10 Creepy Presidential Ghost Stories From The White House

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most frequent haunts of the White House. He's been spotted looking out the windows in various rooms, pacing the floor, and knocking on doors and walls. His spirit has allegedly revealed itself to visitors on multiple occasions.

One night in 1942, while Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was staying at the White House, there was a knock on her door. She opened it, saw Lincoln's ghost wearing his traditional top hat, and passed out from fright.

Another instance occurred during World War II while Winston Churchill was visiting the White House. He emerged from his bathroom, naked and with a cigar in hand, only to see the spirit of Lincoln sitting in front of the fireplace in his room. Churchill exlaimed, “Good evening, Mr. President. You seem to have me at a disadvantage.” Lincoln’s ghost, according to Churchill, then laughed and faded away.

President James Madison's wife, Dolley Madison, one of the first presidential wives to embody the term First Lady, is said to haunt the White House Rose Garden. Legend has it that Madison was extremely fond of the gardens, and when other first ladies––most notably Ellen Wilson––tried to change the garden, her ghost scared off the gardeners. Some say you can see Madison's ghost smiling among the bushes. 

The ghost of Andrew Jackson has been heard laughing on multiple occasions in the Queen's Bedroom, or Rose Room. The most unnerving encounter, however, involved Mary Todd Lincoln, who not only heard Jackson's eerie, guttural laughter, but also witnessed his ghost stomping around the White House and swearing. 

1911 was the year of "The Thing," a nickname given to the ghost of a 15-year-old boy who haunted the White House during the Taft administration. He would appear behind people at random, grab their shoulders as if leaning over to see what they were looking at, and then promptly disappear. Every member of Taft's domestic staff had a creepy encounter with the spirit––possibly even President Taft himself, who forbade people from talking about the ghost. 

In 1865, Mary Surratt was arrested and executed for her role in the plan to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Her daughter, Anne, has haunted the White House ever since. Workers have seen and and heard Anne's ghost pounding on the  White House's front doors, demanding her mother's release more than 150 years later. Her ghostly form also reportedly appears on the steps, mourning her mother every July 7th, the anniversary of Mary Surratt's execution. 

Throughout the Reagan Administration, the First Dog, Lucky, would bark randomly at nothing. At one point, he even stood on his hind legs, barking at an unseen entity on the ceiling. The creepiest story, however, is one that Reagan told at a White House dinner:

The President [Reagan] laughed and said, 'I might as well tell you the rest. A member of our family [his daughter, Maureen] and her husband always stay in the Lincoln Bedroom when they visit the White House. Some time ago the husband woke up and saw a transparent figure standing at the bedroom window looking out. Then it turned and disappeared. His wife teased him mercilessly about it for a month. Then, when they were here recently, she woke up one morning and saw the same figure standing at the window looking out. She could see the trees right through it. Again it turned and disappeared.’