What images does the word ghost create in your mind? An invisible monster with the sole purpose to cause fear and destruction with visions of death and hatred; an ethereal vision with woeful moans and sad expressions that float mid-air or vanish into solid things; a playful and watchful spirit that interacts with speech and touch to the living they protect; or death incarnate where the deceased is held eternally between the realm of last existence in our mortal world and the afterlife that awaits its tormented soul, wherever that may be.

My own personal experiences included all the above. My family's home in Rankin County, Mississippi was unknowingly built over one or more graves of soldiers that had fought and died during the Civil War. The ghost of my childhood was invisible to all but

myself who he protected with violence during the day and watched over peacefully every night. I was five years old when I first saw the iridescent, uniformed soldier, I named The General, peacefully watching over me, my furniture visible through him. His cap with crossing swords, intent stare, mustached lips, jacket with tassels and epaulets, sword sheathed at his side, and a rifle held in his left hand. My paranormal interactions with The General were primarily peaceful. Each night I heard him entering the front door and dragging his injured feet across the floor, all the way to my bedroom door where the sounds ended, and he appeared beside me. His fingers were skeletal when he touched me. His voice was filled with laughter when he called my name. My family was not as fortunate.