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Julia Tyler -

The second wife of President John Tyler believed she had paranormal abilities. Her mother was known to have held séances, so the supernatural wasn’t new for the First Lady.

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Julia Tyler -

Julia Gardiner Tyler’s extrasensory perception included the ability to levitate objects and make contact with ghosts.

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Julia Tyler -

But perhaps the First Lady’s most famous supernatural event was a dream she had in 1862, in which she claimed she saw her husband dying. Two days later, President Tyler died at Richmond, Virginia's Exchange Hotel.

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Jane Pierce -

Jane Pierce was the wife of 14th US president, Franklin Pierce. One event in particular made a huge impact in the couple’s life: the death of their 11-year-old son Benjamin Bennie in a train accident.

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Jane Pierce -

This was however not the first child to die, it was their third and the only one who had made it past infancy. Sadly, Bennie’s death coincided with his father’s victory in the election. The new First Lady didn’t even attend the inauguration as she was grieving.

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Jane Pierce -

This was when Spiritualism started to gain popularity. In an attempt to contact her deceased son, Jane Pearce reached out to the Fox Sisters, who claimed to be able to communicate with the dead. After the séance, the First Lady wrote a letter to her sister, claiming that the ghost of Bennie came to her during a dream.

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Mary Todd Lincoln -

Abraham Lincoln's wife also lost three sons, including 11-year-old Willie, who died in 1862 of typhoid fever. To add to her personal tragedy, the First Lady was next to her husband when he was assassinated in 1865. It goes without saying that she was a grieving woman.

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Mary Todd Lincoln -

Mary Todd Lincoln became openly involved in Spiritualism and is known to have hosted séances in the Red Room of the White House.

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Mary Todd Lincoln -

The First Lady wrote to her half-sister, saying "Willie lives. He comes to me every night and stands at the foot of the bed with the same sweet adorable smile he always has had."

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Mary Todd Lincoln -

After her husband died, Mary Todd Lincoln asked spirit photographer William H. Mumler to take a picture of her and the ghost of Abe Lincoln. This has become Mumler's most famous photograph.

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Edith Wilson -

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was the wife of President Woodrow Wilson, who served from 1913 to 1921. Her first reported paranormal experience was at the South Lawn of the White House, where the ghost of former First Lady Dolley Madison told her not to change the rose garden.

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Edith Wilson -

Edith Wilson also invited a fortune teller known as Madame Marcia Champney into the White House a number of times.

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Edith Wilson -

Another supernatural episode occurred in 1923, when she felt a “dark presence” around her. This was the night the next president, Warren G. Harding, passed away.

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Florence Harding -

Florence Harding was the wife of President Warren G. Harding. She grew up in a superstitious family and believed in bad omens such as putting shoes on the bed, or moving objects which would change the energy of a room.

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Florence Harding -

Like Edith Wilson, Harding was also fond of Madame Marcia Champney, who is said to have predicted her husband’s death.

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Florence Harding -

When President Harding died, Florence Harding asked for the American flag that was draped over the coffin to be lifted, so that she could speak to her husband.

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Grace Coolidge -

The wife of the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, lost her 16-year-old son, Calvin, Jr. (left, next to his father) in 1924. According to illusionist, escape artist, and anti-spiritualist Harry Houdini, Coolidge held séances at the White House.

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Grace Coolidge -

Houdini testified before Congress in 1926 against fortune tellers. He claimed that a medium told him: "I know for a fact that there have been spiritual séances held at the White House with President Coolidge and his family."

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Grace Coolidge -

Grace Coolidge was also the first person to claim to have seen the ghost of Abraham Lincoln in the White House.

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Eleanor Roosevelt -

The wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt was known to consult with Indiana palm reader Nellie Simmons Meier. The so-called ‘Palmist to the Stars’ is said to have read FDR’s hands too.

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Eleanor Roosevelt -

A mentalist called Joseph Dunninger was also invited to the White House at one point.

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Eleanor Roosevelt -

The First Lady also reported feeling a presence while working in the Treaty Room, which was actually an old office of Abraham Lincoln.

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Jacqueline Kennedy -

Jaqueline Kennedy was married to President John F. Kennedy. Jackie was also supposedly visited by Abraham Lincoln’s ghost, although she wasn’t spooked. Instead, she felt it comforting, as if he was looking after her and JFK.

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Jacqueline Kennedy -

The First Lady is known to have used I Ching, which is an ancient Chinese divination book, said to have been written in the 9th century BCE.

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Jacqueline Kennedy -

Another form of divination practiced by Jackie Kennedy was the use of rune stones.

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Nancy Reagan -

Ronald Reagan’s wife was a believer in astrology, so much so that she hired a professional astrologer called Joan Quigley to give her spiritual guidance.

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Nancy Reagan -

Quigley was paid US$3,000 per month to be on call whenever the First Lady needed her.

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Nancy Reagan -

Joan Quigley, who is said to have met Mikhail S. Gorbachev, reportedly influenced the President to soften his position against the Soviet Union.

Sources: (History Collection) (National Geographic) (Grunge) (Vice) (The White House Historical Association)

See also: Tricks psychics don't want you to know

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