#in gettysburg there's a wall of soldier's photos from each side and there's a few that just freak me out for SOME REASON

[tvranny]

why dont more horror movies use the uncanny valley route more often for their horror aspect, particularly the type of uncanny valley that makes the appearance of jeff the killer, billy the puppet, etc. so damn unsettling? billy the puppet has worn off and so has jeff the killer (the story is so damn stupid + i’ve looked at the picture so much over the years) but i mean that type of horror.. . . the washed out/smooth features and a VERY white face with the only features that stand out being the eyes that almost look like they’re wearing eyeliner and the mouth. 

while some tend to laugh at those types of pictures and the scary aspect of it wears off (if they even were scared in the first place); a LOT of people get so spooked at those types of faces that they look for one second and they immediately close the page, shaken. me included. like i said billy the puppet and jeff the killer don’t scare me anymore but two other examples are;

the picture under the 4th addendum for SCP-1875. saw this a few days ago and it’s scared me from watching too many SCP videos for fear that a video with that picture as the thumbnail will pop up in the recommended bar. warning, though, it’s a jumpscare. some argue that the only reason it’s scary is that but i saw it on google images and i’ve refused to look at it since.

annnnnnd the picture for the creepypasta “The Expressionless”. im not even goddamn linking it, i don’t dare to look it up. it’s the corny one where the freaky looking fucker goes to a hospital and does a bunch of weird shit + kills people before croaking, “I am God”. that one lmao.

i used to binge-read a bunch of shit on the creepypasta wiki years ago by going to what was under the suggested articles at the bottom of the page until i found that one and skimmed through it before looking at the picture again and fucking right off. im so afraid of stumbling across that picture when i dont mean to that i do not read off of the creepypasta wiki since. im kind of an odd one out, because im just a pussy but you get the point. 

 the story was kind of stupid but the picture. the picture. it’s like the other examples aside from billy the kid. the story is fucking dumb but the picture is what gets to most people.

so. why the fuck haven’t horror movies utilized that type of antagonist appearance and the uncanny valley as a whole more often? pennywise is kind of like that in some ways and there’s of course been the grudge, the girl from the ring, but other than that.. .. .not much. the whole very-white-girl-with-freaky-bulging-eyes-and-black-long-hair has been a bit worn out, obviously-- but it doesn’t have to be goddamn that, exactly. give me a slightly disproportionate humanoid that moves in a mangled, unnatural way, with a washed out pure white face and eyes that stare straight into my damn soul. make it so its smile reminds you of that one picture of a shell-shocked soldier from WWI. (although it’s said that it’s probably just the camera that makes the eyes so funky and the picture creepy, and the dude was just smiling normally but either way it’s not something i like to look at)

we can re-use every damn horror movie trope and cliche in the book, fill movies with jumpscares and over-the-top gore, and yet we fail to utilize (at least on the big screen) the type of shit that triggers pure, actual primal fear.

[vamonumentlandscape]

Richmond Day 3

Josh’s Perspective for the American Civil War Museum at Tredegar:

The Civil War Museum at Tredegar is a fantastic museum that shows the most violent conflict ever to take place on American soil. I had been to other Civil War sites before, such as Gettysburg and Appomattox, but this may have been my favorite. After we purchased tickets, I was amazed to see a collage wallpaper of my favorite Civil War heroes, such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. There are also blown-up newspaper clippings from the 1860s on the wall. The first artifacts that we saw were from John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry. As a white abolitionist, John Brown believed he had a moral and religious obligation to bring slavery down. He was joined by slaves in this revolt. Though he got executed in 1859, his last speech was wise because he knew of the violence to come. “I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with Blood…”

The permanent exhibition that followed did not shy away from presenting the cause of the Civil War - slavery. As evidenced by the rhetoric of men like Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens (see the Cornerstone Speech), the Confederates were fighting to save their institutional form of slavery. The museum did not claim that the North was free from racism, but glorifying the Southern cause is something that the institution did not do. I enjoyed the chronological nature of the museum. It allowed me to understand events better than I ever had and gave insight into things that I had never heard of before. There was a short film about the bread riots that took place in Southern cities like Richmond, as well as the destruction that came in New York after a new draft policy was unveiled. During the New York City Draft Riots, protestors killed African-Americans and even set the “Colored Orphan Asylum” ablaze. In the last few display cases, we saw artifacts that belonged to Stonewall Jackson, who was notably shot by one of his men. The museum presented an honest narrative of how Jefferson Davis ran away from Richmond when the Union was closing in on the city. General William T. Sherman’s actions in taking the major city of Atlanta were also featured. Overall, I thought this museum was fantastic. It asked thought-provoking questions throughout and let visitors know that though progress was made when the Union was victorious, institutional hate and violence would be on the rise after the untimely death of President Abraham Lincoln.

