A Ghostly Collection at the Library of Congress

Collecting is a hobby that many of us enjoy, and amassing articles seems harmless enough...unless they happen to be haunted.

Unidentified Union Soldier, between 1861 and 1865.

The Library of Congress houses just such a grouping, the Liljenquist Collection of Civil War photography of soldiers in ambrotypes and tintypes. How compelling is the evidence that this collection came with ghosts? One of the scientists who does a variety of restoration work for the library refuses to be alone in the same room with the collection.

In fact, the people who processed this collection, when it was presented to LOC in 2010, KNOW that those images come with ghosts attached. The staff has talked among themselves about the interesting "happenings" in  the Conservation Division while the exhibit was being prepared -- photos cleaned, mounted, etc.

Furthermore, when 13-year-old Christian Liljenquist presented the family collection to the LOC, he referenced the strange sound of footsteps that accompanied the photos. When the Liljenquist family left the photos behind and friends occupied the Liljenquist home, the friends heard footsteps. When the photos accompanied the Liljenquists, the footsteps were heard in the Liljenquists' new home. In fact, you can hear Christian talk about the ghosts in this YouTube segment:

.http://www.ghosthuntingtheories.com/2009/04/object-attachment.html

You can learn more about the Liljenquist family and their remarkable collection here: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/coll/633_lilj_measure.html

A little research on the Internet pulled up several references to ghosts attaching themselves to articles. Here's one of the more interesting: http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/print.php?id=2227

The more I think about this, the less surprising this is. I have a wonderful old quilt that I found in my grandmother's trunk. Whenever I feel particularly low, I wrap up in it. Somehow it soothes me. And all of us crafters know that every item we make, we imbue with love. So, aren't we imparting a bit of our own spirits? I think so.

Still...it does make me wonder...the next time I'm tempted to add to my collection of old baskets...I'll certainly think twice!