There have indeed been many reports over the centuries about the White House being haunted and visited by “ghosts,” and quite recently, it was claimed that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has had encounters with ghosts.
“Roll Call” wrote on June 6, 2012, that “Pelosi… recounted an unusual anecdote about how the ghosts of past women leaders spoke to her at her first White House meeting as Speaker… in 2006… ‘I realized that on that chair with me was Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Hall, Lucretia Mott, you name it, they were all there… And I could hear them say “at last we have a seat at the table,”’ Pelosi said.”
The “Wikipedia Encyclopedia” writes: “There have been several stories about ghosts of former Presidents revisiting the White House. However, the most common and popular is that of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s Ghost, or to others as The White House Ghost, is said to have haunted the White House since his death.”
The website of haunted-places.com states: “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… 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.’…
“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… [Some claim that while Mrs. Lincoln had numerous séances in the White House, Abraham only participated in one]. 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… [While some White House officials have disputed the use of the term, ‘séance,’ they did not dispute the events described by Woodward.]
“Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was a guest of the White House when she heard a knock on her bedroom door in the middle of the night. When she answered it, Lincoln stood before her with his famous top hat and all. The Queen fainted, and when she came [to], he was gone. Britain’s Winston Churchill refused to sleep there after sighting President Abraham Lincoln’s ghost lurking about… in the Lincoln Bedroom… He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Abraham Lincoln standing by the fireplace in the room, leaning on the mantle. The two men looked each other in the face… as Lincoln’s apparition slowly faded away.
“Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Margaret Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ladybird Johnson [wife of Lyndon Johnson], Susan Ford [Gerald Ford’s daughter], and Maureen Reagan [Ronald Reagan’s daughter] have all admitted sensing the presence of the Civil War president in the White House… Maureen and her husband, Dennis Revell, both saw Lincoln’s transparent form next to the bedroom’s fireplace.”
On July 9, 2009, “Weekly World News” reported this:
“Just as Bill Clinton did before him, President Barack Obama is now getting help in the White House – from Abraham Lincoln’s ghost! A government insider has revealed that Honest Abe’s apparition has been seen in the Oval Office on several occasions, quietly conferring with the President on vital world issues!… In a 1993 issue, Weekly World News stunned the world with its exclusive story that the Great Emancipator was helping President Clinton guide America’s ship of state through troubled waters…”
History.com adds:
“The most famous address in America–1600 Pennsylvania Avenue–is also perhaps the country’s most famous haunted house. Presidents, first ladies, White House staff members and guests have reported feeling ghostly presences, hearing unexplained noises and even running into actual apparitions–even on the way out of the bathtub, in one particularly famous case [that of Winston Churchill].”
The Daily Mail wrote on November 5, 2009:
“The daughter of former President George W. Bush… Jenna Bush Hager told chat show host Jay Leno she had been terrified by spooky events near the fireplace in her bedroom [in the White House]. The 27-year-old teacher, who now works as an education correspondent for the Today Show, said: ‘I heard a ghost. I was asleep, there was a fireplace in my room and all of a sudden I heard 1920’s music coming out. I could feel it, I freaked out and ran into my sister’s room. She was like “Please go back to sleep this is ridiculous.”
“The next week we were both asleep in my room, the phone had rang and woke us up. We were talking and going back to bed when all of a sudden we heard this opera, coming out of the fireplace. We couldn’t believe it, we both jumped in bed and were asking the people that worked there the next morning “Are we crazy?” We tried to rationalise it, but they said they heard it there all the time.’…
“The former first daughter confessed she had never seen Abraham Lincoln’s ghost – which is said to regularly haunt the White House – but wished she had.”
So, are there ghosts of those who died, which may appear to us or haunt us? And, can we get in touch with and communicate with them, either directly or through a medium in a séance? And—should we try to do this? Closely related to these questions is the concept of necromancy.
