Presidential ghosts are not uncommon, especially in the White House. Many presidents and their wives have been seen, and some presidents and their families have had strange occurrences while living at the nation's capitol. The most common ghost among them is that of the 16th Commander-in-Chief, Abraham Lincoln, who has been reported to haunt the White House since his death in 1865.
Not that he really needs any introduction or biography, I will mention that he presided over the country during the horrific Civil War, was the president who made abolition official, was known for being a highly articulate wordsmith, and was assassinated after supposedly predicting his own demise.
According to Lincoln's friend and biographer, Ward Hill Lamon, the president had a dream three days before he was shot in which he stumbled into his own funeral after being assassinated. He had also confessed to his bodyguard, William H. Cook, that he had dreamt of his death three nights straight. Cook tried to convince him not to go to the play, to which he replied that he had promised Mary Todd they would go. Then, instead of bidding Cook goodnight as he always did, he told him, "Goodbye." That was the last word he ever spoke to his bodyguard.
The weight of the tragedy was pressing enough to keep Lincoln lingering between here and the spirit realm. He has been seen staring out of windows at the White House (Grace Coolidge being the first to witness this), walking across rooms, sitting at the desk in the Oval Office, and has also been heard knocking on walls and doors. Margaret Truman and Lilian Rogers Clark both claimed to hear the knocks and footsteps around his old bedroom. Harry Truman woke to the sound of strange knocks while sleeping in there. Teddy Roosevelt and Maureen Regan had reported seeing his apparition wandering about the house.
Former Queen of the Netherlands, Wilhelmina, encountered his ghost in 1942 when she answered a knock on her door and saw him standing there wearing his top hat. The incident scared her so much that she passed out.
While visiting the White House during World War II, former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, emerged from the bathroom naked and smoking a cigar only to see Honest Abe sitting in a chair by the fireplace. "Good evening, Mr. President," said Churchill. "It seems you have met me at a disadvantage." Lincoln then laughed and disappeared, as reported by Mr. Churchill himself.
Numerous people have claimed to see his shadow lying in his old bed and even pulling on his boots.
A photo of Mary Todd with her husband's ghost behind her has been widely circulated and often discussed. The photo was taken either in 1869 or in the early 1870s, years after Abe's death, and many think it is his ghost comforting her. Some believe it to be a double-exposure even though that would be one serious coincidence.
Abraham Lincoln's ghost or a double-exposure?
Eleanor Roosevelt said she had felt his presence there but never had any encounters with him. Press secretary to Eisenhower, James Hagerty, and Lady Bird Johnson's press secretary, Liz Carpenter, made the same claims.
Lincoln has also been seen away from the White House. He haunts his grave in Springfield, Illinois, the home of a woman who was at the Fords Theatre when he was shot, and a phantom train that runs the path of his procession. He has also been seen on the grounds of the Farmington Plantation in Louisville, Kentucky. His ghost was last seen in the 1980s sitting in a chair at the top of the stairs in the White House.
Just chillin' in his chair.
Maybe everyone sees Lincoln's ghost so much because he is the most famous president of all-time. It could be that they just want, or expect, to see him, so they think they do. Or, maybe all of this expectation for his appearance creates enough energy to draw his ghost. Lincoln was a monumental man (could be why they built a monument for him, eh?), so he may have chosen to remain at the White House to make sure things are running smoothly, or at least not as poorly as they could be.
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