There have been many ghost sightings in the White House. Some of the ghosts are former presidents, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Other ghosts are people who worked in the White House, such as maids and butlers. During the past two centuries, the tunnels underground and huge halls have created many mysterious stories in connection with the building. There are ghosts of American soldiers from the civil war. Interestingly, during that era, the building was used as a hospital. The ghost of John Quincy Adams is known too. He often shouts his last words in one of the longue. The building is an oasis for ghost hunters.
The demon cat
The story of the Demon Cat of The White House has been known for years. Some people claim that they have already seen signs of the beast living in the building. But none of these stories is as shocking as the Demon Cat. According to Steve Livengood tour guide, the reason why this story is so popular is partly because of the physical evidence. The reports are dated back to the 19. century. The first sighting of the cat took place after the civil war. In the beginning, it was seen by guards at night. It was not unusual to keep cats in buildings because they hunted for rodents. In the most popular story, one of the guards went for his walk when he noticed a black cat. As the cat was approaching him, it became bigger and bigger reaching the size of a tiger. The guard was so frightened that he jumped back and at that moment the cat was gone. But there are more stories following this one. Allegedly, people got so shocked when they saw the cat that they collapsed and died. Some people connected the appearance of the cat with crises and tragedies. The cat was reported to be seen in the days prior to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and John. F. Kennedy. According to the workers in the White House, these stories are evidence of the presence of the cat.
The cat, however, is said that it left its footprints on the building. There was a gas explosion in 1898 and some damaged stones had to be replaced by cement. While the cement was drying up, a cat crossed it leaving its footprints on the surface of the cement. Some believe this cat was that cat. You can still see these prints leaving the old room of the Highest Court and you can count as many as six or eight prints. Is it possible that the cat marked the building? There are those who think the truth behind these stories is quite realistic. It occurred that the guards were in fact the relatives of the senators who often had alcohol problems. The guards sometimes drank so much that they collapsed and cats in the building approached them and they licked their faces. From that close distance, these cats looked huge, indeed. These guards could not be punished besides being told off because their supervisors were their own relatives. When this happened, the guard was sent home to rest. When the other guards realised that coming across the cat leads to an extra day off, the history started. Tour guides in the White House have never seen the Demon Cat nowadays and they have never heard of sightings. But legends are an important part of the building. They make it alive. However, parts of the buildings are not only legends but the souls of those who built them and those who made history in them. They are all there.
The ghosts of presidents
The ghost of Abraham Lincoln in the White House is well-known. The first and only president to be assassinated (on a Friday, ironically enough), Lincoln’s soul roamed the White House for some time before he was able to find peace. There is a story in that a young man was walking through the White House on a tour and saw Lincoln’s ghost in the Oval Office. He turned his tour group around immediately, feeling that he had glimpsed too much of the president’s private life. Abraham Lincoln is often seen sitting in a rocking chair or studying.
The ghost of Andrew Johnson, the first of the impeached presidents, haunts the White House to this day. It is said that he wanders the corridors and the private quarters and converses with the servants of the staff. The president always has a home-cooked meal waiting for him at his favourite table.
The ghost of Thomas Jefferson has been haunting the White House for decades. At times in the early morning a tall, thin, almost translucent figure would be seen on the second floor. Servants would run out of the way as the figure drifted down the hallway.
White House workers reported seeing James Monroe’s ghost and hearing his disembodied voice echoing through the rooms. The faint sound of a man’s voice was heard behind closed doors and through the solid walls. The words were indistinguishable, but they were warm and friendly. The disembodied voices of James Monroe and his wife, Elizabeth, were said to have been heard in the rooms where each had lived; voices cheerful, friendly and warm.
Ghosts are often spotted in the Oval Office, nodding solemnly and sitting in chairs. The most well-known of these ghosts is President Zachary Taylor, who died of a sudden illness while sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. His ghost has been seen by many staffers. The ghost will often walk around the Oval Office, pausing to examine paintings and other decorations. The president’s ghost has never said a word, but he seems aware of the goings-on in the White House.
The ghost of Franklin Roosevelt is a well-known ghost in the White House. It is said that he walks the halls because he loves the White House and wants to make sure it runs smoothly. His spirit possesses empty rooms and rattles of doorknobs. People who have laid eyes on this white spectre report that it is as large as a man, but not a man. It has enormous shoulders, its arms draped with fabric, like a cloak. His face is the colour of linens in a well-lit room, and his eyes are full of sadness and joy.
