The Haunted White House

Construction on the iconic “White House” started in the 1790s. In 1800, John and Abigail Adams moved into the White House. Throughout its 215 years, this grand old house, home to 43 presidents, has also been home to apparitions. “The house is haunted,” wrote President Harry Truman. Over the years, presidents, their family, dignitaries and other guests of the White House have experienced sightings. President Abraham Lincoln has the most sightings. Famous persons that have experienced his “ghost” include Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower, as well as First Ladies Grace Coolidge, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson. In the 1940s, two foreign dignitaries had encounters with Mr. Lincoln – one was Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain. After his evening bath, the Prime Minister walked into his bedroom wearing only a cigar and there was Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Churchill was reported to have said, “Good evening Mr. President. You seem to have me at a disadvantage.” Apparently, Mr. Lincoln smiled and then disappeared. The Queen of the Netherlands, Wilhelmina, was staying in the White House when she heard a knock at her door. When she opened it, there stood the apparition of Lincoln, complete with coat and top hat. She fainted. “Old Hickory” (better known as President Andrew Jackson) often used swear words to get his point across. His bedroom was the Rose Room. To this day, that room is one of the most active areas for his specter, where loud laughing and cussing have been heard. President William Harry Harrison haunts the attic above the Oval Office – he can be heard rummaging around, as if looking for some paperwork he left behind. President Harry Truman wrote to his wife Bess about the events that happen in the White House: “I sit here in this old house and work on foreign affairs, read reports and work on speeches, all the while listening to ghosts walk up and down the hallway – and even right here in this study!” Strange as it seems, the past Presidents’ ghosts obviously have some unfinished business.