[Anna Stiglbauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Annoying writing style

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There weren't a lot of civil war ghost stories, but I did enjoy this book. It was a great little quick read with several short stories that kept you on the edge of your seat.