Apparently, some of the presidents and their family members who have lived in the White House over the years have enjoyed their experience so much that they're hard-pressed to leave. According to some very reliable - and, in some cases, quite notable - witnesses, a number of them still reside in the presidential abode, and appear to have no intention of leaving.
Certainly, every old house has the suspicion of ghosts surrounding it, but one of the more celebrated of such houses is none other than the White House – the President’s very abode. Although we can never truly know which tales are the mere fancy of an overactive imagination, the stories that have circulated regarding the White House have some astonishing evidence to back them up – by some rather influential people.
Abraham Lincoln
One of the most frequent sightings is that of former President Abraham Lincoln. A wide variety of guests have reported seeing his stately figure in or near his bedroom on frequent occasions, and some have refused to use this room as their guest chambers. Although he never actually slept there, history has shown that he used the room as his personal office or cabinet room, where he used to go to work or collect his thoughts. His apparition, however, has also been sighted in other locations around the White House.
Grace Coolidge was the first person to ever report seeing the ghostly figure of Lincoln. At the time of the sighting, he was said to have been standing – hands clasped behind his back – and staring out of one of the windows in the Oval Office.
One of Franklin Roosevelt’s staff members spied Lincoln’s ghostly figure sitting on the bed in what was once his bedroom, pulling his boots on his feet. So frightened was she that she simply screamed and fled, not returning to the room.
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was disturbed by a knocking at her door one night, as she was preparing to retire in the room across the hall from what’s known as Lincoln’s bedroom. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by the ghost of the 16th President himself. Without saying a word, he simply looked at her and walked away. She was reported to have fainted dead away and spent the night lying on the floor.
Knowing full well that the spirit of Lincoln was known for knocking on doors within the confines of the White House, President Harry Truman wasn’t surprised at all when, upon hearing someone knock on his door at 3:00 a.m., found that it was simply Abe Lincoln himself paying a nighttime visit. Truman’s daughter, Margaret, had also reported strange encounters with the former President.