Our story this week comes from returning listener, Chad Campbell from Chicago, IL. We first heard from Chad in episode #486 – Dead Man’s Planet. He told us then that he had other stories he wanted to share and this is a good one. Chad has titled this: The Civil War Ghost Of Utica

As I’ve said here before, though I’ve experienced many hauntings in my life, I don’t really ever SEE ghosts. There was that one time with the woman sitting on my couch staring at me, and there is this story. I want to thank Ron for giving me a place to share it.

September 2020, I was taking my wife to work as I did almost every night of the week. On the way, we drove through this little country town of North Utica, Il. On the way there’s a big hill going down into the town. We had been that way a ton of times, so we knew all of the little landmarks (Trees, road signs, mailboxes, etc.) Right behind the big green sign that said we were in Utica, there was a man standing there on the side of the road looking our way. Because he was something out of the ordinary I quickly looked over and got a good look at him for a brief second as we passed by. At that same time my wife saw him and she said, “OMG did you see that?”

I asked her what she saw and she said, “That Guy was a Civil War soldier!” 

She said she saw a detailed face, but I didn’t. For starters, he was mostly white and glowing, like my headlights were really lighting him up, but they weren’t. I was drawn to his face because what I saw was just a blank, white, glowing area. He had his right leg up like he was resting it on something and had his rifle in his hand, holding it to the ground like a cane. Also, he had a Kepi hat on. It seemed like he wasn’t just white, but shades of light gray, though glowing. We had plenty of time so I turned the car around to get another look. When we got back to the sign he was gone.

I dropped my wife off and drove back to the site. I wandered around the area for a while but didn’t see any signs of a person or ghost having been there. This prompted me to do some research. I wanted to know what if any battles took place around the Chicago area. I couldn’t find a single one. What I did find was this:

Chicago was a stronghold of abolitionist sentiment and the springboard of Lincoln’s presidency. Chicago was blamed in many circles for bringing on the war, but also prospered. Its population almost doubled as thousands of immigrants found work in the city. It was the second leading war supplier next to New York. There were army bases in the area. Camp Douglas, located near Chicago, was one of the largest training camps for union troops, as well as Camp Butler near Springfield. Both served as leading prisoner-of-war camps for captive Confederates. 

Well Ron, that was it. We purposely drove that way every night after that until she lost her job because of the pandemic, just hoping to see him again, but we never did. I’ve wanted to stop by at the house near where he was at to ask them if they had ever seen him, or if maybe they had a costume from the Civil War and they were just hanging out freaking people out, though I’m not sure how they would’ve pulled off the glowing and faceless thing, but I haven’t yet and probably never will.

Oh yeah, there is a very old cemetery in Utica. My father once told me, and he is not known for telling any tales, let alone tall ones, he once drove by there and saw a werewolf . But that is another story and I might add a very creepy one.

Chad Campbell – Chicago, IL

This Week’s Podcast:

On the podcast this week our featured story tells what The Hallmark Hall Of Fame says is a true story. Wyatt Earp has to settle a fight between an old friend and an angry town. I will leave it up to you to decide it is true. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link

Your Stories:

Do you have a story that you would like to share on the podcast or the blog? Head to the main website, click on Story Submission, leave your story, give it a title, and please tell me where you’re from. I will read it on the show if I can.Social Links:
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I love stories that come from places I have seen. In the early 2000’s my company sent me to Austin, Texas for some training. I was there off and on for about four months. During that time I did a little sightseeing and one of the places I visited was along the RiverWalk. I saw the Alamo and the famous Menger Hotel in San Antonio, TX. Why is the place famous? When the Civil War and Reconstruction were over, and especially after the railroad arrived in 1877, the Menger became the best-known hotel in the Southwest. It was praised for the cuisine offered in the Colonial Dining Room. True stuff. I never stayed there or ate there, but it is a beautiful place!

Boyd Gray from Texas has a different experience with the hotel. He sent this in via the website and gave it the title, Awesome Hotel and the ghosts are pretty cool too!

I’m sure most people that are into ghosts or the paranormal have heard about the Menger Hotel. It has a long history and has seen its fair share of events, but I won’t bore you with it ( it doesn’t hurt that it is parked next to the Alamo either). I Love the Menger and not because it produces some of my favorite encounters but because it is a great old hotel and the staff there is always on point. I’m not much of a modern hotel guy. I like a hotel with history and charm instead of a modern look or a bunch of extras.

Story time! My first stay at the Menger didn’t produce results and even the ghost tour was pretty standard but hey it was well done and I learned the history. The next trip back was a different story. I booked there again because I just like the hotel and the staff. I Checked in and went up to my room which was located on the Alamo side unlike the first time. I passed a mirror in the hallway that overlooked the balcony and I saw a woman dressed in period clothing. At first I thought it was one of the ghost tour ladies cause that’s how they dressed, but by the time I wiped my head around to look at her…. she wasn’t there. 

I shook my head. I thought I was overlaying the painting from downstairs in my head, however, when I got closer to my room door there was another mirror at the end of the hallway and I saw her in the reflection again. I turned around to see if there was someone behind me and there was no one. That made me uneasy but I smiled and thought that this was going to be a good trip even if I didn’t experience another thing. 

Well, it didn’t stop there. Later that night I was getting ready to go out to dinner. My bathroom light came on all by itself, and no joke it looked like there was a shadow being cast onto the floor coming out of the bathroom. I walked over and looked in and couldn’t find a reason for the shadow, which I was now standing on. Well, I quickly finished getting ready and went to dinner ( I needed a drink LOL). 

At dinner, my client asked how I liked the Menger and I told him I loved it. He asked if I had seen any shadows without people attached to him. I told him about the mirror woman but not the shadow in the bathroom. I wanted to figure that one out first. Got back to my room and the light was off in the bathroom, as I walked by I said thank you for turning it off half-joking. I put my stuff down and returned to the bathroom and turned the light on, no shadow. I tried some different things to make it happen but nothing close and all I kept thinking was there was a ghost laughing his butt off watching me try and figure it out! The night finished out quietly.

I have other experiences from that hotel that I could share. One involves a talking TV with the sound turned off.  Freaky bit of ghosting that was.

Boyd Gray – Texas

This Week’s Podcast:

On the show this week we take you to the world of Escape. Escape was an old time radio series hosted by William Conrad. A test pilot finds himself in a study that changes his life forever. The story is titled The Man From Tomorrow and I think that there just might be some truth to this one. You can listen to this podcast on Thursday at Ron’s Amazing Stories, download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on Stitcher Radio or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link

Your Stories:

Do you have a story that you would like to share on the podcast or the blog? Head to the main website, click on Story Submission, leave your story, give it a title, and please tell me where you’re from. I will read it on the show if I can.

Social Links:
Main Podcast Site by LibSyn
The Blog Site by WordPress
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Contact Links:
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Contact Ron