From: "Brian E. Orgeron" borgeron@earthlink.net
Subject: shadow man
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 09:04:13 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
To: The Official Shadow People Archives
After reading some of the stories on your site I thought it would be interesting to others to read about the sighting I and several other people had in Louisiana. On the weekend of June 11, 12 and 13 of 2004 the Civil War reenactment group that I founded held a living history at Oakley Plantation in St. Francisville. The plantation is more than 200 years old, and according to one of the people that works there had about 30 people die in this house during its years as a plantation, and later as a ranch until it was sold to the state of Louisiana sometime in the mid to late 1940s. The house still has the original barn, and out side kitchen. The slave cabins were all torn down sometime in the late 1800s to make room for cattle ranching. The family who build the house owned it until it was sold to the state.
Anyway, my wife and I got to the plantation around 5 p.m., and set up camp. It was a hot day, and we were glad when the sunset. I had been to the house one other time to help cut up an old oak tree that fell over during a storm, but never looked around the house before. To give you an idea of how things were set up, if you were looking at the front of the house our camp was about 50 feet to the left. The public restrooms are about 10 to 20 feet to the right, and the kitchen building is in the back of the house. There is a cobble stone walk going along the back of the house with 3 sets of steps leading to the back porch.
Well about 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. I had to use the rest room so I went to the public rooms. After taking care of business I decided to look around the house. I was in a Confederate uniform, and had an old oil-burning lantern with me. Anyway, I went up the back stairs, which is the servant's entrance to the house, and the sick room. The door was locked, but I could look through the glass. I held my lantern up, and was inspecting the old desk, etc. in the room, and than looked to the left. There was another door going to the library/gentlemen's room. It was at this point that I saw a shadow moving about in that room. The shadow was about 5'tall. No hat, and what looked like a vest. Upon seeing this I returned to camp and asked if any one was in the house. According to the grounds keeper the house was locked up, and the alarm was set. He warned us not to go up the front stairs to the house at night as that would set off the alarm. I told him what I saw, and he said that I had just seen the shadow man and that other people have seen him as well.
It was at this point that one of the ladies in our group told us that if you go to the re-build slave cabins, turn right, and look for some box wood hedges you would feel 'evil' or hatred. I along with several other guys of the group went to this area, but felt, heard, and saw nothing. The others returned to camp, but I walked back to the house. I sat on the steps, with the house to my back, and right, and was playing with a cat that hangs around. After a few minutes the cat jumped down, walked to my right, sat on another set of steps, and was looking up at the house. I looked up and saw a young girl of about 16 looking down at the cat. I said hello to her, but she did not respond. I looked back at the cat, and back up at the house, but the girl was gone. The girl had her hair pulled and fixed up in the 1850 - 1860 style, and had on period clothing. The one thing I could not see was her legs, or any part of her below the waist. Again I returned to camp, and told the group what I had just seen. Others went to the house but saw nothing.
Around 1:00 a.m. I along with Ed and his daughter Penny went to the house. Ed and I went up the back steps, and looked in the door again only to see the shadow man walking around the room. At one point he looked over at us, and we could see no face. Upon looking at us he promptly disappeared. We went back down the steps, and walked to the front of the house. At this point we were all looking up at the 2nd floor when the girl was looking out the window at us. She was gone in a second. Penny than went to the front door on the 1st floor, and was looking through the window when a shadow blocked the light coming in from the door to the right. The room on the right was used by John J. Audubon when he was a teacher at the plantation. That was the last we saw that night, or the rest of the weekend.
Around 6:30 or 7 a.m. Saturday morning another of the girls with our group went to the bathroom. As she was coming back she heard footsteps walking behind her. She thought it was one of us, but when she turned around no one was there. She walked again, and again she heard the footsteps. At this point she ran back to camp, and would not go near the house by herself.
My wife who is an amateur photographer took some pics of the house, but nothing could be seen except in one photo, which shows what some people call an orb? The people who work at the house said that it was strange for us to have seen so much in one night, as things don't usually happen until the fall. The only thing we could figure was that with all the people running around the grounds in 1860s clothing, and Confederate uniforms we must have disturbed them.
Well I'm sorry to be so long winded, but I thought you should know my story. This is not the first time I have seen ghosts, or shadow men, and I'm sure I will see more, and I will continue to try and talk to them each time.
Brian E. Orgeron
Covington, Louisiana
