Haunted places – The White House, Washington D.C.

As extraordinary as it may sound, the residence of one of the world’s most powerful persons may very well be haunted. 1 600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C is the address for the White House and is the home for the President of the United States.

The White House has a reputation for being one of the most haunted places in the world. Hillary Clinton (wife of former president Bill Clinton) have said: "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." On the “Rosie O'Donnell Show,” the former first lady noted: "It's neat. It can be a little creepy. You know, they think there's a ghost there. 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."

Image left: The White House at night.

HAUNTINGS OF LINCOLN, JACKSON AND HARRISON

William Harrison, president exactly one month between March, 1841 and April, 1841, is said to be heard rummaging around in the attic of the White House. Andrew Jackson (president 1829 to 1847) is thought to haunt his White House bedroom. And the ghost of First Lady Abigail Adams was seen floating through one of the White House hallways, as if carrying something.

The most frequently sighted presidential ghost has been that of Abraham Lincoln. Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin Roosevelt, has said that she felt the presence of Lincoln while working in the Lincoln bedroom. Also during the Roosevelt administration, a young clerk claimed to have actually seen the ghost of Lincoln sitting on a bed pulling off his boots. Also did Calvin Coolidge's wife report seeing on several occasions the ghost of Lincoln standing with his hands clasped behind his back, at a window in the Oval Office, staring out in deep contemplation toward the bloody battlefields across the Potomac.

Haunted places - Myrtles Plantation, Louisiana

The Myrtles Plantation is regarded as one of the most haunted places in the United States. The plantation was built in 1796 by General David Bradford but wasn't used as a workplace for slaves then. It was when new owners took over the places they began to use it as a plantation with slaves. Now it's used as a Bed and Breakfast, and people who stays there often reports strange happenings during nighttime.

Image left: The Myrtles Plantation from the outside.

The plantation was scene of many murders and mischief’s, some researchers say as many as ten murders have been committed there, but it has only been possible to confirm one of these murders.

Many ghosts is said to roam the place, according to some up twelve ghosts is staying at Myrtles. The most famous of them is probably Cleo, a former slave who was hanged on premises for killing two little girls. But with the lack of historical records for the event, were not able to confirm this legend.

DIED ON THE STAIRS
Other stories include the ghosts of two murdered girl that are playing on the veranda. Another ghosts is said to be William Drew Winter. Winter was an attorney living at the plantation between the years of 1860 to 1871. On day, he was shot on the side porch by a stranger. With blood pouring from his body, he stumbled into the house and began to climb the stairs to the second floor. But, he didn't make it up, and collapsed and died on the 17th step. It is said that his last footsteps in life still can be heard today. The murder of Winter is the only one who have been verified.

Other ghost stories includes slaves that shows up for their daily chores and a grand piano that is said to play by itself, repeating one chord.

The location is a popular place for paranormal investigations. Both Ghost Hunters and Ghost Lab have investigated the place.

Haunted places - Waverly Hills Sanatorium, Louisville, Kentucky

Right in the heartland of the United States, in Louisville, Kentucky, lays the Waverly Hills Sanatorium. It originally opened in 1910 as two-story hospital to accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients, but the building we see today was built in 1926 and has always been dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis patients, a fairly common disease back in the early 20th Century.

Many people lost their lives at the sanatorium. It is estimated that as many as 63,000 could have died inside the walls of this concrete building, but that’s only a legend. Some researchers say the true number of deaths is about 8,000, pretty far from the alleged 63,000.

Image left: The Waverly Hills Sanatorium from the outside.

Many of those deaths can be linked to various forms of severe mistreatments of patients and experimental research on them as well. That may well be the fuel for the reported paranormal activities, which includes unexplained voices and screams, isolated cold spots and shadows moving in the hallways.

THE “DEATH TUNNEL”

One of the more popular legends from the sanatorium is about the “Body Chute”, also known as the “Death Tunnel”, a tunnel where dead patients were tossed. When tuberculosis reached its peak, about one body per day was thrown in there. The doctors thought that this would prevent the disease from spreading any further.

The location has been a popular place for paranormal investigators. SyFy’s Ghost Hunters has investigated the place twice, including one live investigation and the place has also been investigated once by the Most Haunted crew.

Video from one of Ghost Hunters investigations:

Haunted places - Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennsylvania

One of the most haunted places in the world is the Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) in Pennsylvania. It was originally opened in 1829 and is considered to be the world’s first true penitentiary. But the prison, designed to hold just about 300 prisoners, soon became overpopulated (about 1700 were jammed into the cells) and in 1913, Eastern State officially abandoned the solitary system and operated as a congregate prison until it closed in 1970.

Image left: The Eastern State Penitentiary from the outside.

The inmates at EST had no easy life. Torture and harassments by the guards was a part of their daily living and maybe this is one of the reasons why the prison is reported to be one of the most haunted places in America. One of the most famous paranormal stories from there is about a locksmith who had an eerily encounter.

OPENED A GATE TO HELL
One day, a locksmith was doing some restoration work in Cell Block #4. According to the story, he was working to remove a 140-year-old lock from the cell door when a massive force overcame him so powerfully he was unable to move. Some believed he opened a gateway to the horrific past and the trapped spirits could now escape. All hell was now broken lose. On the cell wall, anguished faces appeared and hundreds of distorted forms swirled around the cellblock and one dominating form seemed to beckon the locksmith to him.

Image right: One of many cell blocks at Eastern State Penitentiary.

Today the penitentiary is open for the public and daily tours of the place is made. Every there are more than a two dozen paranormal groups investigating the place and in almost every case, they find evidence of paranormal activity. Probably the most famous evidence was captured by the Ghost Hunters team while doing an investigation there. A stationary camera captured a human-like figure running towards the camera, then stops and takes off in the other way.

Video of the incident: