Since 1800, the White House has been home to every president of the United States and his family – but legend has it that the commander-in-chief isn’t the only one occupying the Executive Mansion. Behind the white columns, stories of haunted rooms, spectral presidents, and even the apparition of a British soldier, among other ghosts, have endured for more than 160 years.
White House Ghosts
According to the White House Historical Association, the ghosts of nearly a dozen dead people have appeared inside or near the famous mansion.
The ghost of President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated on April 14, 1865, has been seen in the Lincoln Bedroom and the Yellow Oval Room. Both First Lady Grace Coolidge and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands said they saw Lincoln’s ghost.
Witnesses, including First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, claimed to have heard President Andrew Jackson laughing, stomping, and swearing near the Queens’ Bedroom, otherwise known as the Rose Room.
President and Founding Father Thomas Jefferson has reportedly been seen playing his violin in the Yellow Oval Room, and First Lady Dolly Madison is known to take care of the Rose Garden.
William Henry Harrison, the first president to die in the White House, reportedly haunts the attic, while President John Tyler haunts the Blue Room.
It’s not just famous historical figures who allegedly haunt the White House.
An unnamed British soldier who died during the War of 1812 “roams the White House Grounds, holding a torch,” the White House Historical Association said. David Burnes, who once owned the land on which the White House was built, has been seen in the Yellow Oval Room.
One of the most frightening White House ghost stories took place in 1911, when the spirit of an unidentified 15-year-old boy - dubbed the “Thing” – “greatly frightened the [President William Howard] Taft domestic staff.” The White House Historical Association explained:
“President Taft's military aide, Major Archibald Butt, wrote to his sister Clara: ‘The ghost, it seems, is a young boy about fourteen or fifteen years old . . . They say that the first knowledge one has of the presence of the Thing is a slight pressure on the shoulder, as if someone were leaning over your shoulder to see what you might be doing.’ President Taft ordered Butt to tell the White House staff that the first member to repeat stories about the ‘Thing’ would be fired.”
Modern Witnesses
Twins Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush, the daughters of President George W. Bush, insisted earlier this year that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is haunted.
"Well, there are ghosts in the White House," Barbara revealed to PEOPLE.
"Barbara didn't believe me the first time,” Jenna added. “I was sleeping in my room — this was in college — and I woke up and heard opera coming out of the fireplace. And I could feel it! I honestly had chills.”
Jenna said she woke her sister up and frantically explained the alarming experience. “I heard something. I think there's a ghost.' I got in bed with her, and we went back to sleep. Two days later, she came to sleep in mine, and she was like, 'There's no ghost,'" Jenna added.
Barbara admitted she was skeptical of Jenna’s story, but eventually came around to her sister’s claim, revealing why she had a sudden change of heart:
"Two days later I was sleeping in her room. We were dozing off, and then we heard olden times jazz music coming out of the fireplace again. We were so scared. We wanted to get in bed with our parents, but we were 22 and it felt inappropriate," Barbara recalled. "And so then we calmed ourselves down and we thought, 'Well, surely that was the cat. Willard [the cat] was playing the olden jazz music on the piano.'"
Jenna said she checked the piano the following morning, only to discover the keys were covered, making it impossible for their pet cat to be responsible for the noise.
"There [are] ghosts," Barbara determined.
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