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His physical condition was too precarious to permit him to be moved, and he died at the Capitol two days later.^[12] Many people claim to have heard Adams' ghost denouncing slavery late at night in National Statuary Hall, and one Congressional staff member claims that by standing in the spot where Adams' desk once stood a person can still hear the former president's ghostly whisper.^[2] James A. Garfield was a member of the House from 1863 to 1881 before assuming the Presidency in March 1881.^[13] Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a disgruntled office seeker, on July 2, 1881, at 9:30 a.m. as he walked through the Sixth Street Station of theBaltimore and Potomac Railroad in Washington, D.C.^[13] Garfield died of heart failure brought about by blood poisoning (itself caused by poor medical care) on September 19, 1881, while recuperating at a beach house near Long Branch, New Jersey.^[13] Witnesses have seen Garfield's specter walking solemnly through the halls of Congress.^[14]

Not all Capitol hauntings are related to people who worked there. The "Demon Cat" is alleged to prowl the halls of Congress, and make appearances just before a national tragedy or change in Presidential administration.^[15] It was first seen in the early part of the 19th century, and a night watchman shot at it in 1862.^[1] It has also been seen by other night watchmen and members of the Capitol Police.^[16] It appeared before the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the October 1929 stock market crash, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.^[7] The cat has not only been seen in the halls, but has repeatedly appeared in Washington's Tomb.^[17] The Tomb (two levels below the crypt beneath the Capitol Rotunda) was an original feature of the Capitol, planned as a resting place for George Washington and members of his family.^[18] The Washington family politely declined the offer.^[18] The Tomb stands empty, although from 1865 to 2009 (when it was moved to the United States Capitol Visitor Center) the Lincoln catafalque was stored there.^[18] The specters of at least two soldiers are also said to haunt the Capitol. A few eyewitnesses have claimed that whenever an individual lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda, a World War I doughboymomentarily appears, salutes, then disappears.^[17] A second apparition, which eyewitnesses say is the ghost of an American Revolutionary War soldier, has also appeared at the Washington Tomb. According to several stories, the soldier appears, moves around the Lincoln catafalque, and then passes out the door into the hallway before disappearing.^[3]