Hay-Adams Hotel — Clover Adams haunts Lafayette Square, Washington D.C.

The Hay-Adams Hotel, one of Washington D.C.'s most prestigious addresses overlooking Lafayette Square and the White House, is said to be haunted by the ghost of Marian 'Clover' Hooper Adams. Clover was the wife of historian Henry Adams and a talented photographer and socialite who took her own life by swallowing potassium cyanide in December 1885 at the age of 42. The Adams home stood on the site before the hotel was built in 1928. Since the hotel's opening, guests and staff on the upper floors have reported the scent of almonds — associated with cyanide — wafting through hallways without explanation. Housekeepers have described hearing a woman's voice calling 'What do you want?' in empty rooms, and doors have been found locked from the inside when no one was present. The fourth floor, which corresponds roughly to the level of the Adams residence's living quarters, is considered the most active. Some guests have reported seeing a woman in Victorian dress reflected in mirrors who is not present when they turn around. The haunting is most pronounced during the month of December, around the anniversary of Clover's death. The hotel, while not publicly promoting its ghost, has become a quiet pilgrimage site for those interested in both Washington history and the paranormal.