Ghosts! Haunted Capitol Building
Paranormal Residents: At Least Eleven People and One Black Cat
Jul 26, 2007
In 1792 President Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson had a contest to see who would design the Capitol Building. An amateur architect, Dr. William Thornton won. He was given a prize of $500 and some land in DC.
The building’s progress was hampered by a lack of funds. In late 1800, President John Adams addressed the first joint session of Congress in the building, the maiden official act of business there. In 1814, British troops burned the structure. Benjamin Latrobe rebuilt it.
Capitol Building's Stately and Other Ghostly Appearances
- Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s, phantom has been seen. He was not paid for work he did to design the city that George Washington offered him, but he never got paid for it. He looks unhappy as he hurries along the hallways. John Quincy Adam’s luminous ghost has been seen and heard.
- James Abram Garfield, the second President to be assassinated died four months after he was sworn into Office is a haunter. Also present is the shade of Charles Julius Guiteau, his assassin, which has been sighted lurking on the stairs.
- Vice-President Henry Wilson died of pneumonia while in office when he contracted it by bathing in a tub that had been in the basement. He haunts the Senate Wing. Guards have heard him coughing and sneezing when they could see no human being. People have felt a cold spot near his former office and smelled old time bath soap.
- William Preston Taulbee, a Representative from Kentucky, is said to haunt the Capitol. He was killed by a feuding reporter, Charles Kincaid, who shot him on the stairs leading to the House Press Gallery. He died 11 days later. The steps leading to the pressroom are still stained by Taulbee’s blood. When a reporter trips on those steps, people say ghost is tripping them..
- Capitol Police working at night say they have seen Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton working at his desk in National Statuary Hall although he died in the 1800s.
- The apparition of General John Alexander has appeared at 12:30 AM, looking displeased while he stood at the door of the room once used by the Senate Committee on Military and Militia, one had had chaired in life. He has also been seen in one of the basements.
- Mr. Twine was a dedicated hard worker. Guards still hear stamping books or papers in his office. One of his coworkers died of a stroke after putting $6,000 dollars worth of government bonds in a seldom used library book because he didn't trust banks. He opens books and flipping through them looking for his money. The bonds have never been found.
- A custodian died at work and helps people do their jobs. Workers have seen a mop guided by unseen hands mopping the floors.
- Perhaps one of the most intriguing ghosts is DC, the black feline named Demon Cat who lurks in the cellars and is usually sighted before a tragedy and administration changes.
Related Articles about Haunted Historical Buildings
Readers may also enjoy reading Black Cat Haunts Capitol Building, Ghosts of the White House: The Presidential Mansion is Haunted by Some Former Residents and Haunted Historic Octagon: Washington DC Building Features Many Ghostly Phenomena
Source:
Historic Haunted America, Michael Norman and Beth Scott, (A Tor Book, 1995)
