The Speaker’s Lobby: Ghosts of the Republic

Edgar Allan Poe wrote that the scariest monsters are the ones which lurk wrong our souls.

But what astir the souls which lurk in the halls of Congress?

The U.S. Capitol is much than 200 years old. And immoderate gathering which has been astir for 2 centuries, is stocked with legends and ghosts. This clip of year, radical flock to pop-up haunted houses "on the hill." But erstwhile it comes to Washington, DC, determination is lone 1 haunted House (and Senate) connected "the Hill." So let maine to spook you with tales of the Capitol macabre arsenic we descend into the Congressional catacombs.

Four expansive staircases inhabit each quadrant of the Capitol. But the steps successful the southwest information of the gathering connected the House broadside archer possibly 1 of the astir grotesque stories successful Congress.

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Capitol Hill, similar immoderate different staple of modern Americana, has a affluent past of folklore bordering connected the macabre. (Getty Images)

And we’re not talking astir 1 of the large omnibus spending bills.

Rep. William Taulbee, D-Ky., served successful Congress successful the precocious 19th Century. And conscionable similar today, the Capitol teams with journalists, chasing lawmakers for a quotation oregon accusation astir legislation. But Taulbee had a problem. Reporter Charles Kincaid wrote for the Louisville Times. Kincaid penned an nonfiction astir Taulbee’s dalliances titled "Kentucky’s Silver-Tongued Taulbee Caught successful Flagrante oregon Thereabouts."

After the article, Taulbee didn’t question reelection but stuck astir successful Washington, pushing assorted causes – agelong earlier "K Street" became a thing. But Taulbee and Kincaid would often tally into 1 different astatine the Capitol. Taulbee was a batch taller than the diminutive Kincaid and would sometimes physically harass the scribe.

The pen whitethorn beryllium mightier than the sword. But it’s surely not arsenic almighty arsenic a pistol.

In February, 1890, the 2 men encountered 1 different adjacent the House chamber. Kincaid produced his firearm and changeable the erstwhile Congressman successful the face. Taulbee bled profusely arsenic helium headed down the marble stairwell.

Many lawmakers travel to Washington, intent connected leaving a people connected the assemblage politic. But arsenic it turns out, it was Taulbee’s body which near an indelible people connected the U.S. Capitol.

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You see, the creation of quality humor and the Georgian, achromatic marble utilized to marque the stairwells of the gathering don’t precisely mix. Splotches of Taulbee’s humor covered the staircase each fewer feet from the 2nd level to the first. Some markings look similar shapes successful a Rorschach test. Taulbee died the adjacent time from his wounds. But his plasma is everlastingly a portion of the U.S. Capitol, permanently staining the staircase.

As a effect of his fate, Taulbee doesn’t deliberation overmuch of reporters. Even to this day. And it’s believed that Taulbee sometimes makes himself known by tripping members of the Congressional property corps.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Capitol successful the summertime of 2019. He had conscionable met with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. However, connection broke that time that the attendance-starved Tampa Bay Rays mightiness effort to enactment retired an statement to play immoderate of their location games successful Montreal. The Montreal Expos abandoned Canada successful 2005 to go the Washington Nationals.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is simply a known Expos instrumentality – there's adjacent a representation of him and his precocious father, Pierre, watching them play astatine Montreal's Olympic Stadium successful his youth. (Bettmann / Contributor)

Trudeau was a instrumentality of the Expos. There’s adjacent a representation of a boyish Trudeau successful the stands astatine Olympic Stadium in Montreal with his father, precocious Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

It would beryllium a scoop if the younger Trudeau weighed-in connected the prospects of Major League Baseball returning to Montreal.

Trudeau walked down a spiral staircase not acold from wherever Kincaid killed Taulbee. I tried to get a remark from Trudeau. But for nary evident reason, I tripped implicit the articulator of a measurement and cascaded successful beforehand of the Canadian leader. I didn’t driblet the microphone. I besides knew that I could interruption my limb oregon manus if I tried to drawback myself.

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Fortunately, I studied martial arts for years. One of the things they thatch you is however to fall. I rapidly adjusted my value truthful I plunged onto my close enarthrosis and rolled. My feet flew up successful the air. This was each caught connected portion by my lensman Robert Fetzer.

"Oh Chad! Chad! Chad! Chad," yelled Fetzer, arsenic I plopped straight successful beforehand of Trudeau.

I was uninjured and Trudeau extended an limb to assistance me. But I had already sprang backmost to my feet. Alas, Trudeau didn’t reply my question astir the Rays and Montreal and went connected his way.

I whitethorn person had my ain run-in with the shade of William Taulbee during an effort to interrogation the younger Trudeau. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

But determination was nary logical crushed wherefore I tripped there. I’ve stood by those stairs hundreds of times. I’ve ne'er been caught by the articulator of the little stairs.

A imaginable explanation?

Perhaps the shade of William Taulbee saw to it that I keister implicit teakettle successful beforehand of the Canadian Prime Minister.

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However, determination is lone 1 Capitol haunting which surpasses the Taulbee tripping tale.

But lone by a whisker.

It’s the fable of the demon cat.

Cat pawprints immortalized successful the Capitol's level are rumored to beryllium those of the alleged "demon cat," whose sporadic appearances astir Washington person coincided with wars and assassinations. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Capitol Police officers and adjacent 19th period watchmen assertion they’ve seen a phantasmic feline prowl the hallways of the Capitol earlier nationalist emergencies. Especially warfare and assassinations.

Purr-portedly.

That said, nary 1 spotted the demon feline earlier 9/11 oregon the 2021 Capitol riot.

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Maybe the demon feline – similar each cats – lone has 9 lives.

But I tin instrumentality you to a spot wherever the demon feline is said to person walked.

Go to the archetypal level of the "mini" Rotunda connected the Senate broadside of the Capitol adjacent the Old Supreme Court chamber. If you larn against 1 of the columns adjacent that country and look down, you mightiness conscionable spot respective paw prints permanently etched into the floor. However, the airy indispensable drawback the prints conscionable right. You could basal close connected apical of the prints and ne'er spy them.

Sometimes, the champion phantasms 1 tin conceive of successful our nation's superior beryllium successful the mind's oculus – the specters of large men who person agelong since passed, leaving naught but their indelible marks connected American history. (Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images)

Supposedly the demon feline signed its initials successful an obscure Senate stairwell successful the basement. Scrawled into the factual are the initials "DC."

However, this grounds is up to interpretation. Could the DC basal for "District of Columbia?" How astir "direct current?" Maybe even, "Detective Comics."

I warned you we would descend into the Congressional cat-acombs.

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The Capitol features a cornucopia of stories astir spooky voices, departed workers singing precocious astatine nighttime and adjacent 1 communicative of a legislator rocking successful a chair, speechmaking legislation. The Capitol Rotunda and Statuary Hall (the aged House chamber) are dotted with life-life renderings of statesmen, inventors, heroes and scientists. It is said that aft midnight the statues sometimes travel live to statement 1 another.

In the House of Representatives, that’s not a "Special Order" code but a "Spectral Order."

But sometimes the champion ghosts successful the Capitol are the ones you conjure successful your mind’s eye. Abraham Lincoln sitting astatine a table toward the backmost of the aged House chamber. Lyndon Johnson roaming the Senate floor. Scenes of statesmanlike inaugurations from years gone by astatine the Capitol.

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The ghosts of the republic successful information haunt the halls of Congress.

And successful galore cases, those phantasms aren’t ghosts.

They’re American history.