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

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The Octagon - Lafayette Square - District of Columbia

In 1799, Colonel John Tayloe III who was owner of the luxurious Willard Hotel in Washington D.C., built a mansion at the corner of New York Avenue and 118th Street in Lafayette Square.  The house was an unusual shape, however contrary to it's name, it has six sides, not eight.  This is because then entryway to The Octagon is a round room.  During the time it was constructed, the method if building a round room was to use an eight sided wall to construct it.  They were known during the period as an octagon salon.  Tayloe lived in the home with his wife and family. The Tayloes had fifteen children in all. However, it would be the death of two of the Tayloe daughters that would give The Octagon it's haunted reputation.

The Octagon - Lafayette Square - District of Columbia

At one point in time, The Octagon served as temporary White House, so to speak, as President Madison and his wife Dolly lived there while the White House was being rebuilt after being destroyed by the British during the War of 1812.  James Madison actually signed the documents that would end the war right there in The Octagon.

When the Tayloes lived in The Octagon, one of the daughters, allegedly got into an argument with her father about a man she wanted to marry.  John Tayloe, being a very strict and choosy man, forbade her from marrying him.  His daughter stormed up the stairs and was in such a distraught state, she supposedly flung herself off over the railing and fell to her death to the floors below.  At a later period in time, another daughter, knowing of her father's discretion, ran off and married a British soldier.  After returning home to break the news to her father, a fight broke out after he became enraged, and somehow the girl ended up tumbling down the same stair case that her sister died on. She too did not survive and ended up in a lifeless, twisted heap at the bottom of the stairs.

Colonel John Tayloe III

Other deaths in the mansion include a gambler who was playing cards at the home and after being accused of cheating, ran to the exit and was struck down.  As he was collapsing, he grabbed the bell chain, ringing the bells as he fell to his death.  It is also rumored that a British soldier killed a servant in the house and hid her body in the walls and was then possibly in turn, killed himself by the owner.

The most common manifestation in the house is a shadow that has been seen moving on the stair case.  The spot at the bottom of the staircase where one of the daughters died, features a carpet that always has the corner flipped over just as it did when the girl's body flipped it when it came to rest there.  Occasionally a faint scream has been heard as if someone was falling.

In the garden, the apparition of Dolly Madison has been seen roaming through the flower beds.  She loved flowers and gardening and spent a lot of time there.  She has been spotted in the White House gardens as well.  Dolly liked to host parties and sometimes the faint sound of a party can be heard echoing through the halls of The Octagon even when no one is around.  The distinct smell of lilac can be smelled in certain spots of the home.  Dolly Madison loved lilac perfume.  It was her favorite.

 Dolly Madison as she may have appeared while living at The Octagon

Unnatural occurrences such as disembodied female voices, foot steps on the stairway who many believe to be John Tayloe pacing in his guilt over his daughter's deaths, and chandeliers swinging on their own and other paranormal events have been experienced in The Octagon.  The building served many used over the years including a school for girls. It sat abandoned for a while deteriorating to the point where no one wanted it, but was restored for it's former grandeur by the American Institute of Architects and now uses The Octagon as it's headquarters and is now open to the public as a museum.