The First Ghosts of the United States Capitol Building

“The Capitol at Washington is probably the most thoroughly haunted building in the world. Not less than fifteen well-authenticated ghosts infest it, and some of them are of a more than ordinarily alarming character.”– Published in the Philadelphia Press, October 2, 1898

The United States Capitol is considered one of the most haunted buildings in Washington. The first apparition to be seen there was in the 1860s as the Capitol was being completed. Several spirits are said to haunt the Capitol due to tragedies associated with its construction.

One such ghost is said to be that of a worker, Robert Slight, who died after a fall during the construction of the rotunda on December 27, 1861. He is now occasionally seen floating beneath the dome carrying a tray of woodworking tools. Another spirit is allegedly a stonemason who died (crushed to death beneath a wall which collapsed or murdered by a co-worker) and is seen in the Old Senate chambers or passing through a wall in the basement beneath the Senate. Over the year’s phantom employees, victims of the many accidents that h have befallen craftsmen and laborers at the site.

Ghosts of Scary DC Blog 19 The First Ghosts of the United States Capitol Building © 2018 by Dr. Philip Ernest Schoenberg, Ghost with a Blog #ghosts