The museum is relatively new since it opened in its current form in 2019. We talked to two of the staff members at the ticketing and gift shop desk, and they informed us that there have not been many protests from either side of the political spectrum. There is the occasional phone call from a Confederate sympathizer questioning the museum's content, but those are few and far between. The interesting placement of the museum, as well as the outbreak of COVID-19, has significantly limited the number of protests. I cannot voice enough praise for this museum. It is a trip that is worth taking for all Americans.

Tomi’s Perspective for the American Civil War Museum at Tredegar:

Right off the James River and canal walk, “in its own secluded place” as one of the associates said, is the American Civil War Museum at Tredegar. You can see that the museum is a combination of new and old structure as soon as you drive up. Tredegar was one of the Confederacy’s largest iron works until the end of the Civil War. The museum not only has incredible history inside, but on the outside as well since it was a major historic preservation project that used as much of the original brick from the 19th century iron works. The museum greets you with steel and wood beams, with decorative rocks all around the floor. Before you head into the main gallery of the museum there is a small piece to the exhibition for you to see. We think that it was to give an introduction to the new museum and the true stories the American Civil War Museum was going to tell, not the Lost Cause entrenched Museum of the Confederacy of the past. “PRESERVE THE UNION/PRESERVE SLAVERY”, “AMERICA TORN ASUNDER”, “A thorny debate over slavery threatened America’s democratic experiment.” Those are just a few quotes from the 1860 introduction. These quotes show that any visitor that may be hoping to find an exhibition about the Lost Cause may be in the wrong place. It also serves as a wonderful introduction to the timeline format the museum uses in their permanent exhibit.

Once you walk into the gallery, it is dim, but you can see and hear the exhibits you will see later. It is surely made to be a place for contemplation, but not pride for the Union or Confederacy. Going from 1861 to 1865 the museum is filled with artifacts from soldiers from both the Union and Confederacy, the enslaved people, women, children, and prisoners of war. It sung untold stories of African American nurses like Ann Bradford Stokes, who were pivotal in the health of Union soldiers. The museum had something for everyone to enjoy. Not all exhibits were the usual plaque and artifact, but they invited you to have interactions. Touchscreens for a timeline to dive deeper into the geographic locations for battles and people were at the beginning of each “year” you went through. They were easy to use for all ages. One of my favorite interactive exhibits was the magnifying glass component where you could literally get a closer look at Prisoner of War trinkets they created while they were imprisoned. Those trinkets were made out of bone, wood, and other odd materials they could find while jailed. The museum offers something that everyone can enjoy.

After going through the main exhibit, there were plaques and artifacts about the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, along with Reconstruction policies. As Josh explained, each controversial or heavy exhibit had a question at the end for you to ponder. My favorite question that was posed and really made me think, was after the 13th Amendment piece. With a figure dressed in a KKK robe ensemble and images of sharecropping surrounding it, the question “Did slavery really end?” was presented before us. The response from us both was emotional and allowed us to really dive deep into a painful time in American history.

Upstairs were two other galleries that had rotating exhibits and another exhibit that was in the works for visitors to comment on with Post-It’s. “Greenback America” is an interactive experience that shows the transformation of American currency during the Civil War that shaped our economy as we know it today. Next, there was “Southern Ambitions” that told the story of the “what if the Confederacy had won?” through the lenses of the big ideas they wanted to accomplish. From a new railroad to compete with the Union’s Transcontinental Railroad to making alliances with some of the world’s most powerful countries, the Confederacy had some big plans. This exhibit was also in Spanish, so it was accessible to even more visitors to enjoy.

Outside of the museum was my absolute favorite statue we had seen in Richmond. This past year, I took an immersive course about Abraham Lincoln that increased my interest in him and the Civil War. He and Tad, his son, are sitting on a bench in front of a wall that states “TO BIND UP THE NATION'S WOUNDS.” It is a powerful piece knowing the tragic and early ends both of the men had. Though Abraham Lincoln has some problematic pieces to his history, like his first ideas of colonization, he changed and became an advocate for all people of the United States. Just like any person in history, he was not perfect. To study him and see the challenges and changes he went through as a person to come to his beliefs for equality for all is one that all of us can find inspiration in.

