Fright Night at the Museum

[Laurie Verge]

Mary Surratt's ghost will not be appearing at Surratt House this Halloween. She has booked a previous engagement at the National Building Museum in Washington (formerly the Pension Building dating to the 1880s and absolutely beautiful architecture, inside and out).

"I am Mary Surratt! I bear the distinction of being the first woman executed by the U.S. government!" That is how Mary introduces herself to the tour group. The actress jumps out of the darkness to begin her tour. "It didn't matter that I was innocent!" the "spirit" screeches, according to the reporter who did this article for the Washington Post.

They have also tied in another personage from the Lincoln assassination. James Tanner, the stenographer during the investigation at Petersen's, later had an office in the Pension Building when he served as commissioner of the Pension Bureau. It is from Tanner's office that Surratt jumps out to begin her tour.

The actress explains the tie-in: "Somewhere the truth of my innocence is buried here! On the night Lincoln was assassinated, Tanner took notes. He knew. He hid things here. There has to be proof....Help me find things that would prove my innocence." (Good luck with that!)

There are other ghost stories told about a woman who was thrown over the third-floor balcony by her lover and a security guard who ended in St. Elizabeth's (D.C.'s famous mental asylum) after confronting the ghost of Tanner.

Tourists also learn the history of the building, which was designed by Gen. Montgomery Meigs who kept lots of notes - including the tidbit that 15,500,000 bricks were used in the construction. The builders used more than bricks, however; they left behind shoes in the floorboards in order to ward off spirits (an old builders' tradition). So far, the National Building Museum that is housed there now has found more than a dozen single shoes - no pairs.

We are pleased to announce that the reporter says that even though the tour verges on fiction, it piqued interest in the history of the building and of Mary Surratt.

[RJNorton]

One of my prize possessions is a very skinny book titled While Lincoln Laying Dying: A Facsimile Reproduction of the First Testimony Taken in Connection with the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln as Recorded by Corporal James Tanner. The book was published in 1968 by The Union League of Philadelphia. It has an introduction by Maxwell Whiteman and is signed by that gentleman.

I have totally forgotten how I acquired this book. Does anyone else have a signed copy by Maxwell Whiteman? If so, do you remember how you acquired it?

[LincolnMan]

Wasn't Corporal Tanner physically disabled in some way? Was it from war service?

[Gene C]

He lost both legs (below the knee) at the second battle of Bull Run according to "20 Days"

Speaking of fright nite, Laurie when I visited the Surratt House in June, the young man who gave us the tour mentioned an incident he personally experienced about a door slamming upstairs as he was closing. When he went to investigate, no one was there and no windows were open to have created a draft. Also told us that there were fairly recent incidences of footsteps upstairs, when no one was up there, and footsteps on the stairs when there was no one there, and the appearance of a young girl in period dress that no one could identify. He indicated he had been skeptical of the stories until he experienced the door slamming shut.....he didn't know what to think now....He did a nice job of giving us the tour.

[LincolnMan]

Thanks, Gene. I thought he was a "wounded warrior." And, fortunately, he knew that era's version of shorthand to take down the information that Stanton had directed him to do.

[RJNorton]

(10-12-2012 07:26 PM)Gene C Wrote:  Speaking of fright nite, Laurie when I visited the Surratt House in June, the young man who gave us the tour mentioned an incident he personally experienced about a door slamming upstairs as he was closing. When he went to investigate, no one was there and no windows were open to have created a draft. Also told us that there were fairly recent incidences of footsteps upstairs, when no one was up there, and footsteps on the stairs when there was no one there, and the appearance of a young girl in period dress that no one could identify. He indicated he had been skeptical of the stories until he experienced the door slamming shut.....he didn't know what to think now....He did a nice job of giving us the tour.

Did Apollonia Dean ever accompany Mary on any of her trips to the country? Possibly it's her ghost.

[BettyO]

(10-12-2012 01:36 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  One of my prize possessions is a very skinny book titled While Lincoln Laying Dying: A Facsimile Reproduction of the First Testimony Taken in Connection with the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln as Recorded by Corporal James Tanner. The book was published in 1968 by The Union League of Philadelphia. It has an introduction by Maxwell Whiteman and is signed by that gentleman.

I have totally forgotten how I acquired this book. Does anyone else have a signed copy by Maxwell Whiteman? If so, do you remember how you acquired it?

Roger - I, too have a copy of this book. I LOVE it! I bought mine at a local antique book store years ago!

