SOME GHOSTS IN THE U.S. SENATE,CAPITOL BUILDING, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,-32 DEGREE

The ghost of a stonemason sealed behind a wall during construction of the Senate building in 1790s has been seen passing through a wall in the Senate basement. Legend says he was sealed in the chamber after being hit in the head with a brick during an argument with another mason. The ghost of a Revolutionary War soldier, outfitted in a splendid Continental uniform, walks near the Washington Crypt, the empty tomb where our first president was supposed to have been buried. The whole Capitol Building was cursed by engineer John Lenthall as he lay dying under a collapsed archway. Lenthall was crushed to death by falling bricks in 1808, when he pulled out a support arch to demonstrate to the supervising architect that the support was unnecessary. Today, Lenthall is said to have his revenge in the crumbling walls, crack columns, and shifting foundations of the building that killed him. The ghost of another engineer roams the basement area. He is Pierre Charles L'Enfant, George Washington's original designer for Federal City. He is seen carrying a parchment, perhaps a bill for money due. The French engineer was never paid for his work. Haunted Places, p.106. 32 DEGREE

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