The White House has a reputation for being one of the most haunted homes in America. President Harry Truman said the place was haunted "sure as shooting." Kennedy’s Press Secretary James Haggerty admitted to sensing the presence of Lincoln’s ghost in the White House, and Clinton’s Press Secretary Mike McCurry admitted he was a believer: "There are, from time to time, reports that the White House is haunted by mysterious appearances of figures from history, and I believe them. There have been serious people who have serious tales to tell about these encounters, and there are many people who seriously believe that there is a haunting quality to the White House." Hillary Rodham Clinton 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." There have been many séances in the White House, but the majority occurred during the administration of Abraham Lincoln. While living in the White House, he and his wife held several séances in the Green Room in an attempt to contact the spirit of their son, Willie, who died there. One medium who visited the White House regularly gave Lincoln advice from great leaders of history. At one of those séances, the spirit of Daniel Webster pleaded with Lincoln to follow through with his efforts to free the slaves. Medium J.B. Conklin conveyed a message to Lincoln from his close friend, Edward Baker, who had been killed at the battle of Ball's Bluff. The cryptic message said: "Gone elsewhere. Elsewhere is everywhere." In 1863, medium Charles Shockle visited the White House and performed a levitation. At another levitation, Lincoln allegedly ordered a Maine congressman to sit on top of a piano that was floating in mid-air. Following the assassination of her husband, Mary Todd Lincoln sought contact with his spirit through mediums and séances, and felt that she had succeeded. Members of household of Ulysses S. Grant's are said to have conversed with the ghost of young Willie Lincoln during a séance in his former second floor bedroom. The photo of Mary Todd Lincoln and a ghostly figure at left was taken by photographer William Mumler, but it is believed to have been an accidental double exposure. In his book The Choice, Bob Woodward of Watergate fame describes how in 1995, a séance was held by psychic Jean Houston in the White House solarium, during which Hillary sank into a trance and channeled the spirits of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mahatma Gandhi. There are also rumors that in the late 1970s, Nancy Reagan’s personal astrologer, Joan Quigley, arranged another attempt to communicate with spirits through the “White House portal.” Longtime White House Chief Usher Gary Walters described his encounter in a 2003 article about ghosts in the White House published on the official White House website (www.whitehouse.gov): “Several staff members have had eerie experiences. Once, three police officers and I were standing at the state floor of the White House. We all felt a cool rush of air pass between us, and then two doors that stand open closed by themselves. I have never seen these doors move before without somebody specifically closing them by hand. It was quite remarkable." (The White House is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. White House tours can be arranged by contacting the White House Visitor Center, 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. Phone: 202-208-1631. For a 24-hour recording of tour information, call 202-456-7041. For general information on the White House, write the National Capitol Region, 1100 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC 20242.)