Established in 1791, Washington DC has a long history - and that includes lots of ghosts! For over two hundred years, Washingtonians have been encountering strange things in their historic homes. In honor of the Halloween season, I want to share some of the best ways to hang out with these spectral Washingtonians!
Natalie Zanin’s Historic Strolls
The Ghost Story Tour of Washington. Hear stories and meet spirits at Lafayette Square Park, across from the White House. Fridays and Saturdays in October at 8 p.m. They bring you the tales of Lafayette Square, long said to be the most haunted of all the City's squares. This tour was researched by Natalie Zanin while she was working with The Historical Society of Washington. The tour includes local ghost lore and more recent eyewitness accounts of hauntings. Natalie has been a ghost expert for The History Channel's "Haunted History ", The Travel Channel and Canadian Television and French Television and on Fox Morning News, NPR and CNN Radio.
The Ghost Story Tour of Washington is led by Zanin, appearing in the role of Dolly Madison, who figures in several stops along the tour. Zanin/Madison weaves spooky tales about creepy characters like the Vampire of Brookland, the Ghost Organist of St. John's Church and the sad story of Marian Hooper Adams.
"Clover" Adams was the socialite wife of writer Henry Adams (though she was sadly omitted from her husband's The Education of Henry Adams). She was also an accomplished portrait photographer, but it was by this that she met her demise: Adams killed herself by drinking potassium cyanide, one of the chemical tools of her trade. "Clover" is thought to haunt several locations around Washington, including The Hay-Adams Hotel on 16th Street. Adams is memorialized in multiple places around the city, including Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Grief Memorial in Rock Creek Cemetery and a copy of the statue fondly known as "Black Aggie," which can be found in the courtyard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
GHOSTS OF GEORGETOWN WALKING TOUR
Among the historic streets, manicured gardens and Victorian row houses of DC’s finest neighborhood lie deep, dark secrets about a forgotten past. Come along to hear about the ghosts and spirits that still haunt these streets…if you dare. Stories of eerie coincidences, curses and scenes from the scariest movies. We’ll share the darker side of the history of this pre-revolutionary town. Is this tour family friendly? Yes! We share with you stories of curses, eerie coincidences, and of course a few haunted houses. We aren’t ghost hunters, we’re historians – so we’ll be taking you through the darker side of Georgetown, but we do not have any one jump out at you! More humor than screams, this is fun for all ages -
The Capitol Building also claim to be the most haunted building in the world! – the Capitol Building where the U. S. Congress meets. On this tour you hear the one about the demon cat, the drunken phantasm, the singing specter, the miserly ghost, the sleeping spirit, the vengeful wraith, the scholarly spook, judgmental visitant, the presidential phantom! Take this tour and meet them all, especially John Quincy Adams of the Capitol, James Madison of the Library of Congress, and William Howard Taft of the Supreme Court.
All of these are great ways to get ready for Halloween. If your October also includes a search for a new home in Washington DC, then you don't want a scary Realtor! Give the Lise Howe Group a call to take a "walking tour" of the best of DC homes that match your price range and your list of wants and needs! Working with the Lise Howe Group is never scary! We will find your dream home and have you Howling with joy! Remember - we are Washington natives! We know Washington- from the ghosts of 200 years ago to the hot neighborhoods of today!
Start your home search right here!
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