White House is one of the most haunted houses in the U.S., haunted by the ghosts of former residents. President Lincoln’s ghost has been spotted in the Lincoln Bedroom; President William Henry Harrison, who died in the White House, is said to have returned in the afterlife; and first ladies Dolley Madison and Abigail Adams supposedly still linger, tending to the home. D.C. ghost tours take visitors through other allegedly haunted locations, including the National Building Museum, the Congressional Cemetery, and official government buildings.
The White House may be home to the president, but it is also rumored to house many illustrious ghosts within its storied walls. President Ronald Reagan reportedly entertained dinner party guests with stories of his dog barking at invisible specters and his daughter, Maureen, waking to a transparent figure looking out the window of the Lincoln Bedroom. It may have been President Lincoln himself, returning to his former home in the hopes of reuniting with his wife or son. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill reportedly encountered Lincoln’s ghost too, while he was stepping out of the bathtub.
Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, held seances in the White House, according to Mental Floss, in hopes of contacting their son, Willie, who died of typhoid, presumably from contaminated water pumped into the White House. They never contacted their son, but they did claim to get in touch with President Andrew Jackson, who was loitering in his former bedroom.
According to the The White House Historical Association, President William Henry Harrison, the first president to die in the White House, continues his stay there. It’s not just former presidents who haunt the halls of the highest office in the U.S. — Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison, is said to visit the gardens she helped plant, and Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, is known to do her laundry in the East Room.
*Credit: Travel and Leisure
