White House Ghosts: The First Ladies

Haunted houses are commonplace in America, but never has there been a house so haunted as our nation's capital, the White House. Since its construction near the end of the 18^th century, countless legends have been born about the spirits of those who never left. Most of the hauntings involve past Presidents, commanders in chief who never wish to leave their post. But behind every President is a First Lady, who makes her mark in the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as well. Like their Presidential husbands, First Ladies make their impression known inside the walls of the White House, influencing their husbands' policy and decision making and also adding to the mysticism of American politics.

Oftentimes these ladies are the driving force behind holding séances and conjuring past spirits. Mary Todd Lincoln tried communicating with both her 11-year-old deceased son and her assassinated husband Abe. Grace Coolidge, wife of Calvin, was the first to see the specter who we know as Abe Lincoln's ghost. Jackie Kennedy, Margaret Truman, and Ladybird Johnson all saw him too. Nancy Reagan is known to have called on an astrologer many times during her eight year stay in the White House. Hillary Clinton is said to have fallen into a trance and channeled the spirits of another famous first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, not to mention Gandhi. Perhaps someday a First Lady of the United States will channel former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

First Ladies sometimes need no such channeling to make their existence known. According to Haunted-Places.com, Dolley Madison, wife of our country's 4^th President James Madison, frequently showed herself during the administration of Woodrow Wilson, a hundred years after she lived there. Dolley was first lady from 1809-1817.Dolley's favorite place to haunt is the Rose Garden, which she planted a century earlier. Perhaps she felt as if she were protecting the garden after Woodrow's wife ordered for the garden to be dug up. Workmen kept seeing Dolley, and orders to dig up the garden were buried. The Rose Garden exists unharmed to this day.

Another First Lady whose ghost has been seen more than once at the White House is Abigail Adams, wife of second President (and first President to live in the White House) John Adams. Because the White House wasn't fully complete when the Adams family moved in, the inadequate heating created a problem for drying laundry in an age before washers and driers. Perhaps this is why the ghost of Abigail Adams can sometimes be seen in the East Room on the first floor, which was the warmest and driest room in the White House. There were numerous sightings of her during the Taft administration. Often she was seen with her arms outstretched, just as if she were carrying a load of laundry. At least she's not in pain, as it sounds like Frances Cleveland's ghost is. Her cries can be heard coming from a second floor bedroom. In 1891 Frances became the first First Lady to give birth in the White House, to a daughter named Ruth.

Whether First Ladies are channeling up past spirits or doing the haunting themselves, they still insist on making their presence very well known. Perhaps they are just finishing up on chores, or protecting sacred grounds. Or maybe they are all there, still living their White House years under our noses, vaguely aware of us, as we are of them. After all, the White House is an old, big house consisting of six floors and over 130 rooms, which means it's plenty big enough for both the living and the dead.