Presidents and Bizarre Close Encounters: Bigfoot, Ghosts, Witches, and UFOs

What presidents have seen Bigfoot, witches, and UFOs? Here's a look at the close encounters reported by Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, and Thomas Jefferson:

Theodore Roosevelt and Bigfoot

Avid hunter and outdoorsman Theodore Roosevelt recorded a possible Bigfoot encounter in his 1893 book "The Wilderness Hunter". It wasn't Theodore Roosevelt himself that encountered the beast, but a fur trapper named Bauman. Despite his outrageous tale, Theodore Roosevelt notes that he felt Bauman really believed the tale he was telling due to the way he shuddered at some points during his story.

The event occurred near the Salmon River in Idaho where Bauman and his partner had decided to move from the place where they were trapping to a very wild and lonely pass in hopes of having better luck there. The two were a bit uneasy about trapping at the pass, however, since they'd heard a report that the half-eaten remains of a hunter had been found there a year before. But they concluded that there was plenty of game to be found there, and set up camp anyway.

After heading upstream and returning to camp later, the trappers were surprised t to find that something had ransacked their camp. Of course they assumed it was a bear and began tidying everything back up. However, Bauman's companion later examined the footprints the supposed bear had left, remarking that the creature had been walking on two legs. They investigated them further, pondering over whether or not the creature had actually been a human. They came to the conclusion that it was not, and tried to go to sleep for the night.

Late that night, Bauman was awakened by a noise and the strong smell of a wild beast. He saw a creature lurking in the shadows and fired at it, causing it to flee back into the woods. They didn't sleep well after the event, but left camp again the next morning to check their traps.

When they returned, their camp had again been destroyed by something. The creature left footprints again, and the men were certain it had to be walking on two legs after examining them once more. That night they heard the creature rustling in the woods surrounding their campsite, and even heard it let out a sinister-sounding, drawn-out moan. However, it never came near the camp (perhaps being wary of the men's fire). After this event, the men decided to leave the next afternoon.

After getting the sensation that they were being followed while they checked their traps for the last time, the uneasy men returned to camp. There were still three traps to go nearby, and Bauman volunteered to go gather them up. When he returned to camp, he didn't see his companion. Instead, he found his still-warm body lying beside a nearby tree. His neck had been broken, and there were four fang marks on the throat. Bauman again spotted the two-legged creature's footprints near the body.

And so ends the tale told to Theodore Roosevelt of a creature that sounds remarkably like a Bigfoot, Skunk Ape, Sasquatch, or whatever you like to call the mysterious bipedal humanoids that might lurk in our forests. So were the men fooled by a bear, or was the creature something still unidentified? We'll likely never know the answer, but it does make for one spooky tale of the dangers to be found in the wild (and it seems that it might have made a Bigfoot believer out of Theodore Roosevelt).

Andrew Jackson and the Bell Witch

Perhaps even more intriguing is the alleged encounter of Andrew Jackson with an entity known as the Bell Witch. As the story goes, a poltergeist that became known as the Bell Witch haunted John Bell and his family in the early 1800's. The entity caused quite a sensation, with reports that the disembodied female voice would carry on conversations and even shake hands with some individuals. However, it would also move objects around the home; throw dishes at the Bells; snatch food before it reached their mouths during meals; and slap and pinch the Bell children (sometimes even poking them with needles!). The belief seems to be that the spirit was that of Kate Batts, a mean-spirited neighbor of the Bells who felt that John Bell had cheated her in a land purchase.

The news of the Bell Witch spread, brining plenty of visitors to the Bell home in hopes of experiencing some of the paranormal activity themselves. One such person was Nashville resident Andrew Jackson, who traveled to Adams, Tennessee to investigate.

What allegedly happened is recorded in M. V. Ingram's 1894 book, "An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch". According to the book, the General and his men loaded up a wagon and headed to Adams in hope of having a little fun. Before they got to the house, their wagon seemed to freeze in place at one point in the road. The men investigated the wheels and even took the wagon apart, but could find no reason for it to be stuck. As they continued to be perplexed by their predicament, they allegedly heard a metallic voice from the bushes say, "All right General, let the wagon move on, I will see you again to-night." After this, their wagon was able to move again.

According to other versions of the story, Andrew Jackson and his men didn't let this experience deter them from visiting the Bell house, where they were slapped, pinched, and had their hair pulled by the Bell Witch. The men had enough by the next morning, with the witch getting the brave general to retreat back to from whence he came.
So is there any truth to this tale? Of course it's hard to say so long after the fact, but it is fun to think that a president encountered a real-life witch/ghost in the past (hopefully Christine O'Donnell's dabbling didn't pay off like that of Kate Batts).

Thomas Jefferson and a UFO

In 1894, a notice that appeared in "Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Volume 6, Part 1" referred to a UFO sighting by none other than Thomas Jefferson, who communicated the tale to the society.

The sighting took place on April 5, 1800 in Baton Rouge. The UFO was described as being the size of house, about 70 or 80 feet long, luminous and crimson red in color, and moving extremely rapidly over the heads of the spectators that witnessed it. Thomas Jefferson described the UFO as emitting a light resembling sunbeams that hit the surface of the Earth, and stated that some heat was also felt as it passed over. The object crashed in the woods, causing what felt like a "very sensible earthquake".

Upon investigation of the crash site, it was discovered that a large part of the ground where it landed was broken up and some of the vegetation scorched, but there's no report on any findings of a meteor or any other body at the crash site.

So did Thomas Jefferson witness a UFO crash landing, or a meteor hitting the Earth? It's very odd that there's no description of something being found at the crash site, but perhaps the UFO crashed and then took off again, or the meteor broke up or vaporized so that it couldn't be identified. Whatever the case, Jimmy Carter might be glad to know that he is not alone!

The Ghosts of the White House

While some Presidents have experienced the unknown first hand, there's one President rumored to be a part of the paranormal himself. One of the many ghosts believed to haunt the White House is that of Abraham Lincoln. It would make sense for Abraham Lincoln to haunt the White House as a ghost; after all, he and his wife Mary Todd reportedly held many séances there in hopes of contacting their deceased son. After Lincoln's death, Mary Todd tried to contact her husband's spirit through séances, and thought she succeeded in doing so. There's even a spooky picture (although it's probably a double exposure) that shows an Abraham Lincoln-like ghostly figure. Calvin Coolidge's wife was the first to reportedly see Abraham Lincoln's ghost standing in a window in the oval office, and Winston Churchill allegedly spied him while getting out of the tub in the Lincoln bedroom. Other ghosts rumored to haunt the White House are a demon cat (supposedly an omen that something terrible is about to occur); a menacing British soldier; Andrew Jackson; and Abigail Adams. Unfortunately, while the White House seems to be a hotbed of paranormal activity, it's doubtful that the TAPS team will get to visit anytime soon.

So if anyone ever laughs at your own close encounter, now you can counter with tales of how some of the most powerful men in the world have come in contact with the unknown.

SOURCES:

http://bigfootsightings.org/2008/05/02/theodore-roosevelts-bigfoot-story/
http://paranormal.about.com/od/trueghoststories/a/aa041706_2.htm
http://www.uforadar.com/2010/12/required-reading-ufo-report-from-thomas-jefferson/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_UFO_incident
http://www.haunted-places.com/WhiteHouseGhosts.htm