 The specter of a British soldier in War of 1812 dress was seen by caretaker James Cypress in the 1950s, and museum superintendent Alric H. Clay claimed that in the 1960s spirits would often turn on the lights and open The Octagon's doors late at night.A gambler shot to death in the house's third-floor bedroom in the late 19th century has sometimes been seen still in the bed he died in, and ghostly footmen have been seen at the front door waiting to receive guests.He was said to have rung a bell shortly before his death and that the ring of the bell often heard in the house is from him.