Oval Office Occult: True Stories of White House Weirdness

That mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue hasn’t been possessed by a banshee (at least not yet — let’s wait and see what happens with Sarah Palin), but plenty of other strange goings-on are associated with it and its four-year inhabitants. Ghosts, aliens, curses — Brian M. Thomsen details them all in OVAL OFFICE OCCULT: TRUE STORIES OF WHITE HOUSE WEIRDNESS.

As he points out in his introduction, “occult” doesn’t necessarily denote black magic, but can mean “secret,” and it’s that definition that informs this book’s contents. Through valid research, Thomsen lifts the veil that press secretaries would no doubt like to see left under wraps.

The pieces of the politically peculiar begin with first-prez-to-be George Washington experiencing a vision at Valley Forge, spotting a specter he reportedly described as “a singularly beautiful female,” complete with wisps of vapor. He and many other leaders of the free world were members of underground clubs, which merits an entire chapter, “The Secret Societies of the Founding Fathers.”

Thomsen looks into the validity of the rumored jinx that befell Warren G. Harding, thanks to a cursed gem. After Harding came into possession of it, some of his aides and appointees were caught doing illegal things or committed suicide, leading to the tarnishing of their boss’ reputation.

One of the longest (and too long, I’d argue) chapters is “The Presidents and Their Spiritual Advisers,” which looks at the relationship between certain first families and their dependence on psychic seers, sometimes in shaping policy! Even Abraham Lincoln sought one after his 12-year-old son died of typhoid fever, but more famous is Nancy Reagan’s connection with Jeane Dixon. (Most interesting here is how Ronald Reagan is characterized as a guy who, upon opening a newspaper, would first read the horoscope and the funnies.)

X-philes will enjoy the later chapter “The Presidents and the UFOs,” which debates the rumored dealings with aliens by the likes of Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton. What’s fascinating here is the reproduction of a 1969 UFO report filed by Jimmy Carter when he was governor of Atlanta.

First ladies don’t get ignored, either. Rosalynn Carter talked about living in a haunted house prior to her husband Jimmy winning the presidency. Even Hillary Clinton’s D.C. apartment was rumored to be haunted, having been built over an Indian burial ground.

Of all the chapters, the one not to miss is among the shortest, which exposes Andrew Johnson’s connection with a supposed vampire. Yes, even tabloid journalism was in full effect back then.

I had heard of only a precious few of the situations Thomsen discusses and debunks, with a notable exception being the famed list of Lincoln / Kennedy coincidences surrounding their deaths. Apparently, Ripley’s Believe It … or Not! started the whole thing off, but Thomsen disproves several points in it that we take for granted as common knowledge. (Eerily, however, a majority of the points still hold true.)

With nifty period illustrations made to look ghostly, OVAL OFFICE OCCULT is recommended for political junkies, history buffs and followers of the unexplained. Its sections are concise, making them friendly for the information age, and you might learn something without feeling like you learned something. —Rod Lott

Buy it at Amazon.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHORS:
• THE AWFUL TRUTHS: FAMOUS MYTHS, HILARIOUSLY DEBUNKED edited by Brian M. Thomsen
• THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BEOWULF: CHAMPION OF MIDDLE EARTH edited by Brian M. Thomsen
• NOVEL IDEAS: FANTASY edited by Brian M. Thomsen
• NOVEL IDEAS: SCIENCE FICTION edited by Brian M. Thomsen
• PASTA FAZOOL FOR THE WISEGUY’S SOUL by Brian M. Thomsen
• A YULETIDE UNIVERSE: SIXTEEN FANTASTICAL TALES edited by Brian M. Thomsen

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