The President of the United States lives in a very historic and very haunted home. Construction on the “President’s palace” began in 1792 and was overseen by George Washington—though Washington never lived long enough to spend a single night in the home. On November 1, 1800, President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, would be the first to get the honour of sleeping there.
The history of the White House is a direct reflection of life in the United States. The mansion has always been centre stage for celebrations, mourning, controversy, and perseverance. It was completely gutted by fire set by the British during the War of 1812, and some have reported seeing a ghostly Redcoat still wandering the grounds.
Some presidents bore the weight of the nation on their shoulders during times of crisis. But no president has had to deal with the pressures that Abraham Lincoln endured—trying to hold a country together that was at war with itself. Not surprisingly, Lincoln is the most prominent spirit encountered in the White House today.
What is now the Lincoln Bedroom was actually the executive office when Lincoln served as president. The room is a hot spot for paranormal activity—staff have reported the lights turning themselves on and off, and doors opening and closing. But Lincoln is seen in other parts of the building as well.
Tony Savoy, White House operations foreman, discussed his encounter with the ghost of President Lincoln in an interview on the official White House Website:
“It was early one morning, and I was taking care of the plants up on the second floor. I used to come in early in the morning and turn the lights on and walk down the hall in the dark. When I turned the light on one morning, he was sitting there outside his office with his hands over top of each other, legs crossed, and was looking straight ahead.
He had a gray, charcoal [coloured] pin-striped suit on, and he had a pair of three-button spats turned over on the side with black shoes on. He was sitting there, and he startled me and I stopped. And when I blinked, he was gone. And I left there and went down the stairs and told assistant usher Nelson Pierce what I had seen. And he said I’m just one of the other ones that had seen him throughout the house over the past years.”
Other notable specters reported at the White House include Dolley Madison’s angry ghost standing by her beloved rose garden when some groundskeepers were coming to remove it, and the ghost of Lincoln’s son, William Wallace, who died in 1862. The young boy was one of the earliest ghost reports at the White House—even making it into Mary Todd Lincoln’s personal correspondence.
Written by — Jeff Belanger Founder, Ghostvillage.com
THE WHITE HOUSE
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20500
TEL: 1 (202) 456-2121
WEBSITE: www.whitehouse.gov
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of Haunted Places -Ghostly Locales from around the World – Compiled & Edited by Jeff Belanger – Copyright 2005 by Jeff Belanger