The Ghost of Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin's grave at Christ Church Burial Ground is one of Philadelphia's most visited spots. Visitors throw pennies onto his grave for good luck — a tradition tied to the popular proverb "a penny saved is a penny earned," a paraphrase of Franklin's own "a penny saved is two pence clear." But locals say his ghost still roams the streets of Old City. The story goes that a portly figure in colonial dress has been seen near the American Philosophical Society, which Franklin founded in 1743, and in one popular version his statue at the society's library climbs down from its perch.