Staff of Ulysses S. Grant
In the 1870s, a staff member of the Grant administration had reported having a conversation with Willie Lincoln, while several staff members have said they saw Willie's spirit throughout the White House.

Ghosts in the White House?
The first family may have a haunted Halloween

More than 200 years old, the White House has seen its share of strange bump-in-the-night noises and paranormal sightings. Here’s an illustrated look at just a few of the more unusual apparition encounters by former residents, staffers and guests.
Story and illustrations by Janet Loehrke/USA TODAY

Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln
Both the president and Mary have said they have received several visits from their son Willie after his death. Mary had said she had seen their son at the foot of her bed. 
What they witnessed:
The Ghost of William "Willie" Lincoln
In 1862, the third child of the 16th president Abraham Lincoln, and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, died of typhoid fever in the White House at age 11. Both the president and Mary were so distraught of their son's death, Mary turned to holding seances in the Red Room at the White House to communicate with their son. 
A thoughtful Abraham Lincoln
After his assassination in 1865, Lincoln's ghost is said to have appeared in the Yellow Oval Room and the Lincoln Bedroom. Materializing to first lady Grace Coolidge, wife of then-President Calvin Coolidge, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. Lincoln is the most common spirit to haunt the halls of the White House.
First lady Grace Coolidge 
Revealed in the American Magazine of viewing the ghost of President Lincoln standing by a window in his office, presently the Lincoln Bedroom. Mrs. Coolidge reported he was looking out toward the Potomac River – which she presumed to be a 
Civil War battlefield.
British Prime Minister 
Winston Churchill
In a 1940 visit, after emerging from a bath – Churchill naked and smoking a cigar – walked into the main bedroom and saw the spirit of Abraham Lincoln standing by the fireplace. After that, he requested to never sleep in that room again.
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
While visiting in 1942, the queen heard a knock on her bedroom door – the same room given to Winston Churchill, the Lincoln Bedroom. Upon opening the door she saw the ghost of Lincoln and fainted.
“Good evening Mr. President. You seem to have me at a disadvantage.”
Churchill reportedly said:
What they witnessed:
Thomas Jefferson playing his violin
The third president of the U.S. was a great lover of music. Jefferson enjoyed play the violin. He owned at least three violins in his lifetime and was considered a very talented musician. It is said the ghost of Thomas Jefferson can be heard playing his violin in the Yellow Oval Room.
What was heard:
First lady Mary Todd Lincoln 
Having seen the spirits of her son Willie and husband Abraham Lincoln several times, Mary claimed to have heard Jefferson playing his violin in the Yellow Oval Room.
Yellow Oval Room
Second floor of the White House
She reportedly told a friend:
Abigail Adams: The smell of lavender and damp clothes
On several occasions, White House residents and staff members have either seen the ghost of Abigail Adams, American’s second first lady, doing her laundry or reported the smell of lavender and damp clothing in the East Room.
White House staff
Several staff members have reported smelling the scent of lavender and wet clothes near the East Room.
East Room
First floor of the White House
What they witnessed:
First lady Lou Hoover
While living at the White House, Lou Hoover, the wife of the 31st president, Herbert Hoover, had seen the ghost of Abigail Adams entering the doors of the East Room, where Adams and the staff were known to hang the family's laundry on clothes lines to dry.
1920s music coming from a fireplace
In a 2018 interview on 
"The Kelly Clarkson Show", Jenna Bush Hager had said she heard 1920s piano music coming from the fireplace in her room.
What was heard:
"Our phone rang, and I woke up, and all of sudden we heard like 1920s piano music coming out of our fireplace... it was like the middle of the night, and you can feel the music out of the fireplace."
Jenna Bush Hager 
George W. Bush's daughters, Jenna and Barbara, twice heard music coming from the fireplace in the Lincoln Room. Jenna told co-host Hoda Kotb on the "Today" show, that they heard 1920s piano music one week and heard opera music the next.
Said in her interview on "The Kelly Clarkson Show":
Barbara Bush
Jenna Bush Hager