The Lincoln Mystery

This article explores the extraordinary and mysterious phenomena surrounding Abraham Lincoln and his tragic death. The story begins with Lincoln's prophetic dream of his body displayed on a catafalque in the White House, a dream that soon becomes reality after his assassination. Additionally, the text reveals that many White House guests claimed to have seen Lincoln's ghost, and it also presents dark legends of a ghost train carrying his remains. The article also compares Lincoln's fate to that of the tragically deceased President John F. Kennedy.

Abraham Lincoln

These are the words in which a man told his wife and several friends about a recent, strange, and disturbing event in his life:

Ten days ago, I went to bed very late and soon fell asleep. It seemed to me that a dead silence fell around me. Suddenly, I heard muffled sobbing, like the crying of a crowd. In my dream, I got out of bed and went down the stairs. Here the silence was broken by the same mournful crying, but I saw no people grieving. I walked from room to room. I saw no one, but as I walked, I kept hearing the same weaving sounds. I was astonished and uneasy.

I decided to find the cause of these mysterious and surprising phenomena. I continued my journey until I reached the East Hall. Here a terrible surprise awaited me. I saw a catafalque on which lay a body dressed in mourning attire. Around it stood soldiers on guard and a crowd of people. Some looked mournfully at the body, others wept desperately.

"Who died in the White House?" I asked the soldier. "The president. He was killed by an assassin," he replied.

Although it was an extraordinary story, it made little impression on anyone. It was only remembered several days later, when on April 14, 1865, the man who had dreamed the grim dream was murdered. His body was later laid to rest on a catafalque in the East Room of the White House. This was the dream of Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States, who was assassinated. Many extraordinary, inexplicable phenomena occurred during Lincoln's lifetime and after his death. Visitors to the White House, for example, claimed to have seen his ghost. The First Lady, wife of President Calvin Coolidge, was the first person to witness Lincoln's spirit leaning out of the window in the Oval Office

President John F. Kennedy

 

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands also noticed it when she visited President Franklin D. Roosevelt. One day, someone knocked on her bedroom door in the White House. When she opened it, she saw Abraham Lincoln in the hall, wearing his famous top hat and the costume typical of his era. Roosevelt later explained to the Queen that the bedroom was called the Lincoln Room because the president's ghost had been seen there before. Roosevelt's secretary had seen Lincoln sitting on the bed in his suite, pulling on his shoes. The president's ghost was captured in several photographs, but these were quickly revealed to be clever forgeries.

Even more macabre than Lincoln's prophetic dream of his own death are the tales of a ghost train carrying his remains to Illinois for burial. It supposedly appears every year on the same route. According to the Albany Times:

The train travels silently. On a moonlit night, clouds obscure the moon as the train passes. First comes the locomotive, followed by the train with its mourning flags and banners. It seems as if a black carpet covers the tracks.A coffin is visible in the carriage. In the air, around and behind the train, a group of men dressed in blue, carrying coffins or leaning over them, moves.

Is this just a legend? Probably so. On the other hand, it is a confirmed fact that Lincoln's life was intertwined by a dense web of small, important, and tragic events with the life of another assassinated U.S. president, John F. Kennedy. When he was shot, he was driving a Ford Lincoln. President Lincoln was killed at Ford's Theater. A secretary named Evelyn Lincoln advised Kennedy against traveling to Dallas. Both presidents were shot in the back of the head while traveling with their wives. They themselves predicted their deaths. Kennedy told Jacqueline that no one could prevent the assassination attempt. Lincoln told his guard, W.H. Crook, that there were men who were seeking his life, and no one would be able to stop them. Deep pessimism or a grim prophecy?

Both presidents were assassinated. Someone shot Kennedy from a warehouse, then fled into a theater. The assassin shot Lincoln in the theater and then took refuge in a shed used as a warehouse. Both assassins died. A century separates the election of two future presidents to Congress (1846 and 1946) and their assumption of the highest office in the land (1860 and 1960). A curious coincidence also connects the vice presidents. Both bore the surname Johnson—Andrew Johnson in Lincoln's case and Lyndon Johnson in Kennedy's. Fate brought Lincoln and Kennedy together, but it was not a happy bond.