Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Trick or Treat

I found this story interesting, even though it' quite dated.

Are There Ghosts Haunting The White House?

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Oct. 31) -- Tales of White House ghosts have been around for almost as long as the White House itself.

The ghost of a British soldier from the War of 1812 is said to walk the grounds at night. Another ghoulish tale has a long-deceased White House usher still turning off lights in the building while a former White House doorman is reported to still be on the job.

The spirit of Abigail Adams, the wife of America's second president John Adams, has been spotted hanging laundry in the East Wing of the White House.

And for all the people who have stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom of late, there is one who would not. Britain's Winston Churchill refused to sleep there after sighting President Abraham Lincoln's ghost lurking about.

churchill

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry says he is a believer. "There are, from time to time, reports that the White House is haunted ... from time to time, mysterious appearances of figures from history," McCurry said. "I believe."

McCurry couldn't say if either of the Clintons have had any midnight encounters of the supernatural kind. "There have been serious people who have serious tales to tell about these encounters. Now, I haven't heard the president or the first lady tell any of these tales, but there are people who seriously believe that there is a haunting quality to the White House," he said.

President Harry Truman may have, because he said the place was haunted "sure as shooting."

At the least, first lady Hillary Clinton called the place creepy at times. "There is something about the house at night that you just feel like you are summoning up the spirits of all the people who have lived there and worked there and walked through the halls there," Mrs. Clinton said last year on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.

"It's neat. It can be a little creepy. You know, they think there's a ghost there," she continued.

CNN's Eileen O'Connor contributed to this report.

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