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| The spirit of former U. S. President Abraham Lincoln is said to haunt various rooms throughout The White House including the Oval Office and the Lincoln Bedroom. |
In the 1920s, Grace Coolidge, the wife of President Calvin Coolidge was the very first person that ever reported seeing the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. She claimed that she was in the Oval Office and saw him standing at the window looking outward towards the Potomac. This would be the first of many sightings.
During the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s and early 40s, Eleanor Roosevelt used Lincoln's old bedroom as a study. She stated that while working in the Lincoln Bedroom, she would get feelings as if Lincoln himself was actually present in the room. During the 1940s, Roosevelt would frequently, host Winston Churchill during his visits to the United States. Churchill claimed that as he was emerging from his bath one evening, he saw the figure of Abraham Lincoln sitting by his fireplace. It was also during this time period that the most notorious sightings of Lincoln would occur. Many who slept in the Lincoln Bedroom claimed to hear knocking sounds on the door during their stay in the bedroom, including Harry S. Truman. However, on a particular visit by Wilhelmina, the Queen of The Netherlands, she too heard a knocking on the door. When she opened it, there stood Abraham Lincoln dressed in his trademark frock coat and top hat. She collapsed to the floor in a heap. She recovered later as she had only fainted, recounting her experience to those who assisted her.
In the 1980s, Lincoln was seen sitting in a chair near a stairway on several occasions. Maureen Reagan, daughter of President Ronald Reagan, witnessed the ghost of Lincoln along with her husband as well.
There are times when the Lincoln Bedroom is unoccupied, that staff members working on the first floor can hear the footsteps of someone pacing in that room. When they investigate and open the door, the room is totally empty! Folks have seen a shadowy figure of Lincoln lying in his bed and on occasion sitting on the edge of the bed as if getting dressed.
It is even thought that at one point, an the ghost of Abraham Lincoln was captured in a photograph that was taken of his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. When developed, the faint image of Abraham appeared over her shoulder and he had his hands on her shoulders.
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| A photograph of Mary Todd Lincoln thought to have the ghostly image of her dead husband, Abraham Lincoln standing in the background with his hands on her shoulders. |
Considered one of the greatest Presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln's loss came too early and suddenly for many to let go. To borrow the words of Lincoln himself:
"...we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced."
Perhaps Lincoln sensed this in his spirit life and wants everyone to know... that he is still around.
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