Ghostly Activity at the White House

In my post entitled, Haunted White House I recount several sightings of ghosts in the White House located in Washington D.C.

Here are more recent stories.

A Fireplace

Jenna Bush Hager is the daughter of George W. Bush the president of the United States from 2001 to 2009.

In 2009, after her father left office, on an appearance with Jay Leno, when he was still the host of the Tonight Show Bush stated: “she saw ghosts during her time at the White House.”

One night as she slept she was awakened by the sound of a ghost and then 1920s music coming from her bedroom’s fireplace.

A week later, a phone ringing in this room awakened both her and her husband. They then heard what sounded like opera music coming from the fireplace.

Thinking they were crazy they asked around and were told by staff that strange music was heard in this room all the time.

During this interview she mentioned she had not seen Lincoln’s ghost, but she “wished she had.”

As I have mentioned in other posts Abraham Lincoln’s ghost has been seen at the White House several times.

Winston Churchill’s Refusal

Lincoln's Bedroom

While staying in the White House during WWll, Winston Churchill stayed in the Abraham Lincoln bedroom.

The story goes that after a relaxing bath, the Prime Minister of England walked into the adjoining bedroom, still nude.

He lit up a cigar and was drinking a glass of scotch when he noticed Abraham Lincoln’s apparition standing by the fireplace.

The two are said to have stared at each other, and then Lincoln faded away.

One popular legend states that Churchill stated upon seeing Lincoln, “Mr. President I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage.”

In subsequent visits Churchill refused to stay in the Lincoln bedroom again.

Winston Churchill

Hilary Clinton’s and Harry Truman’s Impressions

When former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton appeared on a talk show with Rosie O’Donnell she stated that there is something creepy about the White House at night.

She often sensed that there were former presidents and others who had worked in the White House present. She stated she knew there were ghosts.

“It is a big old house, and when the lights are out, it is dark and quiet. Any movement at all catches your attention.”

One thing Clinton and Bush can
agree upon--the White House
is haunted.

Harry Truman wrote to his wife while president, “I sit here in this old house, all the while listening to the ghosts walk up and down the hallway.”

At 4:00 o’clock, I was awakened by 3 knocks on my bedroom door. No one was there.

“Damn place is haunted, sure as shootin.”

Haunted U.S. Capitol

This building located in Washington D.C. holds the U. S. Senate and House of Representatives. It was first built in 1800, and ever since several non-famous and famous ghosts haunt it. 

In another post entitled Harbinger Spirits I wrote about the Demon Cat who scares people in the basement of this building, a variety of other activity that has been observed occurs in and around this same area. 

Many of the witnesses to this strange activity are Capitol guards, who patrol this massive building’s rooms and corridors on the nightshift.

These guards report that late at night as they cross Statuary Hall they hear footsteps following closely behind them. 

This disturbed one guard so much he decided to investigate further. For several nights in a row, he wore soft-soled boots that he knew would not make noise, but he still heard the footsteps follow him. 

Ruling out the possibility that what he heard was his own steps echoing, he then tried to pinpoint the footsteps he did hear. At one point, he felt he had cornered them, but then to his surprise he heard them in another part of the hall.

Lifesize statues of famous statesmen from American history line Statuary Hall. Originally this area was the chamber for the House of Representatives. 

A brass tablet set in stone marks the spot where the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams desk was located. 

It was at this desk that Adams suffered a stroke in 1848 while giving an impassioned speech against honoring the generals who won the Mexican War. He was removed to his office where he died. Adams’ ghost has been seen doing what he loved most—giving speeches. *

Yet another phenomenon that has been witnessed in Statuary Hall is not true for the guard that reported it was fired later for drinking on the job. I place it here because it is amusing and it is a well-known legend that has been past down for many years. 

This guard stated that at midnight he would see the statues in Statuary Hall leave their pedestals and float around. He said that they seemed to enjoy doing this particularly on New Year’s Eve.

One ghost that is seen often roaming the Capitol corridors is that of a French engineer and architect, Charles L’Enfant who was commissioned by President George Washington to design the then Washington City. L’Enfant bucked heads often with Congress over his plans. Not willing to compromise he was eventually fired. 

Sadly, in 1825 he died a pauper his work mostly unpaid for and under appreciated. Ironically, in 1889 Congress changed their minds. They took his work from the archives and used them. 

Witnesses that have seen L’Enfant’s ghost state he appears depressed. He is described as small in statue and is seen carrying a roll of parchment under one arm. He is observed in the Capitol's basement pacing the floor and shaking his head.

Another well-known ghost is that of President Ulysses S. Grant’s vice president Henry Wilson. 

Spas or baths were imported from Italy and installed in the Capitol’s basement for the congressmen to use. It is said that Wilson was overly fond of these tubs. 

In November of 1875 Wilson caught a respiratory infection after bathing. His ghost is heard coughing and sneezing in the corridor that heads to the vice president’s office. He is also seen returning from the basement spa wrapped in towels.

