I am thinking of a house, it has 32 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels. There are 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, 3 elevators and it comes with five full-time chefs, a tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool, Movie Theater, and bowling lane. Oh, did I mention it also comes with ghosts from some of the highest ranking people in our history. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and of course it is the White House but also possible one of the most haunted places in America.
Though maybe not as well known as some of his ghostly companions, David Burns does hold the distinction of being the oldest ghost in the White House. Mr. Burns donated the land that the White House is sitting on. There are two particular stories about Mr. Burns, one is told by a valet to Franklin Delano Roosevelt named Cesar Carrera. He was in the Yellow Oval room one day when he heard someone in a distance saying “I’m Mr. Burns”. Of course when he investigated, no one was there and he discounted it as someone playing a joke. It was only later he found out Mr. Burns was the man who gave the land the White House was built on.
A similar incident occurred when a guard during the Truman presidency heard a voice saying, “I’m Mr. Burns”. This time thinking it was then Secretary of State James Byrnes calling from upstairs the guard went in search of him. No one was in the area and later it was learned that James Byrnes was not even in the White House that day.
There are also stories of William Harrison who was the first President who died in office. Harrison caught a cold during his inauguration speech and it turned into pneumonia. It is speculated that the treatments from the doctors of that time had more to do with killing him than the cold itself. It is said President Harrison would walk the halls of the White House looking for a quiet place to rest, but of course being President there wasn’t such a place. William Harrison died one month into his term on April 4, 1841. Today it is said that his ghost, looking a little blue and making a rattling noise when he breathes, still roams the halls possible still looking for that quiet place to rest.
The Queens bedroom is where Andrew Jackson’s bed is now displayed and where female guests stay in the White House. This is somewhat ironic because Mr. Jackson was considered a ladies’ man in his day. Some visitors to that bedroom have experienced cold spots around the bed and even someone actually climbing into bed with them. Possibly the most frequent complaints came from Mrs. Lincoln. She said the ghost of Andrew Jackson could be heard stomping around the hallways of the White House cursing. This activity reportedly came to a halt when Mary Lincoln moved out.
Her husband however Abraham Lincoln, has made several appearances over the years in the White House. It has been claimed that during WWII, Winston Churchill during a visit entered his bedroom after a bath. Undressed, Churchill was alarmed when he looked up and saw Mr. Lincoln standing at the fireplace. It is reported Winston Churchill addressed Mr. Lincoln with a hello and Lincoln vanished and Churchill refused to stay in the room again.
Another encounter involved Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1945. Asleep in the Queens Room, she was awakened by loud footsteps in the hallway outside her room. They came closer and then stopped outside her door and at which time she heard loud knocking at her door. When the knocking persisted she got up and answered the door only to see standing in her doorway Abraham Lincoln who then quickly vanished.
Wives of Presidents are also seen around the grounds; Abigail Adams in the East Room, Dorothea Madison in the Rose Garden and Frances Cleveland on the second floor. Lynda Johnson, daughter of Lyndon Johnson also has reported seeing the spirit of Willie Lincoln, the son of Abraham and Mary Lincoln who died of illness in 1862 on the second floor.
So as you can see there are many ghosts that have been claimed to be roaming around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and it seems they are still being felt today. Recent claims have been reported by Hilary Clinton who said on the Rosie O’Donnell show. “There is something about the house at night that you just feel like you are summoning up the spirits of all the people who have lived there and worked there and walked through the halls there.”
There is also this story told by Jenna Bush, daughter of George W Bush, told Jay Leno:
“I heard a ghost. I was asleep, there was a fireplace in my room and all of a sudden I heard 1920s music coming out. I could feel it; I freaked out and ran into my sister’s room. She was like “Please go back to sleep this is ridiculous. The next week we were both asleep in my room; the phone had rang and woke us up. We were talking and going back to bed when all of a sudden we heard this opera, coming out of the fireplace. We couldn’t believe it; we both jumped in bed and were asking the people that worked there the next morning “Are we crazy?” We tried to rationalize it, but they said they heard it there all the time.”
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