The Willard Hotel - Washington, D.C.

There is a grand hotel in downtown Washington, D. C. that has been frequented by some very famous guests including Abraham Lincoln, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, General John J. Pershing, Walt Whitman, Harry Houdini, and Charles Dickens.  However, a former President of the United States frequented the hotel on a daily basis and some believe he can still be seen there.

The Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. is thought to be haunted by the spirit of a former U. S. President

The Willard was created in 1847 when several hotels and office buildings were combined into one building by Henry Willard which gives the hotel it's unusual shape today.  The hotel actually served as a temporary "White House" when Calvin Coolidge became President upon Warren G. Harding's death.  He was waiting for his widow to move out of The White House.

President Ulysses S. Grant frequented the lobby of The Willard Hotel.  Many believe his spirit still lingers there.

President Ulysses S. Grant would sometimes stroll over to what was then, in the 1870s, "The Willard". Grant would unwind in the lobby of the hotel sipping brandy and smoking his cigars.  This was a well known fact and many business men wanting to influence the laws or political actions and change them or create them for their benefit, would visit President Grant in the lobby of The Willard.  It is said that after a time, Grant referred to these people as "lobbyists".  The word has stuck to this day even though they don't necessarily go to The Willard any more.

The luxurious lobby of The Willard Hotel, now known as The Willard Intercontinental

There are some visitors and workers in the hotel who claim to have seen the likes of Ulysses S. Grant sitting in his favorite spot in the lobby puffing on his cigars with wisps of smoke circling around him.  No lobbyists, just Grant enjoying his brandy and cigar as he did in life.  Perhaps because that is the only place where he found peace in his busy life...  that is until the lobbyists would come along.  His apparition would disappear just as quickly as it would materialize.

Willard Intercontinental
1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 628-9100

View the Index of Haunted Places