26-06-2025
Mum claims son lived past life after nursery revelation
Laighanne McLaughlin was left stunned when nursery staff pulled her aside for a chat about her child.
They told her that he had repeatedly mentioned a man named John Wilson throughout the day.
In a social media video, Laighanne recounted the conversation.
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She said: "I was confused and she [key worker] told me he was playing outside with flags and started speaking about John Wilson.
"I looked at her, puzzled, and told her I don't know anyone of that name."
The key worker then informed an even more baffled Laighanne that her son claimed John Wilson was none other than himself—the "flag man in America on a mountain" and also referred to him as a friend.
She shared that both she and the nursery staff were left "stumped."
Laighanne said: "She fetched the iPad and suggested we Google it to see if anything came up.
"My son was only three and hadn't begun using iPads, let alone being able to read properly."
The search revealed a photograph of Captain John Wilson of Co.C, 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment (Union).
Laighanne said: "Both of us were in disbelief at what we saw next and it left us feeling flabbergasted."
She then shared an old black and white photo, adding: "This is Captain John Wilson of Co. C, 8th Kentucky Infantry Regiment (Union)."
In another photo, Wilson was seen with fellow soldiers, which led Laighanne to reveal: "He was the first Union soldier to plant his regiment's battle flag on the summit of Lookout Mountain (during the Battle of Lookout Mountain during the American Civil War on 24th November 1863)."
For more than ten years, Laighanne, from North Ayrshire, has been bewildered by her son's seemingly inexplicable knowledge of Civil War-era facts.
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She said: "No three-year-old could have known that information.
"Was my son actually there? There's no explanation I can think of why he would say he knew him and he was his friend."
To add a further layer of intrigue to the story, she revealed that John Wilson lived just four miles away from Irvine, Kentucky, and her family resides in Irvine, Scotland.
John Wilson's obituary, titled Death of a Hero, stated that he died of cancer at 74 in his Station Camp, Kentucky home.
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The story has sparked several similar tales from people on social media.
One person recalled: "Lost my 25-year-old brother when I was eight months pregnant with my 1st daughter.
"When she was three, she pointed at an old school photo of my late brother and said, 'that's me when I was your brother'.
"She wouldn't have even known who was in the photo. She used to say similar things that he did, and she has one dimple, just like him."
Another shared: "My son, when he was four, said his name was Peter (it's not) and he died on a hot air balloon when he was 57."
Amazed, a third individual declared: "This is amazing, makes me wonder!
"My three-year-old keeps telling me about how in 1965 he had a brown dog called Jack, and he talks about him all the time and said he misses him."
Another shared: "When my sister was little, she would refuse to acknowledge our parents as her own.
"She would cry, saying that her parents died in the war. The creepiest thing that she did was when our oldest cousin took us to the cemetery, and my sister screamed when she saw the picture of one of our great grandparents, saying to take him out of there, and that she was him, and they cut his leg and a lot of rambling about his life.
"My grandmother confirmed that he indeed had an amputated leg, after the war, and he died in his thirties, leaving his wife with 6 children to raise alone."
