The
White House at night is a dark and spooky place, haunted, according
to legend, by ghosts of dead presidents and a former British soldier.
"It is a big old house, and when the lights are out it is
dark and quiet and any movement at all catches your attention,"
longtime White House chief usher Gary Walters said during a Halloween
chat session.
President George W. Bush, who was spending Halloween at his Texas
ranch, has never reported seeing a ghost, Walters said. But recent
presidents have felt the presence of their predecessors, he said.
"The presidents that I have worked for have all indicated
a feeling of the previous occupants of the White House and have
all talked about drawing strength from the fact that the previous
presidents have lived here," he said.
The spookiest area of the White House is probably the president's
living area, Walters said. "Every sound resounds through
the halls."
He declined to discuss any measures to protect the president
from a malevolent ghost.
The White House has long had a reputation for being haunted --
most famously by the ghost of former President Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln's wife, Mary, reportedly heard the ghost of Andrew Jackson,
Walters said.
Other stories of the supernatural related by Walters included
a seance by Mary Lincoln to recall the spirit of their dead son.
When the wife of President Woodrow Wilson wanted to dig up the
rose garden, legend has it that the spirit of former first lady
Dolley Madison appeared and warned them not to disturb her garden,
Walters said.
"There is a story of a British soldier who died on the White
House grounds ... in 1814 when the White House was burnt by the
British," Walters said. "It is said that some people
have seen a British soldier with a torch in his hand, although
I have no personal knowledge of this story."
Walters said several staff members have had eerie experiences
and he described one he shared with three police officers.
"I was standing at the state floor of the White House. ...
The police officers and I felt a cool rush of air pass between
us and then two doors that stand open closed by themselves. I
have never seen these doors move before without somebody specifically
closing them by hand. It was quite remarkable."
(Agencies)
Updated: 2003-11-05 01:00