A Nation Haunted by War and Loss
Between 1861 and 1865, the American Civil War claimed an estimated 750,000 lives. It was the deadliest conflict in U.S. history, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of grieving families. Traditional mourning practices were often disrupted as soldiers died far from home, with many families never recovering bodies or receiving confirmation of their loved one’s fate.
In this context, spiritualism—centered on the belief that the dead could communicate with the living—spread rapidly. Séances became common, and among the mourners who turned to this practice was First Lady Mary Lincoln.
Mary Lincoln’s Grief and Spiritual Turn
Mary Todd Lincoln lost her son Willie in February 1862 to typhoid fever at age eleven. Devastated, she sought comfort in spiritualism and attended séances in Georgetown hosted by the Laurie family, prominent mediums of the time.
She reportedly held up to eight séances in the White House’s Red Room, some of which President Abraham Lincoln is said to have attended. Mary once wrote to her half-sister that Willie visited her nightly and was sometimes accompanied by her other deceased son, Eddie. Though Mary eventually reduced her public involvement with spiritualism due to social scrutiny, it remained a deeply personal coping method for her.
The Rise of Lincoln Ghost Sightings
After President Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, rumors of his ghost began to circulate. White House employees and visitors, including First Lady Grace Coolidge and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, claimed to have seen his spirit. Jeremiah “Jerry” Smith, a longtime White House employee, became known for retelling ghost stories to reporters in the late 19th century, particularly those involving the Lincoln family.
In 1870, Mary Lincoln secretly visited William H. Mumler, a spirit photographer, and sat for a photograph that appeared to show the ghost of her husband standing behind her.
Spiritualism and the Cultural Landscape of Mourning
The Civil War shifted how Americans understood and processed death. With widespread fatalities and limited means of identification or repatriation of remains, families often turned to spiritualism for closure.
By 1897, it was estimated that over eight million people in the U.S. and Europe practiced or followed spiritualism. Séances, spirit photography, and other attempts to communicate with the dead became culturally significant methods of mourning. The White House ghost stories—particularly those of Abraham Lincoln—emerged during this period and reflect the broader national response to grief during and after the war.
The Civil War brought unprecedented death to the U.S., leaving families grieving far from battlefields.
With no bodies to bury and no closure, many turned to spiritualism.
In the White House, Mary Lincoln sought answers in séances, trying to reach her lost son…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/GiIhanCEEz
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) July 6, 2025