The “Wikipedia Encyclopedia” has this to say:
“Early necromancy was related to – and most likely evolved from – shamanism, which calls upon spirits such as the ghosts of ancestors… Necromancy was prevalent throughout Western antiquity with records of its practice in Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome… There are also several references to necromancers… in the Bible. The Book of Deuteronomy… explicitly warns the Israelites against engaging in the Canaanite practice of divination from the dead…
“Some Christian writers later rejected the idea that humans could bring back the spirits of the dead and interpreted such shades as disguised demons instead, thus conflating necromancy with demon summoning. Caesarius of Arles entreats his audience to put no stock in any demons or gods other than the Christian God, even if the working of spells appears to provide benefit. He states that demons only act with divine permission and are permitted by God to test Christian people…”
Here we have indeed the answer to the questions as to the existence of ghosts, haunted houses and the attempts of the living to communicate with the ghosts or the souls of the dead. In short, ghosts of deceased people do not exist, but demons do. And if there is a place which is truly haunted, it signifies the presence or activities of demons. And if one is successful in communicating with the “other side,” either directly or during a séance or through a medium, he is not communicating with the ghosts of loved ones, but with demons.
In our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”, we explain that the dead are asleep in their graves, waiting for the resurrection. They have no consciousness, and their “ghosts” or spirits do not live on. We then explain the following regarding alleged “communications with the dead”:
The attempts to communicate with the dead seem to be as old as mankind. Ancient Israel was specifically warned not to try to engage in such practices. We read in Leviticus 19:31, “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them…” So it is possible, although prohibited by God, to seek after “familiar spirits.” But are those “familiar spirits” the departed spirits or souls of dead people, as some claim?… Leviticus 20:6 and 27 tell us, “And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person…A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death.” (NKJB)….
Acts 16:16–19 gives us a clue who or what those familiar spirits are: “Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour.” (NKJB).
This spirit of divination was a familiar spirit—a demon. It was not a departed soul…
We read in 1 Samuel 28, in the New King James Bible, that Saul consulted a woman who was a medium. The Authorized Version describes her as a woman “with a familiar spirit.” [In the Hebrew it says literally that she was “the possessor of a spirit,” in other words, of a demon.]… Saul consulted a witch possessed with a demon. This witch was asked by Saul to bring up Samuel. We read in Verse 12, “When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice.” (NKJB). The following passage tells us that Saul saw nothing. He asked the woman, “What did you see?” Notice her answer, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.” (Verse 13—NKJB). When she described the form of that spirit as one of an old man, we are told that “Saul perceived that it [was] Samuel.” (Verse 14). The word “was” is not in the original. So one could add “pretended to be,” “appeared to be,” “claimed to be,” etc….
Saul did not see the “spirit” or “ghost” or “soul” of Samuel at all. Samuel had died and had been dead for a while (cp. 1 Samuel 25:1; 1 Samuel 27:7–8; 1 Samuel 31:6; 2 Samuel 1:1–2). God did not answer Saul in dreams or by the prophets (1 Samuel 28:6)—and Samuel was a prophet (Acts 13:20; 1 Samuel 3:20). When the “old man” appeared and answered Saul, that could not have been Samuel or his spirit or departed soul—otherwise, Samuel would have answered Saul in the capacity of a prophet of God. We also read in 1 Chronicles 10:13–14, that this séance was not of God—rather, Saul was killed by God because of conducting it. Saul died “for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him.”
We read that “Samuel” answered Saul and told him that Saul would die the next day. The real Samuel, dead and in the grave, could not have known that [because] the dead “know not any thing.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). But Satan and demons do sometimes know God’s plan and purpose (cp. 1 Kings 22:19–23; Revelation 12:12; James 2:19). So it is clear that the demon, the familiar spirit, pretended to be Samuel, and spoke as Samuel to the witch…
The true Samuel… would have never spoken to Saul through a witch, especially after God had refused to talk to Saul. And God would not have supernaturally brought Samuel—or his soul or his spirit—back to life, to allow him to speak to Saul through a witch—after God had refused to speak to Saul directly.
The concept that the souls or spirits of dead people can be contacted is demonic. Isaiah 8:19 tells us, “And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?” (NKJB). To consult mediums (those possessed with demons or familiar spirits) and God is incompatible. Also, Isaiah is not saying here that the spirits of the dead can be consulted. He is asking, “Should anyone try to seek the dead?’
Notice, too, Isaiah 29:4, “…thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground.” This is a reference to the voice of a demon, a familiar spirit that has possessed the medium. It may appear as if the medium speaks, but it is, in fact, the demon within the medium that does the speaking. That is why Paul, in Acts 16:16–19, spoke to the familiar spirit or demon of the possessed slave girl—and not to the slave girl herself.
