When it comes to Presidents of the United States and their relatives, there are plenty of tales regarding the haunted and bizarre experiences of the former leaders of our country. A number of haunted stories also deal with Presidents who are still trying to make their mark even in the afterlife. In this article, we will take a look at The Equinox and the mysterious happenings of the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel.
It was an especially hot summer in Washington, DC and Mary Todd Lincoln whisked her children off to the Equinox located at Manchester Village in Vermont to escape the heat. This practice occurred two summers in a whole with a third return in the works until Abraham Lincoln’s life was taken. Despite Lincoln’s death, the family would continue to maintain ties with the region, which culminating with Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln bought property , a neighboring estate named Hildene.
The resort hotel held many paranormal experiences, as employees claimed to have spotted ghosts appearing on the third floor that carried a likeness to Mary Todd Lincoln and one of her sons. Some believe that even in death, they found the premises of the Equinox a rather soothing location. The memories of their summers at the resort were probably quite fond.
In Washington, DC, the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel hosted its first Inaugural Ball, which paid homage to Calvin Coolidge on March 4th, 1925. Unfortunately, the event was scheduled to take place just two weeks after the hotel opened and shortly after a tragic event. At the time of the ball, Coolidge was mourning the loss of his 16-year-old son, who lost his life due to blood poisoning. As a result, the president declined to attend the ball. In 1937, Inauguration Day was changed to January 20th, and ever since , odd happenings have been known to take place on the 20th of January.
For starters, in the Grand Ballroom, the lights are known to flicker on and off about 10pm. This was the same hour at which the guests of honor at President Coolidge’s Inaugural Ball were announced. Although all of the electrical circuits have been double-checked, there is nothing reasonable to explain why the lights behave the way they do.
Another tale involves the hotel staff locating a plate of fancy hors d’ oeuvres alongside a glass of fine wine that was left in the Grand Ballroom balcony. The odd thing is , known of the items were served on the day of the particular function. So, where did it come from?
One time, the elevator would not travel from the 8th floor to the lobby level until 10:15pm. This is the approximate time when the President would have arrived to the ball. Some people believe that since Coolidge was not present at his own Inaugural Ball that he may have chosen this historical event to recreate and make his presence known every January 20th at the Renaissance Mayflower.