by Mark Silva
Now that the Obamas are settling in to the Hay-Adams Hotel for about 10 days, one wonders how much Michelle Obama has told her daughters about the alleged ghost.
The place is haunted, according to Washington legend.
The tale surrounding the ghost of Clover Adams doesn't make for much of a bedtime story:
."By some accounts, several strange and recurring incidences at the elegant Hay-Adams Hotel have been attributed to the ghost of Marian Hooper Adams,'' Sheridan Alexander writes. "Marian Adams, called Clover by her close friends and family members, was married to presidential descendant, political journalist and Harvard professor Henry Adams. A prominent member of the Washington elite, she was known as a clever and outspoken woman who had a keen interest in amateur photography.
"Henry and Marian Adams spent the winters in their Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square mansion, which was located on the site of the Hay-Adams Hotel. Summers were enjoyed on the Massachusetts North Shore near Boston. This life of comfort, however, did not prevent Marian Adams from bouts of melancholy and depression, which eventually lead to her suicide in December of 1885.
"In memory of his wife, Henry Adams erected a statue of a hooded female figure, by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, in Rock Creek Church Cemetery.
"The memorial statue, which was originally named "The Mystery of the Hereafter and The Peace of God that Passeth Understanding" is commonly referred to today as "Grief." People say that looking at the statue causes a feeling of great sorrow and weeping.
Tales of the ghost of Marian Adams say that she visits the Hay-Adams Hotel, usually in early December around the time of the anniversary of her death.
"Staff housekeepers have reported someone unseen calling their names and the sensation of invisible arms around them. Locked doors fling themselves open and the scent of Mimosa mysteriously fills the air on certain floors at night. On repeated occasions, a tearful woman has been heard asking, "What do you want?"
Comments
Great story Mark...we now know more about the history of the Hay-Adams hotel then Obama's past...creepy for sure.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | January 4, 2009 12:19 PM
This ghost tale is useful, in that anyone who takes it seriously should be barred from public life.
It appears that "Clover" Adams neither lived in, nor died in, the mansion on the site of the Hay-Adams Hotel, raising the question: why would she "haunt" that place, rather than the place she died or the place she lived?
"Clover and her husband hired architect H.H. Richardson and were in the process of having a new home built on Lafayette Square, which was adjacent to the Richardson designed house being built for John Hay, when her adored father died on April 13, 1885. After Dr. Hooper's death, she sank into bouts of overwhelming depression.
While awaiting the completion of the house, they rented one nearby on H Street. Clover documented the construction of the houses with her camera.
....
Clover Hooper Adams died at age 42 at her temporary home on H Street in Washington, D.C., and was found by her husband lying on the rug before her bedroom fire. " (wikipedia)
Posted by: Bruce | January 4, 2009 12:59 PM
The dead can't harm you...it's THE LIVING. PERSONALLY, I like the thought that the dead are still around...it's evidence that people aren't just put in the ground...it's consoling.
Posted by: Dawson | January 4, 2009 1:30 PM
Oh, pooph! Who doesn't love a ghost story! Who cares about details? Ghosts can come and go at their leisures.
Posted by: Pooch | January 4, 2009 2:39 PM
Great story Mark...we now know more about the history of the Hay-Adams hotel then Obama's past...creepy for sure.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | January 4, 2009 12:19 PM
..
We know you used to be Bill, before you became Jeff. And now after your hero, Gramdpa McCain, has been soundly defeated, you have morphed into "Bubba Porter" - a bitter and dejected little one who lashes out as a member of a very small Repub minority party, one that will probably be out of power for 20 years at the least.
Indeed, watch out for the ghosts Prez-elect Obama, they are angry and bitter and wishing that you would fail. They have no interest whatsoever in fixing this countries huge problems.
Posted by: Bubba "Jeff " Porter | January 4, 2009 3:55 PM
The only time I stayed at the Hay-Adams was in 1988. I remember it was on the 4th floor because the flags were right outside my window.
It was late in the evening, while reading on my bed, that I saw an apparition move across the room between my bed and the door to the hallway. The vision appeared in my peripheral vision but was so obvious that I thought that I had left the door to my room wide open and someone had entered. I turned my head and saw the closed door and, at that instance,thought that I had seen a ghost; my first and, hopefully, only time.
Posted by: Tony Halsey | January 4, 2009 6:14 PM
Great story Mark...we now know more about the history of the Hay-Adams hotel then Obama's past...creepy for sure.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | January 4, 2009 12:19 PM
..
what's your history, creep?
Posted by: Tom | January 4, 2009 6:26 PM
Funny thing is...
We really do know more about this hotels past than Obama's.
I'm sure America can withstand this idiot in office for 8 or less. After all, we did Bush.
Posted by: Pete | January 4, 2009 6:33 PM
Guess I'll come clean, "Jeff "& Tom (or is it "Tom&Jerry" the cartoon guys). I'm one of those "bitter Americans "who cling to their guns and Bibles". Be nice now, Liberals are inclusive and tolerant.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | January 4, 2009 7:01 PM
All that scary stuff going on. The skeletons in the closets and things. It has got to be really really scary... But I am sure the ghosts will get used to it.
Posted by: thoughts | January 4, 2009 8:07 PM
High energy, high emotion and lots of intrigue is a good recipe for hauntedness. DC is prolly full of it. However, I agree with Dawson's comment here at 1:30 pm--it's the living that we have to be afraid of. I live in an antebellum house and enjoy all the company. Wishing the Obamas much fun.
Posted by: Vivian | January 4, 2009 10:13 PM
The last time I stayed at the Hay Adams as my wife and I sought to return to our room after a sojourn, we were thrust into chaos when the then President {Bill Clinton} decided to attend a DNC meeting there. To say that the President and I got close on that occassion is an understatement, he and then his Secret Service detail in turn actually bumped into me. Suffice it to say, the Hay Adams has had the ghosts of many scoundrels in residence at one time or another. I now stay at the Cosmos Club when in DC, thereby allowing some distance between myself and the political hacks of the moment.
Posted by: John Jay | January 4, 2009 11:47 PM
The White House is bound to have even more ghosts. The Obama family will just have to cope.
Posted by: Muttley | January 5, 2009 10:19 AM
Be nice. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. People don't generally go to the "other side" and return, but those who get only half way there for some reason and leave part of their essence on this side should be...um, I have no idea.
Posted by: Rzeke | January 5, 2009 10:30 AM
I wonder what one can find when Cheney up and leaves his residence. That's a scary thought.
Posted by: Doug R. | January 5, 2009 2:13 PM
"I wonder what one can find when Cheney up and leaves his residence. That's a scary thought.
My guess would be empty pizza boxes. Lots and lots of pizza boxes...lol
Posted by: kate | January 5, 2009 5:13 PM
Don't worry about the ghosts. Worry about any potential skeletons in Obama's closet.
Posted by: Jim | January 5, 2009 5:33 PM
What surprises me, is the stupid comments made by so many writers. As an octogenarian who has lived through the previous Republican Depression I am gratified to see an intelligent and caring president-elect ready to replace this so called Commander in Chief, who wouldn't allow the Obama family the courtesy of moving into Blair House. What a dog. Oh, by the way my skin is white but that has no bearing on these comments, since if you peel the skin we are all alike, created by God.
Posted by: Louis M Zembruski Sr. | January 6, 2009 1:59 AM
The Hay-Adam Hotel and its hauntings is also mentioned in the book, "Haunted Inns of America."
Posted by: Terry Smith | January 7, 2009 10:45 AM