Notice Deuteronomy 18:10–11, “There shall not be found among you any one that… useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.” A “necromancer” is somebody who “consults with the dead, or with a spirit to answer questions.” Note, how the New American Bible brings this phrase, “…one who consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead.” This phrase does not say that communication with the dead is possible—it tells us, though, not to try it, as this will bring us in contact with demons.
The very concept of communication with the dead is demonic. If people feel the presence of a ghost or “see” an apparition, thinking they have seen the ghost of Abraham Lincoln or another famous figure, they have either had a vivid imagination, or they have been fooled by demons. To wish to meet a “ghost” or communicate with one is not only foolish, it is VERY dangerous.
We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by strange events, stemming from the occult, which may be “entertaining,” “interesting” or “appealing to our senses.” The author of this article was present once at a show with a famous hypnotizer who told several volunteers on stage that they could not remember their names, and when they were asked, they did not answer. Later, the author talked to one of the volunteers, who told him that he could of course remember his name, but that it felt as if a powerful force prevented him from saying it.
In another incident, a person known to the author had engaged in the practice of Transcendental Meditation, which requires the repeated silent repetition of a certain Indian word—a mantra. These words are derived from Indian mysticism and designate the name of a god—and in the Indian belief system, these gods are both good and evil. The person told the author that he had been sensing that someone was following him, but when turning his head, there was nobody there.
This incident is interesting in light of the following account, which was published by the late Earl Murray in “Ghosts of the Old West,” pertaining to a personal experience with a “haunted house”:
“For a botany class, a girlfriend and I were collecting wild plants on a lonely hillside below the Gellatin River some distance from town. Along the river bottom was an old abandoned house… My girlfriend commented on the strange feelings she was getting from the house and I had to agree with her… At dusk we began the trip back to Bozeman. A short way down the road, my girlfriend broke off what she was saying in midsentence. We looked at each other, then turned to the backseat. We saw nothing, but both of us felt a presence back there—a strong presence that scared us.
“The remainder of the trip was a mixture of confusion and near terror. Who or what was in the backseat and why was it there? Why wouldn’t it go away?… Finally, the presence seemed to go away and we relaxed. I dropped her off at her dormitory and parked my car. Later, in my own dorm room, whatever it was came back. It was late and I had just gotten into bed. I was lying on my stomach with my pillow curled up under my head, nearly asleep, when I felt something enter the room. Now I was wide awake. Then I felt the edge of my bed settling, as if someone had just sat down. I couldn’t move; fear had petrified me. My arms and legs, my whole body, seemed numbed with shock. I couldn’t make my mouth move even to yell.
“Finally, after what seemed an intolerable long time, the pressure on the edge of my bed lessened and the feeling in the room dissipated… Whatever had been there was gone.”
Apparently, Murray concluded that the presence stemmed from the ghost of a departed one, which had followed him from the “haunted house.” However, in reality, this presence would have stemmed from a demon. The author of this article is familiar with accounts of people who had very similar experiences. In some cases, they occurred when a person did things, unrelated to the “occult,” which he or she knew were wrong. In other cases, persons allowed themselves to get involved with strange phenomena “from the other side” or “the occult,” including getting hypnotized, attending séances, or getting engaged in far eastern “meditation” practices.
Whatever the case may be, the only lasting way to free oneself from such occurrences is to pray to the true God of heaven for help and to stop doing what is wrong. Any further engagement with the “occult” must cease at once. In the book of Acts, those who had been involved with witchcraft, sorcery and other dark practices burnt their books of magic in the presence of all, when they began to believe in the true God and realized that such “dark” practices were wrong and dangerous (Acts 19:18-19). In some cases, it might be necessary to request an anointed cloth to be freed from the presence of demons (Acts 19:11-12). In cases of real possession, the casting out of demons through a true minister of God may be necessary (Mark 16:17).
In any event, the safest course of action is NEVER to want to get involved with spirits or ghosts (in reality, with demons) in any way. This would include, staying away from alleged haunted houses, participating in séances, consulting mediums, or becoming hypnotized or engaged in obscure far eastern meditation practices. Even the viewing of certain scary movies with ghosts and demons could lead to undesired results. The same is true for participation in wrong and ungodly religious practices. Paul warns us not to come in contact with demons in any way (1 Corinthians 10:14-22).
For further information, please view our StandingWatch program, “Does Lincoln’s Ghost Haunt the White House?”
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