Day 3 Continued:

After having a delicious lunch at Capitol Waffle Shop, we took a break from Civil War history to the Black History Museum of Richmond. Housed in the first armory for an African American militia, the reimagined space takes on history of the community that surrounds them and across the nation. Walking in, you are greeted by a statue of a Tuskegee Airman from the Petersburg area. The lovely staff gave us a great introduction to the museum and the four exhibitions they had on display. The first is very small and is within the lobby area. It is a recreated lunch counter of Woolworth’s where many sit-ins across the South took place. It is just a reminder of the grassroots efforts that created change alongside the larger protests and actions. The first floor is the permanent exhibit that takes you through the history of African Americans through the lenses of four pivotal events in American history: Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement. It was an expansive exhibit with touchscreens and photos. As museum goers, the amount of technology the museum used was not our favorite, but the information they had was essential. The next exhibit was about African American Jazz Musicians in Virginia. This was more our speed with photos and plaques lining the walls for us to read. There was even an interactive trivia piece to keep you engaged the entire time. Finally, there were paintings upstairs paying tribute to street art in Richmond. The new museum is a wonderful addition to the museum landscape in the heart of Richmond, Virginia.

Surrounded by loud noises of construction and the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center sits a comparably modest building known as the White House of the Confederacy. Owned by the same organization that operates the Tredegar museum, this building was the executive residence of Jefferson and Varina Davis between 1861-1865. It became known as the White House of the Confederacy after the Lost Cause narrative became infectious to many things in the South. Interestingly enough, the building was used as a school in the City of Richmond system before being remodeled into a museum. During our tour through the mansion, we saw many artifacts that were period pieces and others that were original to the Davis home. Our tour guide did not seem to be afraid of being honest about Jefferson Davis. He was the leader of a breakaway state, so visitors need to know that. We can recommend this historic home to anyone that would like to see an authentic, interpretive house museum. Even though the Confederacy is gone, it is important to see a place in which the Lost Cause was ingrained for such a long time.

[tendaifmp-blog]

Most people who are familiar with Civil War history know that Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, the famous Confederate Lieutenant General, died a very peculiar death. His own men accidentally shot him in the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863.

But what really happened on that fateful night? Although historians generally state that Jackson was shot because of the darkness and confusion on the battlefield, the waters of history have been fairly muddy on this particular subject. Jackson’s fame led many people—from both sides of the conflict—to claim that they were involved in his death, and conspiracy theories of murder and foul play have surfaced every once in a while.

The question was finally answered in 2013, near the 150th anniversary of the great general’s death (which may or may not have been a happy coincidence). Two astronomers painstakingly calculated the phases of the moon during that fateful night. When Jackson was returning to his troops, the moon was so dim it would only have revealed his silhouette. When the fatigued, frightened soldiers were startled by this mysterious, soldier-shaped shadow, they instinctively opened fire . . . only to find to their horror that they had felled their own commander.

9Lost Confederate Gold

When the South eventually lost the war In April 1865, a major mystery was shadowing the Union’s great victory. The country was torn by the conflict, and they desperately needed all the money they could get their hands on to rebuild. This is why the North was more than eager to get their hands on the Confederate war treasury. But the ”damn Yankees” were in for a surprise: The gold was nowhere to be found.

To this day, no one truly knows what happened to the Confederate gold. Many theorize that it was divided up and buried by many plantation owners, to wait for the day when the South would rise again. Others say it was robbed by a ragtag team of Confederate and Union deserters, never to be seen again. Others still maintain that it just . . . disappeared.

There are many legends about the location of this great treasure. One stash is said to be in Savannah, Georgia, buried in a cemetery under the name of a fake general. Another is supposedly in West Central Broward County, buried by an ambushed general who was trying to take it to Cuba.

However, most of those stashes are probably nothing more than legends. Although no one truly knows where the gold is hidden, the actual value of the treasury was probably somewhere around $500,000—many times less than many Union generals reported. This means that if there indeed are stashes, there are either a lot less of them than most people think, or they’re much smaller. Still, that doesn’t stop people from theorizing.

One particularly juicy rumor concerns a town called Danville, Virginia. Fairly reliable historical proof suggests that a former Confederate Navy official, James A. Semple, hid a large amount of Mexican silver dollars—thought to be a part of the Confederate treasure—in the area. Some say they have even found some of these coins.

8The Mystery Of General Grant’s Photograph

The image above is a very famous photo known as “General Grant at City Point.” It shows Ulysses S. Grant, Union general and future president of the United States, addressing his troops on horseback at their stations in City Point, Virginia. But a closer look at the picture will reveal some strange anomalies: Grant, a famous horseman, is sitting very uncomfortably on his steed. His head seems to be at a painful angle, as if he’s craning to see something. He seems like he’s mysteriously put on quite a bit of weight, and even his clothes seem to be from a completely different time period. What’s wrong with the famous general?

