All political jokes aside, September has always been the best time of year for me to finally ramp up to October’s terrors with many horror highlights that I may have missed in previous years (that still may haunt my DVR). I finally took the time to delve into some dark subject matter that’s intrigued me for a long time. Originally airing during a previous Ghostober event, Shock Docs examined 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. where two grieving first ladies may have actually invited evil into their home that still lingers there today!

Demon in the White House examines grief in what could very well be one of the most haunted houses found within our country. If you can allow that concept to sink in for just a minute, you will recall that history books state construction wasn’t completed on the building until 1800, and Thomas Jefferson was the first to move into the mansion in 1801. Ever since, it’s been the official residence and workplace for the U.S. president for 223 years. That’s plenty of time to celebrate many successful campaigns, but even longer to mourn the many tragedies that have befallen our elected officials.

The specific focus for this documentary series centers around two former first ladies with eerily similar outcomes. Both experienced personal loss while living there. And both may have inadvertently invited an unholy presence into their lives.

Notably, the hauntings seem to begin in 1853, during Franklin Pierce’s presidency. Pierce had three sons who all died during childhood. After Benjamin (his last child) died due to severe head injuries sustained during a train wreck, his wife, Jane, was distraught and depressed. She eventually attempted to contact her son via spiritualism seances and eventually reports seeing her son on numerous occasions. This was the first reported ghost sighting, but it would not be the last.

Presidents, first ladies and military aides have all claimed to have had spiritual encounters throughout every administration since then, especially whenever renovations are involved, but some of the most notable moments occurred while Abraham Lincoln was in office. When young Willie dies of Typhoid fever at the White House, also at the age of 11 strangely enough, Mary Todd decided to summon his spirit and received spooky results.

While Nancy Reagan was interested in astrology, which played a big part in her life, the ghost of Lincoln has been sighted by more than a dozen high-profile people from around the world and most recently, a full-bodied apparition was caught in a photo directly below the Lincoln bedroom taken while Truman had the White House remodeled.

“If you are a demonic entity and you want to bring about mischief on a vast scale, what better place to do it than the White House?”

All of these previously mentioned events were paranormal in nature, but none rise to the level of dark forces unleashed within our nation’s highest office, as the title might suggest. Multiple exorcisms are rumored to have taken place, along with a demonic possession or two, but they’re mostly mentioned in passing, as no solid evidence really has been found.

“You can only get so close to the truth, and then they lock down all the information…”

While I’m a huge fan of the factually based nature of this documentary series, usually, I found the claim of this entry more hype than not. I appreciate the variety of historians, authors and paranormal investigators bringing differing opinions to the table, attempting to piece together these stories that demand more details, many years later.

I found the Stone Tape Theory the most noteworthy piece of information in this special. Is it possible that specifically powerful places or things might be able to record traumatic or dramatic events that happen around them? And if so, could the White House be one of these places? This pseudoscientific claim could explain a whole lot of supernatural theories that are currently floating about the interwebs, but I really don’t know how it could point to any bit of definitive proof of its existence.

The battle between good and evil wages on, just like the needs of many to make contact with past loved ones, but what are the aftershocks of multiple seances held at the White House throughout the years? Many of the building’s secrets (as well as the lives of past presidents) may continue to be vague or unclear until a proper investigation could actually be held. It would most likely never happen, but how cool would it be to see some hard evidence attained by ghost hunters of spirits walking the halls and banging on the walls of the Whie House? That sounds like the ultimate Halloween made-for-TV special that I’d definitely tune in to watch!

“The White House is truly a house of secrets…”