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Halloween
- The Story Behind Halloween – Lesson
- The Story Behind Halloween – Quiz
- Are You Too Old To Go Trick-Or-Treating? – Lesson
- Look out for the Blue Pumpkin – Lesson
- Is the White House Haunted? – Lesson
- Is the White House Haunted? – Quiz
- Mummies Discovered in Egypt – But That’s Nothing to Fear – Lesson
- Salem Witch Trials: When Being Called a Witch Meant Death – Lesson
- Halloween Around the World: It Isn’t Just Costumes and Candy – Lesson
- Halloween Around the World: It Isn’t Just Costumes and Candy – Quiz
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Thanksgiving
- The Evolution of Thanksgiving – Lesson
- The Evolution of Thanksgiving – Quiz
- The Political Roots of Thanksgiving – Lesson
- The Political Roots of Thanksgiving – Quiz
- Turkey for Thanksgiving – But Why? – Lesson
- Turkey for Thanksgiving – But Why? – Quiz
- This Thanksgiving, Consider Helping the Less Fortunate – Lesson
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Christmas
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Easter
- Good Friday: Christ Carried Sin to the Grave – And Left It There – Lesson
- Good Friday: Christ Carried Sin to the Grave – And Left It There – Quiz
- Easter Traditions: From Rabbits to Egg Jarping – Lesson
- Easter Traditions: From Rabbits to Egg Jarping – Quiz
- Easter Monday and Egg Rolling at the White House – Lesson
- Easter Monday and Egg Rolling at the White House – Quiz
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Federal Holidays and Observances
- New Year’s Day: Just as Political as Anything Else – Lesson
- This Presidents’ Day, Let’s Remember the Weird – Lesson
- Astounding Facts about US Presidents – Lesson
- Astounding Facts about US Presidents – Quiz
- Memorial Day: A Time of Honor and Respect – Lesson
- Memorial Day: A Time of Honor and Respect – Quiz
- From Decoration Day to Memorial Day – Lesson
- From Decoration Day to Memorial Day – Quiz
- Who Was the Poppy Lady, Moina Belle Michael? – Lesson
- Who Was the Poppy Lady, Moina Belle Michael? – Quiz
- The Origins of Flag Day – Lesson
- The Origins of Flag Day – Quiz
- America’s Flag – An Evolved Banner for an Ever-Changing Country – Lesson
- America’s Flag – An Evolved Banner for an Ever-Changing Country – Quiz
- Celebrating the 4th of July – Lesson
- Celebrating the 4th of July – Quiz
- Who Should We Thank for Labor Day? – Lesson
- Who Should We Thank for Labor Day? – Quiz
- Constitution and Citizenship Day – Lesson
- Constitution Day – The First Day of Constitution Week – Lesson
- Constitution Day – The First Day of Constitution Week – Quiz
- The Political Origins of Columbus Day – Lesson
- The Political Origins of Columbus Day – Quiz
- Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? – Lesson
- Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? – Quiz
- Veterans Day: A Day to Honor Those Who Served – Lesson
- Veterans Day: A Day to Honor Those Who Served – Quiz
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Other Traditions
- Valentine’s Day Love Poems – Lesson
- Love Poems for Valentine’s Day – Lesson
- Who Was St. Valentine? – Lesson
- Who Was St. Valentine? – Quiz
- No Love for Valentine’s Day in the East – Lesson
- No Love for Valentine’s Day in the East – Quiz
- Beware the Ides of March – But Why? – Lesson
- Beware the Ides of March – But Why? – Quiz
- St. Patrick’s Day: A Celebration of the Irish – Lesson
- St. Patrick’s Day: A Celebration of the Irish – Quiz
- May Day: Dancing ‘Round the Maypole – Lesson
- May Day: Dancing ‘Round the Maypole – Quiz
- Cinco de Mayo: Celebrating Mexico’s Victory in Puebla – Lesson
- Cinco de Mayo: Celebrating Mexico’s Victory in Puebla – Quiz
- Mother’s Day: The Anti-War Effort Turned Holiday – Lesson
- Mother’s Day: The Anti-War Effort Turned Holiday – Quiz
- Father’s Day: More Than Just a Day for Ties – Lesson
- Father’s Day: More Than Just a Day for Ties – Quiz
- Presidential Fathers: Responsible for Their Kids and the Country – Lesson
- Presidential Fathers: Responsible for Their Kids and the Country – Quiz
- Proof of the Hanukkah Story Found? – Lesson
- Proof of the Hanukkah Story Found? – Quiz
Is the White House Haunted? – Lesson
Many people have claimed to see the ghosts of former White House residents.

(Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)
“My dear Clara, it seems that the White House is haunted.” These words were written by Major Archie Butt to his sister-in-law in the summer of 1911. He was talking about “the Thing,” a ghost believed to be the spirit of a 15-year-old boy. Butt was a military aide to President Howard Taft and had been getting reports from frightened staff about strange encounters.
Servants told stories of feeling the Thing touching them on the shoulder, as if it was a curious boy leaning over to see what they were doing. Taft’s housekeeper, whom Butt called “a spooky little thing herself,” was the only one who claimed to have actually seen the apparition. She described it as a young boy around 14 or 15 with sad, blue eyes and light, unkempt hair.
Taft was very angry at the upheaval caused by the panic and nervousness of his staff in his home. He ordered Butt to get it under control. They were determined to find out who the mysterious “Thing” was. Unfortunately, Butt was on the Titanic one year later, when the ship sank. He perished and the mystery is still unsolved.
The Thing has not been the only ghostly visitor reported at White House. Between 1862 and 1863, Mary Todd Lincoln held seances in the Red Room after her son, Willie, died. Willie’s spirit is a sight many said they’ve seen. Mary Lincoln told her friends she’d heard President Andrew Jackson stomping through the halls. The Rose Room, Jackson’s bedroom while he was president, is supposedly the most haunted room in the White House.
President Abe Lincoln’s ghost is the most common that folks claim to have seen. Grace Coolidge, the wife of President Calvin Coolidge, was the first to report seeing Lincoln’s spirit.

Abigail Adams. Painted by Gilbert Stuart (Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
America’s 33rd president, Harry Truman, wrote to his wife Bess in June 1945 to talk about the spookiness in his new residence. “I sit here in this old house and work on foreign affairs, read reports, and work on speeches – all the while listening to the ghosts walk up and down the hallway and even right here in the study. The floors pop and the drapes move back and forth – I can just imagine old Andy [Jackson] and Teddy [Roosevelt] having an argument over Franklin [Roosevelt].”
Other Ghostly Residents
- Abigail Adams, wife to John Adams (1797-1801), the second president of the U.S., used to hang laundry in the East Room of the White House because it was the warmest and driest place. Some say they have seen her ghost, wearing a lace shawl and cap, heading towards the East Room with outstretched arms, as if she were carrying laundry, the scent of lavender filling the air.
- President Thomas Jefferson supposedly plays his violin in the Yellow Oval Room.
- Anna Surratt reportedly bangs on the doors of the White House, begging to see President Andrew Johnson to plead for a pardon for her mother, Mary Surratt, a conspirator of Lincoln’s assassination.