PARANORMAL PUB - WHITE HOUSE GHOSTS

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

When I started my research, I had in my mind to write about the Ghosts of the White House.  I thought, instead of all Washington DC, I’d concentrate on the most famous address there, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As you’ll soon see, I wound up narrowing my topic even further because as I read about the White House ghosts, there was one that totally amazed and intrigued me. The most seen, most documented and most famous ghost of the White House is, of course, Abraham Lincoln, our 16^th President.

Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd were both believers in the paranormal. After the death of their son Willie, in the White House, many séances were held in attempt to contact his spirit. The President was in attendance in at least 2 of these events. It is also documented that Lincoln had premonitions of his own assassination 3 days before his death. It was immediately after his death in April of 1865, that reports of his ghost appearing at the White House began, although they weren’t formally documented at first.

Grace Coolidge, wife of Calvin Coolidge (1923-29), was the first to formally report seeing the ghost of Lincoln. She reported seeing him looking out the window of the Oval Office, hands clenched behind his back, towards the Potomac River and the area where Civil War battle grounds once stood. Another first lady to admit that Lincoln haunted the White House was Lady Bird Johnson. She felt his presence while watching television one night.

It’s said that Lincoln’s ghost was especially active during times of great strife for our country. Many sightings occurred during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, perhaps because it was a most difficult time in the history of the United States.

Eleanor Roosevelt used the Lincoln bedroom as her study during this time (1933-45). She wrote about feeling his presence while she worked late at night. Her assistant was also reported to have run from the room screaming when she encountered Mr. Lincoln’s ghost. Even the Roosevelt’s dog Fala was noted for barking wildly whenever he approached Eleanor’s study.

In this same room, where Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was staying as a guest, a knock came at the door in the middle of the night. She got up, opened the door and reported that the ghost of Lincoln stood there wearing his famous top hat. She fainted and after that, refused to stay in the room again.

Another famous guest in the Lincoln Bedroom was Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill visited the White House during WWII. He was reportedly relaxing in a hot bath with a whiskey and a cigar. He emerged from the bathroom, naked except for the stogie sticking out of his mouth and came face to face with the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. The two stared at each other for a minute and then the apparition faded away. Churchill also refused to stay in the Lincoln bedroom again. The Prime Minister told this story many times and wrote it in his memoirs.

Gerald Ford's daughter, Susan, saw Lincoln's ghost in the room in the 1980s. In 1987, Ronald Reagan's daughter, Maureen, and her husband, Dennis Revell, both saw Lincoln's transparent form next to the bedroom's fireplace.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bess Truman, Herbert Hoover, Jackie Kennedy and Ulysses S. Grant are just a few more of the people who have witnessed Lincoln’s visits. Even Hillary Clinton admitted that she felt a presence in the White House. It seems President Lincoln had never really left, even after all these years.

So now you can see why I narrowed my topic to only Lincoln’s ghost! But there is more to come. Another ghost haunts who is closely related to Lincoln and you’ll see why next time in the Paranormal Pub!