Who's Haunting the White House?: The President's Mansion and the Ghosts Who Live There - Hardcover

Belanger, Jeff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1402738226 ISBN 13: 9781402738227

Publisher: Sterling, 2008

Synopsis

Come explore the spooky world inside the White House! It’s one of America’s most famous and haunted homes, so keep your eyes wide open for darting shadows, ghostly apparitions, and lurking creepy creatures. We’ll hear true, scary stories from past Presidents and First Ladies, as well as from staff who work there every day and have had the chance to see it all. It’s the perfect election year book; as adults decide who will move in, kids can enjoy thinking of what the new inhabitant might encounter in the building’s many rooms and hallways.
Has the original landowner decided to stick around? Is Abigail Adams still hanging laundry on the premises? Does President Andrew Jackson still make a ruckus up in the Rose Guest Room? Is Abraham Lincoln a permanent fixture in the bedroom that bears his name? Every one of these figures, and others, has been spotted or heard from. To increase the chills, a variety of archival images and original illustrations capture the hauntings.
In addition to ghost-hunting, kids will learn about the real history inside the White House.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 4–8—In a matter-of-fact tone that assumes ghost stories are true, Belanger relates White House encounters with the supernatural. "After all, where there are wars, there are ghosts," he states to explain the numerous sightings. Paranormal incidents like Dolley Madison defending her garden from would-be landscapers, Abigail Adams hanging laundry in the East Room, and many appearances of Lincoln are chronicled. The perspectives of presidents, statesmen, and other White House residents and employees who have personally experienced these apparitions are described. Primary documents—including letters, paintings, and photos—follow the history of the famous residence. Detailed colored-pencil illustrations successfully depict the ghosts as translucent figures while living characters are solid. While the book is a bit sensationalized, it is the quality of the research and presentation that make it an enticing resource to discover facts about the presidents, the White House, and American history.—Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library
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Illustrated with period photos, paintings, and prints, as well as colored-pencil drawings, this wide-format book combines a chronological history of the White House with accounts of ghosts from different eras who supposedly haunt it. Belanger, who, according to the jacket flap, started “the largest paranormal community on the Web,” guides readers through a “supernatural investigation.” He intersperses history with reports of ghost sightings and sometimes includes documentation such as excerpts from letters, referenced in the appended notes and bibliography. The book provides an example of a researcher’s viewpoint influencing the deductions drawn. Though the account is clearly written, its conclusion that “the White House is haunted” rests on the belief that the existence of ghosts can be determined by positive answers to four questions, starting with “Have there been any deaths or tragedies at this location?” and relying on personal accounts for the others. Some of the intended audience may not have the critical eye needed for an assessment of the thesis, but this does intrigue. Grades 4-7. --Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Sterling
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1402738226
• ISBN 13: 9781402738227
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Powell Rick
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64