Phantom armies are paranormal apparitions that involve large formations of ghosts dressed in military clothes usually from the past centuries.
Sightings
Reports of phantom armies that have marched through countries have been recorded from as early as the seventeenth century.
Scotland has a particularly well-documented history of phantom armies dating back to at least 1719. In January of that year, the Laird of Kingswells, Alexander Jaffray, and his riding companion both reported witnessing an army of some 7,000 soldiers west of Aberdeen. It was early in the morning, and a clear sunny day. What he saw was so real that he could make out the battalions colours, see the drums carried by the drummers and clearly identify the commanding officer, who was riding a white horse. The two men watched the army for two hours until it eventually disappeared behind a hill.
The same army, led by the same commander was sighted in October of the same year. Then it was said that smoke could clearly be seen from the muskets they had fired but no sound was heard to indicate shots had been fired.
In 1774, another phantom army appeared, seemingly floating above a mountain in Scotland, it was witnessed by a man named D. Stricket - Stricket had witnessed a lone phantom horseman the previous year in the same area. Like the 1719 sighting, the apparition lasted for a couple of hours until again, the army disappeared behind a hill.
In October 1812, another phantom army, this time in battle was reported, in the English town of Leeds. The town newspaper reported the incident stating:
“These phantoms were four deep, extending over thirty acres, and performed many evolutions. Other bodies, in dark uniforms now appeared, and smoke, as if from artillery, rolled over the grass of the park…”
It seems that there are many consistencies in the eye-witness accounts of the phantom army sighting, all appear in great detail, enough to make witnesses think they are seeing the real thing, but in all cases the armies are silent, neither drum nor gun making a sound. The duration of the sightings are always of a sustained period of time and occur during good visibility, clear skies and sunshine.