One guard reported that one night as he guarded the coffin of a Tennessee Senator that was laying in state that he was shocked to see Vice President Wilson approach him and then just vanish. 

Yet another ghost that vanishes is a man that several guards have seen late at night beneath the hall of the House of Representatives. This figure stands erect, has a large mustache and always has his hands clasped behind its back. Guards have even approached this figure thinking he was an intruder only to see him quickly fade away.

The list continues. 

Another ghost that is seen is of a man who while working on top of a scaffolding in 1860 fell off and was killed. He is seen walking the corridor near where he died. 

In 1881 President James Garfield was shot and killed. His assassin, Charles Guiteau is seen on a stairway leading to the basement. 

One more late night ghost that is observed on a regular basis at 12:30 P. M. is General Logan. The guards recognize his long hair, military stance, and the hat he always wore while alive. He is seen silently opening the door to the room that once housed the Committee on Military and Militia on the senate side of the building.

On the marble stairs that lead to the House Gallery there is a stain that will not come out—even though it has been cleaned countless times. 

This stain is the blood of William Taulbee, a former congressman from Kentucky who in 1890 got in a fight with a newspaper reporter, Charles Kincaid. It is said the two argued over some negative articles that Kincaid had published about Taulbee. Kincaid pulled out a gun and shot and killed Taulbee. 

Legend states that whenever a reporter trips on these stairs it is the ghost of William Taulbee taking revenge.

*  John Quincy Adams is unique in that he served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives after he was president.

The Haunted Octagon House

I read about the history of the Octagon House in Washington D. C. when I was doing research on Dolley Madison. Her and her husband, James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, lived there from 1814 till the end of Madison’s second term. 

The British burnt down the White House during the War of 1812. The Octagon House was one of the few structures in Washington, that was spared by the British.

Colonel John Tayloe, a Virginia plantation owner, had this three-story home built in 1800, at the encouragement of his good friend George Washington. 

The house was nicknamed “The Octagon,” because it was designed with six sides, to fit the property, it was built upon. 

It has a stunning oval central staircase with many odd-shaped rooms. It originally had tunnels in the rear that led to the White House nearby. It is said these tunnels were used as part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War.

John Tayloe moved his family, a wife, and fifteen children, from their Virginia home to the Octagon when it was completed. They lived there until 1855, except during and after the War of 1812. During the war, Tayloe rented the house to the French ambassador to the United States, and then later to the Madisons.

The first spirit known to haunt the house was one of John Tayloe’s daughters. This daughter fell in love with a British officer, in the early 1800s. 

John Tayloe objecting to this relationship would not let this officer enter his home. 

One night, Tayloe and his daughter argued bitterly over this matter. Frustrated, his daughter took a candle and stormed upstairs. Tayloe heard a shriek and then saw his daughter tumble over the railing and down the stairwell to her death. 

It is not known if she tripped and fell, or if she took her own life.

Her restless spirit soon started to haunt the house. For years, at night, people have reported seeing a shadow of a flickering candle as it moves slowly up the wall along the staircase. Many report hearing a shriek right after this sight, and then the sound of something substantial hitting the bottom of the stairwell. An area rug is seen moving in this exact spot.

To John Tayloe’s horror, this tragic history repeated itself several years later, when his family moved back into the Octagon House after James Madison left office. This same staircase claimed a second member of the family. 

This daughter had eloped against her father’s will and returned to ask for his forgiveness. They met on the staircase, an angry Tayloe tried to pass by her. She lost her footing, and like her ill-fated sister, she fell to her death. Her ghost, too, haunts the scene of this tragedy.

After Mrs. Tayloe died in 1855, John Tayloe sold the house. During the following years, Dolley Madison’s ghost has been seen at the Octagon. In my post about her, I write about reported sightings of her at the Octagon here. 

Another “residual” ghost that is seen is that of a gambler, who while at the Octagon, during the Civil War, was accused of cheating and then shot. His ghost is seen repeatedly at the moment of his death.

Other frequent reports of phenomena include: thumping sounds within the walls, moans, screams, sighs, the clanking of swords, smells of phantom food cooking in the kitchen, the appearance of footprints in otherwise undisturbed dust, and the scent of lilacs—this was known to be Dolley’s favorite scent. 

Several witnesses have reported seeing the apparitions of footmen attending ghostly carriages.

One of the most compelling stories is about the sounds of thumping within the walls. This phenomenon was heard for almost 100 years, until 1902, when the American Institute of Architects purchased the property. 

During their renovation, they found the skeleton of a young girl behind the wall, her hands were clenched. It was discovered that during the French occupancy of the house, a soldier killed his slave girl lover, and hid her body within one of the walls. 

The thumping sounds stopped when her body was given a proper burial.

The Octagon House is considered one of Washington D.C.'s most haunted places. Today the American Architectural Foundation preserves it as a museum.