2. The White House, Washington DC
One of the most famous addresses in the United States, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is widely reported to be one of the most haunted. Visitors and staff have reported paranormal activity, and even some presidents have referred to the strange goings on which have occurred in the residence. The ghosts of former presidents have been reported wandering the halls and rooms of the building, and disembodied voices have often been heard. Abigail Adams, who once hung laundry to dry in the East Room of the then unfinished house, has been reported as a ghostly image, bearing a basket of laundry, in what is now one of the State rooms of the house accompanied by the smell of soap. Visitors who have stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom have reported seeing him there. Mary Todd Lincoln – who held séances in the house in an attempt to communicate with her dead sons – reported hearing and seeing the ghost of Andrew Jackson.
Harry Truman, in a letter to his wife Bess, wrote of hearing the ghosts, “walk up and down the hallway and even right here in this study”. Ronald Reagan related the story of his daughter Maureen encountering a spirit in the Lincoln bedroom, and several presidential dogs have refused to enter that chamber. Winston Churchill also told of encountering the ghost of Abraham Lincoln while staying at the White House, and refused to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom on subsequent visits to the Executive Mansion. The Rose Garden has been the scene of ghostly visits by Dolley Madison. FDR’s personal valet also reported seeing the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, according to Roosevelt’s biographers. The reports of apparitions and other paranormal activity extend to the West Wing as well, with the ghost of Calvin Coolidge being reported seen gazing out of the windows of the Oval Office, as in life in silence.