Witches and Ghosts Seen by Famous People

With Halloween just around the corner, I feel it's time to "dig up" some ghost stories from the rich and famous. Some of these ghost stories include the rich and famous as the ghosts. Also, to add something special, visit your local cemetery, stand above a grave, and say these exact words, "What are you doing down there?" The person in the grave will say, "nothing," It works every time; I guarantee! Now to our stories.

Most of us have heard about the Bell Witch of Tennessee, but did you know that the farm she was supposedly haunting had a very famous general investigate the poltergeist? Yes, indeed, and that general would later be our 7th president.

Stories of a witch terrorizing a family, near Adams, Tennessee, were heard all across the state, so General, Andrew Jackson took an entourage of many and traveled to the Bell family farm, with the intention of showing that the Bell Witch was just a ghost story. It turned out to be a true ghost story because one of his men was beaten by an unseen entity during the night. Needless to say, the visitors left at first light.

When we think of President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, we mentally see a brave-strong-willed man, who would never believe in ghosts, but evidently, we are wrong. Roosevelt said he was visited by the ghost of Abraham Lincoln several times at the White House. Roosevelt said, "I see him in different rooms and in the halls."

It seems since Mr. Lincoln hadn't lost the presidency by an election, but was assassinated while still in office, so he may have considered himself, still the president, but in ghostly form of course. Let them try an impeach him!

Did President Lincoln and his wife believe in ghosts? Evidently so, both of them said they were frequently visited by their dead son, "Willie," who died in the White House from typhoid fever when he was 11. They also claimed they heard, whom they believed was the ghost of Thomas Jefferson, playing his violin. They also stated they heard Andrew Jackson swearing. I wonder if he was swearing at Jefferson because of the noise of his violin.

According to President Harry Truman, he went to bed one night while his wife was and daughter was visiting elsewhere. He said he heard knocking outside his bedroom door, and got up, but found no one there.

He later wrote a letter to his wife that stated, "I jumped up and put on my bathrobe, opened the door, and no one there. Went out and looked up and down the hall, looked in your room and Margie’s. Still no one. Went back to bed after locking the doors and there were footsteps in your room whose door I’d left open. Jumped and looked and no one there! The damned place is haunted sure as shootin’. Secret Service said not even a watchman was up here at that hour.”

It seems that Old Abe was as busy after his death as he was prior to it. President Eisenhower claimed he felt Abraham Lincoln’s presence many times while residing at the White House. Eisenhower was noted as being very respective of President Lincoln, so maybe it was just friendly visits.

Well, so far there been numerous sightings of Lincoln in the White House, but now we get to the gravy of this story. According to President Lyndon Johnson, when he was anguished about the Vietnam War, Lincoln's ghost appeared, and he decided to get Old Abe's feelings on how he should handle the conflict, and Lincoln simply said, "don't go to the theater."

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill says he was visited by Lincoln's ghost at the White House, just after taking a bath. He said Lincoln was standing by the fireplace, and Churchill, who was still naked said "Good evening, Mr. President. You seem to have me at a disadvantage." He said Lincoln just smiled and vanished.

What should you do if you visit the White House and see a ghost of one of the presidents; politely say, "Hello," and faint!