Detective work by the Library of Congress revealed that photo manipulation was very popular in the old times as well. When you look closely, tiny scratch marks reveal that this majestic photograph is actually a skillful fabrication: The horse and body belong to Major General Alexander McCook, and the head is taken from another, less majestic portrait of Grant. Even the place in the picture is not what it claims to be: Instead of City Point, the photo is actually set to the background of some Confederate prisoners captured at Fisher’s Hill.

Although it is unclear why the photo was manipulated to such an extent, it was most likely for publicity purposes. The original portrait from which the mighty general’s face was cropped showed him standing in front of his tent like an ordinary soldier, leaning casually on a hunk of wood. Although that was probably a much more accurate picture of the down-to-earth general, it is safe to assume that the original was not quite as majestic as many would have wanted.

7Mystery Photos

When Private Thomas W. Timberlake of the 2nd Virginia Infantry was walking through the corpse-littered battlefield of Port Royal, he happened to find a photo of a young girl. The problem was that said photo happened to lie exactly between two dead soldiers, one of them Confederate and the other one Union. Timberlake took the photo with him, and it eventually found its way to the Museum of Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.

The museum has a fairly good collection of similar mystery photos that soldiers from both sides of the war had given for safe keeping and never reclaimed, most likely because they died in battle. They depict people that are long dead, and although the museum occasionally manages to track down some of the people in the pictures, some of them—like the unidentified young girl found between the dead soldiers—are never identified. Their pictures remain sad, old mysteries of a time gone by, never reclaimed or recognized by anyone.

6The Ghosts Of Kolb’s Farm

Photo credit:

Lonesome Crow

Perhaps because of its nature as a conflict where brother fought against brother, the Civil War has left behind quite a few ghost stories. From Gettysburg to Chickamauga, most major Civil War battlefields are notoriously infested with ghosts (at least if you believe the legends). But a battle doesn’t always need to be massive and famous for its site to become haunted.

Kolb Ridge Court was a small housing area on Kolb’s Farm, near Marietta, Georgia. On June 22, 1864, the area saw a fairly small battle that became known as The Battle of Kolb’s Farm. According to many, it was less of a large-scale battle and more of a skirmish. Still, it was more than enough to leave the area with strange phenomena.

The area survived the War, new houses were built, and new residents eventually moved in. The residents of one new house in particular have experienced extremely unnerving events, such as a mysterious (but seemingly solid) man in Civil War–era clothing walking in the house, unseen hands tugging their clothing, cold spots, and, most frighteningly, invisible beings playing with their power tools when no one is looking.

Strangely enough, the residents eventually made peace with their Civil War ghost. They realized that the spirit was actually quite shy and only started tinkering if no one was paying attention to it. Now, they just let their spiritual housemate do its thing and live their lives in amiable co-existence.

5The “Army Itch”

When you’re fighting a war, you get used to many inconveniences. Bad food, constant manual labor, wet boots, and, of course, actually having to kill other human beings—all major drawbacks of the life of a wartime soldier. However, the Civil War had one extra horror to throw in the mix.

The “Army Itch” was a dermatological terror that spread though the regiments, getting worse by the month throughout the conflict. It was a mysterious condition that caused men’s skin to swell and blister, to the point where they became a mass of sores and painful, pus-oozing lacerations. What’s more, their entire skin itched constantly and uncontrollably. Some men’s hands swelled so badly that their fingers couldn’t touch each other.

The true cause of the itch remained a mystery until 2006, when researchers were able to determine its true cause as epidemic scabies, a particularly hostile mite infection that swept through the armies in the less-than-hygienic conditions of the barracks and battlefields.

4Fort Monroe

Photo credit:

U.S. Army Environmental Command

Of all the Civil War sites that are reputedly haunted, it’s hard to name one that has classier ghosts than Fort Monroe.

Fort Monroe has a particularly storied history, even for a Civil War–era military compound. It was one of the few Southern forts that weren’t captured at any point in the war. With its castle-like structure—complete with moat and sturdy walls—it was considered one of the mightiest fortresses in the country. Perhaps this is why Fort Monroe appears to be haunted by pretty much every significant person that ever visited it. The specter of Abraham Lincoln, a man who has been known to haunt quite a few places, has been seen in the guest room unsurprisingly known as the “Lincoln Room.” He’s always wearing a dressing gown and contemplating on the matters of the state.

If a huge, half-dressed ghost of a long-dead president is not terrifying enough, there’s always the phantom of the fearsome General Ulysses S. Grant, sometimes spotted within the fort’s Quarters Number One. Another one of Fort Monroe’s famous ghosts is Varina Davis, the wife of Confederate leader Jefferson Davis, who was imprisoned in the fortress after the South fell. Of course, Jefferson himself is also said to haunt the premises, along with Edgar Allan Poe, of all people.

