Lincoln’s Phantom Funeral Train

After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, his body was transported by train from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois. Each April, witnesses claim to see a ghost train retracing that mournful route.

The Original Journey

From April 21 to May 3, 1865, Lincoln’s funeral train traveled 1,654 miles, stopping in cities so citizens could pay respects. Millions lined the tracks. The nation mourned its martyred president.

The Apparition

Witnesses along the original route report seeing a spectral train pass each April, around the anniversary. The locomotive appears surrounded by bluish light. Through the windows, a coffin surrounded by soldiers in Union blue can be glimpsed.

The Effects

When the phantom train passes, clocks allegedly stop. The silence is profound, followed by a rushing sound. Animals are said to become disturbed. The experience leaves witnesses shaken.

The Reports

Stories of the phantom train appeared in newspapers shortly after Lincoln’s death and have continued ever since. The train is seen most often in New York and Illinois, along stretches of the original route.

Assessment

Lincoln’s assassination was a collective trauma. The phantom funeral train may represent that grief given form, or it may be a genuine supernatural echo of one of history’s most mournful journeys.