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This one still makes the hair on my neck stand up.

About fifteen years ago I was working as a Field Engineer for a cellular company who owned dozens of cellular licenses across the country. This was the early days of the original cellular system rollout, circa 1987 or 1988.

It was common for us field guys to travel extensively because this company had a habit of buying licenses that were about to expire. Usually, we'd have 20-30 days to turn a system on to save the license after they'd purchased it. 100 hour work weeks were common in those days

On this particular occasion I'd flown into DC from Dallas after working near San Angelo and Midland for the past week or so. Due to weather, my plane was delayed and I wound up getting to Dulles rather late, after midnight as I recall. I picked up my rental car and headed out to Cumberland, MD, the site of our next system cut.

The interstate between DC and Cumberland, I was later told, runs through part of the Antietam Battlefield. This particular night it had been raining and there was a fog about eye level along the interstate. It wasn't really thick fog, but it was enough to make you slow down on this moonless night. As I passed through the Antietam area there wasn't much traffic on the road. I was trying hard to stay awake and not thinking of much but the bed that awaited me in Cumberland.

As I was driving along, I saw a man walking down the side of the interstate. As I got closer, I noticed he was dressed in what appeared to be rags. I figured he was a homeless guy, but as I got a bit closer I noticed he appeared to be carrying a stick. As I passed him it was clear that he was carrying a rifle and was dressed in Union Civil War garb. Needless to say this really spooked me.

Just as I passed him I looked into the right side rear view mirror and didn't see him. I looked into the center rear view mirror and saw his face and the upper part of his torso plain as day in the back seat of my rental Caddy! When I turned around to look to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, he was gone. Needless to say I didn't have any trouble staying awake for the rest of the drive to Cumberland. I never saw anything like this before or since.

Reminds me of one a friend of mine told me.

He was only a kid then... about 8 or 9... sitting on the front porch of his grandfathers house. His grandad was with him and they were just staring down the frontwalk... sipping lemonade on a hot day.

As my friend looked to the front gate, he saw a man in a grey, confederate uniform walk up from the sidewalk toward them... but he was kind'a 'transparent'. Turning to his grandfather, my friend asked him “ ...who was this strange man.”

The old man simply replied... “He's just an old soldier... 'comin home.”

I also had a personal experience that I have never been able to rationally explain, either to myself or to others.

This happened to me in the early 1980's. It was wintertime in Chicago, and was either December '83, or January '84. Anyway, I had just left my then girlfirend's apartment on Clark street, and had decided to take the train (underground at this spot, as opposed to the L) to get to work on a Monday morning. I had purchased a Tribune, and got on the train. As is still my regular reading of the newspaper, I started on the Sports section.

I was probably sitting and reading the newspaper for about 10 minutes, when for reasons I still don't understand, began to experience a intense feeling of dread, which then evolved into a feeling that evil was nearby. At this point in time, I was in full goosebump mode, and had decided to act as though I was reading the newspaper. This "sense" of mine told me that someone, or something was going to be walking into my car from an adjacent car.

The first person who walked through the car, was not the "person", nor was the second individual. Then "he" came walking into the car. I knew immediately that this was the "evil" presence that I felt. I continued to pretend to be reading my paper, while I was this entity walk down the corredor and proceed into the next car.

He was about 5'6" tall and wearing a full length camel winter coat, with a scarf, and wearing a black bowler type British hat. I didn't make an effort to see his face, because I was afraid to make eye contact. The feeling of dread which intensified as he enter the railcar, soon passed after he went into the car behind the one I was sitting in, about 30 seconds later.

Now, this was a Monday morning, I was reading the Sports section, and I was in no way thinking about anything remotely supernatural. I remain convinced to this day that I saw the Devil in human form walk through a CTA railcar. Even today, writing this message, I still get goosebumps just thinking about that experience.