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Working at Surratt House years ago, myself and another docent had a very strange experience one evening. It was late fall and getting dark early. We had a similar experience. We heard what sounded like footsteps upstairs coming down the steps and then smelled a heavy smell of cigar smoke. We went upstairs (I'm NOT afraid of these things) - and checked it out. Nothing. The house was totally locked....absolutely nothing. We never figured it out. I think it was the ghost of old man Surratt or either John Lloyd. I've always had a soft spot for Lloyd - don't know why. I think he was really a character.

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I'm wondering if there are any ghost stories connected to "My Boy", Lewis Powell? Or does anyone do any "reenactments/living history" regarding him.... there is a gentleman who plays Davey Herold at Congressional Cemetery on tours!

[L Verge]

As for Surratt House ghosts, I am a non-believer. However, I cannot explain footsteps that I heard over the years. My office used to be in the old house before we acquired the visitors' center and then the research center. There were times when I was alone, but did not feel alone. However, I never felt threatened.

My husband and I always theorized that the footsteps (and they were definitely men's) was John Lloyd trying to find those darn carbines that caused all the problems. As for the little girl, the guide who saw here described her outfit as being more of the Little House on the Prairie style. Remember that Surratt House was lived in continuously until the 1960s. I know what families lived there, but no real details on them.

We have been visited by two mediums (that we know of). One came unannounced and took over the tour! The other was part of a History Ghost program that was being planned for television. That medium did the whole Booth Tour seeking ghosts. Both mediums told us that Surratt House has no ghosts - just heavy emotions. One went so far as to say it was a sick house.

As far as I'm concerned, as long as I need a paycheck and enjoy my work, I will ignore the ghosts.

I'm heading out to work today. When I get a chance I will tell you of what we have to deal with today with families that are ghost chasers - with the help of computers and phone apps.

[RJNorton]

(10-13-2012 07:24 AM)BettyO Wrote:  The house was totally locked....absolutely nothing. We never figured it out. I think it was the ghost of old man Surratt or either John Lloyd. I've always had a soft spot for Lloyd - don't know why. I think he was really a character.

(10-13-2012 08:10 AM)L Verge Wrote:  My husband and I always theorized that the footsteps (and they were definitely men's) was John Lloyd trying to find those darn carbines that caused all the problems.

I wonder how many of us, when we conjure up John Lloyd in our minds, are getting an image of the gentleman who played him in The Conspirator. I know I am!

[BettyO]

Agreed, Roger! I think that character actor really stole the show! He was my favorite in the movie -- whenever I think of Lloyd now, I see him! HA!

[Laurie Verge]

Everyone has the same feeling that the actor captured Lloyd exactly as we imagined him. The only problem is Lloyd was 40 in 1865, and his character looked closer to 60 to me.

One piece of irony, Lloyd lived to be 68, and died on his birthday in 1892. He's buried in Mt. Olivet, not far from Mrs. Surratt. Wonder if their spirits ever have a yelling match in the cemetery...

Now, back to ghosts in the Age of Technology: Some of you may know that they now have phone apps that supposedly detect ghosts. Our guides have had to contend with these on tour (usually held by children). When a "presence" is detected, it beeps and flashes a red light.

The other problem we had recently with computers and ghost hunters involved a family that took numerous pictures in every room of Surratt House while going on tour. Luckily, they were in a group by themselves - three adults and two children. They never once mentioned a ghost and left the building promptly when the tour was over.

However, about ten minutes later, the mother came rushing back to the door and knocked like crazy - very excited. She asked to go upstairs again. Our guide thought she had left something behind or needed to use the indoor facilities. Instead, she stopped in the upstairs hallway and started saying, "Come here, come here, look at this!" She then showed both guides her cell phone. The picture on it showed the image of a "ghostly" man floating over the second floor stair railing. He was dressed in Victorian garb and was holding a wine glass in his hand.

That family had taken pictures throughout the house, gone back to their laptop in the car, transferred the photos to the computer, photoshopped a ghostly image into one of the photos, then transferred that photo to their phone so that they could claim they saw a ghost at Surratt House.

Speaking of ghosts, we are doing a unique program at the museum today called Name That Ghost. It is designed for adults who think they are living with ghosts in their house. Our presenter is a historian, who teaches people how to research newspapers, police and criminal records, coroner's inquests, and the like to see how to determine if there is a possibility of spirits (if such things exist).