Hauntings in America : the White House Ghosts

There is no shortage of haunted houses in America, but perhaps America's most haunted house is the most famous house of all. The residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue known simply as the White House was built sometime near the end of the 18^th Century, and today it's composed of 6 stories of 132 rooms and 412 doors. With so many rooms, is it any wonder that some of them aren't haunted by past residents and presidents alike? The more doors in a house, the more of a chance some of them might open and close on their own. But who is haunting the executive mansion and playing havoc on our senses of reality? Most obvious of all, past presidents are the most frequent haunters of the White House and for some of them their hauntings are more memorable than their tenures in office.

Take William Henry Harrison, for example. His presidency lasted less than 32 short days back in 1841 yet his ghost can still be heard, rummaging through the White House attic, 168 years later. Harrison was the first President to die while in office, of pneumonia on April 4, 1841. Had he known his presidency would've been so short, William Henry Harrison probably wouldn't have spent two precious hours of it reading his 8,000 word inaugural address. But then again, maybe that's what he's been spending the last 168 years rummaging through the White House attic looking for.

Shortly before Harrison another future specter resided in the White House by the name of Andrew Jackson. Jackson was an abrasive fellow, and he was elected the seventh President of the United States in 1828. His toughness earned him the nickname "Old Hickory" so it should come as no surprise to most that death alone couldn't drive him from the White House. In the Rose Bedroom where he used to sleep, White House staff have heard a hearty laughter like Jackson was said to have. Mary Todd Lincoln used to hear cursing from Old Hickory's ghost, and an aid to Lyndon Johnson heard the same sort of yelling in the Rose Bedroom in 1964. Others have heard Jackson stomping around the White House floors in his heavy boots down the halls. Clearly Andrew Jackson was never a quiet fellow, not even in death.

But the White House is most frequented by another President, this one much more well known to the annals of American history. Abraham Lincoln, arguably this nation's best President, served the people during the country's most threatening time to the Union - The Civil War. But America's turmoils were not the only thing haunting Lincoln in his life. In 1862, Abraham lost his 11-year-old son, Willie, to typhoid fever. According to Haunted-Places.com, Abraham and his wife Mary Todd often held séances in the Green Room to contact Willie's spirit, successfully. Willie Lincoln is also said to have communicated directly with the Ulysses Grant administration. But Willie's father has been a much more active spirit within the walls of the White House.

Abe Lincoln is said to have dreamed of his own death. He told Mary Todd that he saw his own assassination three days before he was shot by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. Since that fateful day, the ghost of Lincoln has been seen at the White House more frequently than some of our more recent vacation loving commanders in chief. Calvin Coolidge's wife, Grace, was the first person to spot Lincoln's ghost standing in a window in the Oval Office, and he reappeared to her repeatedly. FDR's valet was so spooked by the ghost of Honest Abe that he ran from the White House screaming. President Harrison's bodyguard once took matters into his own hands when he attended a séance to plead with Lincoln to quiet down and let him sleep at night. Ladybird Johnson, wife of Lyndon, saw Abe while she was watching television. Ronald Reagan's daughter and son-in-law both witnessed Lincoln standing next to the fireplace in the Lincoln bedroom. Lincoln's ghost has been blamed for cold and icy spots in various rooms, as well as turning back on chandelier lights after they'd been shut off. If these eye witness accounts aren't convincing, consider the fact that Lincoln's ghost has appeared to both Winston Churchill and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. In Churchill's case, Lincoln was leaning against the mantle of the fireplace as the nude prime minister exited the bathroom. Lincoln slowly faded away, but Churchill's embarrassment did not. He refused to sleep there again. Queen Wilhelmina, fortunately, was clothed when she spotted Lincoln's ghost. One night as she stayed in the Lincoln bedroom, she was awoken with a knock at the door. She opened the door to Lincoln's ghost and promptly fainted. With his many sightings, Lincoln's ghost, like Lincoln himself, seems an introspective and troubled soul.

Whether or not these ex-Presidents still really roam the halls and haunt the rooms of the White House, it's clear that something about them remains. Perhaps they're just memories materializing into celestial visions of great leaders forever trapped in our subconscious. Or perhaps they really never leave office, once we elect them and trust them with the most important job on earth. Either way, the White House doesn't seem destined to ever rest in peace.