The floorboards are worn from centuries of use. Sometimes when people stand in a certain spot, the timbers shudder and the air feels oddly different, like a cold draft touches the back of your neck. It might just be the rotting wood bending under your weight. But sometimes the White House ghosts are especially active. John Adams stalks the second floor or in the library, and Benjamin Franklin takes his afternoon strolls on the main floor and through the garden. Some have said they saw both of these men in one day.
As you see, the White House is not only famous for its history but for its ghosts. Harry S Truman’s late-night card games go on without him. The spectre of Abraham Lincoln sometimes appears in the State Dining Room. Former resident Helen Taft would occasionally enter the Red Room and tap her cane in a very distinct manner, alarming the Secret Service agents at her heels. The rooms have been restored to their original appearance, each with an era-appropriate flavour as if the ghosts are having a reunion. Now let’s dive into some well-known stories.
The ghosts of First Ladies
First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln also haunts the White House. She is often seen in the mirror. Her face obscures itself in the reflection, like a ghost from a burning house seeking rescue. She has nobody that anyone has ever seen: only an outline, like a small child’s drawing of a human form. The night she died their dog began to howl and refused to stop. Her husband had her coffin placed in the Green Room.
Ghosts of former first ladies, including Abigail Adams, haunt the Red Room. She is often seen wearing her wedding dress. Abigail died of typhoid fever at the age of thirty-four, shortly after Jefferson took office. The small spirit of a tiny woman with bright brown eyes and pale skin and dark brown hair–a woman in her thirties–floated toward him, her dress rippling behind her as if caught in a breeze, her long white gloves like tendrils stretching out from her wrists as she reached for him. Her bare toes pointed down as she drifted above the floor. Her feet were buried inside what looked like an old-fashioned pair of shoes, tied up in ribbons and tied over her ankles, with one button clasped around her ankle bone.
Even in death, Jacqueline Kennedy is unforgettable. Her ethereal spirit roams the White House, a seductive whisper that could be heard late at night. It whispers through the halls of the White House at night, and to those who listen, it stirs romantic passions, as well as deep grief.
The ghosts of the staff
There is a ghost named Sally, who was President Andrew Jackson’s slave. She is one of the more friendly ghosts in the White House. She is wearing a frock coat and a long tie, and she has her hair done up in a bun. She has pale skin and black eyes, like a sunken tombstone on a bright day. Another ghost of a butler who was persuaded to hang himself in the pantry.
There was a young black maid who lived in the White House and died mysteriously. On certain nights she is said to have returned, searching for her master and disturbed by her plight. Her ghost is sometimes present. She is said to have a slight Caribbean accent. Some have seen her in the White House looking for her master.
The ghosts of the witches from a legend supposedly haunt the White House. A few people claim to have seen them, mostly in the West Wing where the First Lady has an office. The witches are said to drift out of the walls once a year on Halloween and walk across the grounds of the White House and over to the President’s bedroom, where they make a terrible screeching noise, like fingernails on a chalkboard. They are said to be the female phantoms of condemned witches from Salem, Massachusetts. They entered into a terrible battle with George Washington and his men over ownership of the White House after it was completed, and as a result, they were forever cursed to walk its grounds and never rest. Some say they are also bound to murder anyone who takes possession of the White House.
The ghosts of soldiers who died at the White House during the Revolutionary War are probably present as well. Their silent, suffering spirits may drift up to the walls with every breath. If you listen closely, you may hear them calling to each other, their voices thin and faint as the autumn wind. The ghosts linger in the shadow of the White House and may appear translucent, almost see-through until they come into contact with a person.
The ghosts of slaves who were brought to the White House and forced to work there, and then were killed when the White House was burned probably also haunt the building. The slaves probably built the White House by day and had to spend many nights shivering in their beds on the floor. They worked in secret, whispering and hiding their plans from their masters, hoping that someday they would be able to build a place they could call home. This is their home now. They are not so enslaved any longer, but they still cannot rest in peace.
Many Native Americans who were killed and buried on the property surrounding the White House may still haunt it. They may walk in the halls, or they may be trapped in the place of their death, haunting the area. This land was once a cemetery for Native Americans, who were hunted down and killed at will as part of Washington, DC’s development. The pool of fear and malice that settles in the land where thousands have been murdered is known to be a place where ghosts rest, their souls held to this world by the brutality which killed them.
The others are more like shadows, nebulous shapes that appear for a second and then disappear. The building continues to be a meeting site for presidents, although it is now more modern than it was when it was first built. It seems fitting that the ghosts should hang around—the ghosts of presidents. The air smells of old wood and masonry, but the voices stay; they come from the cicadas, and they whisper in the hallway. Time has changed the building, but it has done nothing to change history.