However, the most famous of the area’s ghosts is not a famous person at all. An area of the fort, aptly known as Ghost Alley, is said to be haunted by the Light Lady. She is a classic White Lady ghost, roaming the areas near Fort Monroe in search of her lost love, surrounded by a fog that seems to glow from within.

Although many of these ghosts seem like classic campfire stories, it is worth noting that sightings have been reported for a long time, often by military personnel of sound mind and stature. Whether we believe these stories or not, the locals are happy to embrace the strange, spectral history of Fort Monroe, to the point where the local history museum happily arranges ghost tours of the place.

3The Disappearance Of The USS Keystone State

On November 9, 1861, a steamer named USS Keystone State disappeared. What made this strange were the circumstances: The Civil War–era ship was nowhere near the battlefronts—the vessel had been unassumingly hauling passengers and iron goods from Detroit to Milwaukee on the Great Lakes of Michigan. What’s more, the USS Keystone State was one of the largest, sturdiest steamers in existence, so its complete disappearance (and presumed sinking) was a surprise.

For over 150 years, the ship’s final fate remained a mystery. Finally, in 2013, a veteran shipwreck hunter found the mighty vessel at the bottom of Lake Huron, where it had lain all those years. It was determined that the USS Keystone State had sunk in a particularly nasty storm.

But why was it attempting to make its voyage during such a terrible storm? Its finder has a possible explanation: It may be that the ship was involved in the war after all, and was actually carrying a large amount of military equipment for a special militia forming in Wisconsin.

2The Confederate Flying Machine

You have probably never heard of Dr. Finley Hunt, but if his invention had worked he’d probably be as famous as any of history’s great inventors. Halfway through the war, Dr. Hunt wrote a letter to Confederate president Jefferson Davis. He had a very special suggestion: He could turn the tide of the war with a steam-powered military flying machine that could bomb the enemy from above—a truly groundbreaking idea at a time when the height of aerial technology was the hot air balloon. Hunt was a dentist by trade, and the Wright Brothers’ first successful flight was still some time away, but Davis became excited about the idea and introduced Hunt to General Robert E. Lee, who put him in contact with the Chief of the Engineer Bureau for the Confederacy. They immediately started researching the idea.

At least on paper, Hunt’s idea was a fairly good one. Sadly, his lack of engineering background proved to be a hindrance to the project, and the Engineer Bureau soon reported that the machine could not be built. Its whole concept might have been lost in the annals of history if its blueprints hadn’t accidentally been found in a bookstore in 2011.

But what if someone built Hunt’s flying machine after all? UFO sightings were commonplace in the later parts of 19th Century, and some have speculated that at least some of these sightings could be because some other aeronautically minded inventor—perhaps one with more engineering talent than Hunt—ironed out the problems in his plans and made their own functional flying machine.

Also, there’s this: While the Bureau dismissed Hunt’s invention as impossible, they absolutely loved his idea of using steam machines for military purposes, and promised to start discussing the idea ”in great measure.” History tells us they never got around to actually building any of these steam weapons, but who knows what war monsters they were secretly working on? If the war had lasted for a few more years, there’s no telling what sort of steampunk machines the South would have unleashed on their unsuspecting opponents.

1The Glowing Soldiers

The Battle of Shiloh was one of the bloodiest in the entire Civil War. It was a constant, two-day struggle that left little time for the medics to tend for the wounded, and the massive amount of wounded soldiers meant that many of them would be left just lying on the battlefield for days. As the wounded men lay in agony, a strange thing happened: Some of their wounds started glowing. The eerie sheen was clearly visible in the dark, and no one could understand what was happening. However, the strangest part happened when the medics actually started treating the wounded: The soldiers with glowing wounds were healing much better than the ones with normal, non-glowing injuries.

The phenomenon soon became known as Angel’s Glow. Its nature remained a mystery, and many suspected the healing shine was actually divine in origin.

The strange secret of Angel’s Glow was finally solved in 2001 by two high school students who were investigating the phenomenon for a science fair project. They figured out that the glow on the wounded soldiers was most likely Panellus stipticus, a ”good” bacteria with bioluminescent properties that was transported to the wounds by the many insects that were infesting them. Although P. stipticus wouldn’t usually survive in human body temperature, it was able to survive in the hypothermic wounded soldiers, allowing it to fight the bad bacteria that were trying to infect their wounds.

http://listverse.com/2014/02/15/10-strange-mysteries-of-the-civil-war/