Author Mark Nesbitt shared stories of ghosts and apparitions seen in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania which was host to the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, where approximately 50,000 soldiers lost their lives over a 3-day period. Curiously, even before the battle in 1863, a ghostly visitation of George Washington leading an army was seen on the site, he noted.

Nesbitt offered several theories as to why Gettysburg is one of the most haunted places in America. Because their deaths were so sudden, many of the soldiers may not have realized they died. Additionally, since they were in the throes of war against their own countrymen they may fear facing "judgment" in crossing over. Thirdly, Gettysburg's geology contains a lot of quartz rock which is thought to capture electricity which could facilitate paranormal occurrences.

A lot of the haunting phenomena are auditory rather than visual, said Nesbitt, who described reports where "volleys of gunfire were heard in the woods." EVPs recorded in the area sometime take the form of "an angry growl," rather than specific words, he said. With the sightings of apparitions, Nesbitt commented that 40-45% of them actually occurred during daylight hours.

Gulf War Illness Update

Joyce Riley, spokesperson for the American Gulf War Veterans Association, reacted to a recent report that suggested that Gulf War illness is not related to bacterial infection. We know many of the sick vets have "overwhelming mycoplasmal infections," she countered, adding that the antibiotic Doxycycline is one of the few things that is helping to keep them alive. Riley also expressed concern that a new illness syndrome would be arising in the vets coming home from the conflict in Iraq.