When autumn leaves cling to skeletal branches and moonlight drifts through the street, no activity is better than a ghost tour. Underneath lantern light, a guide takes a tour group to historic buildings to discuss their history, stories and paranormal encounters. I have been on exactly 11 of these tours, and nearly every town nearby that dates back to the 1800s offers one or more.
Georgetown — Best Overall
For a fall day trip, look no further than Georgetown. But be warned if you stay past dark. DC Tours by Foot offers a Ghosts of Georgetown tour that I highly recommend. It begins at the Old Stone House, built in 1765 and containing as rich a haunted history as a real-life one.
Stories include tales of college students finding more than they bargained for with an Ouija board, the Witches of Georgetown who were said to communicate with the dead, and the iconic Exorcist Stairs. One memorable story was about a resident of Georgetown’s Halcyon House who was so terrified of death that he developed the idea that somehow his lifespan was tied to the structure of the building. He kept expanding and renovating, adding more and more, believing that doing so was a measure against death. The Halcyon House is now been named one of the most haunted places in D.C.
Capitol Hill — Most Notable Ghosts
Turns out, Abraham Lincoln is still around.
Capitol Hill has contained centuries of American political history. Through wars, assassinations, turmoil and trouble, the U.S. Capitol has stood sentinel as a symbol of American freedom. But what really lies underneath the Capitol rotunda? The Capitol Hill ghost tour I went on explored the curiosities of the Library of Congress and the U.S. Capitol. If you’re looking for unusual stories with names you can recognize, including Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, John Adams and William Howard Taft, then the Capitol Hill tour is for you.
Alexandria — Coolest Graveyard
A short drive from McLean, Harpers Ferry offers a plethora of dining options, scenic views of the Potomac River and locally-crafted art showcased at the Torpedo Factory. It also offers a score of ghosts.
Gadsby’s Tavern, a restaurant that dates back to the revolutionary era, is one of the sites on the tour. Washington and Jefferson were two of the tavern’s best-known patrons. However, beyond the ornate exterior is a host of dark secrets. A mysterious woman known as the “Female Stranger” is seen in Room 8 of the tavern. Supposedly, two newlyweds came into the tavern, the woman wearing a veil. She died of sickness in Room 8 and stayed there forever. The Female Stranger’s identity is still debated.
Our tour concluded in a graveyard, the historic headstones looking like something out of a horror movie. For the eeriest of evenings, Alexandria is the place to be.
Williamsburg — Most Haunted
For me, it doesn’t particularly matter if the content of ghost tours is completely true as long as I can appreciate the artistic merits of the story told. But Williamsburg truly left me wondering if there is a world beyond our own.
Though it is a few hours’ drive from McLean, Williamsburg is absolutely worth a weekend trip. Brick colonial buildings line narrow streets peppered with tourists and horse-drawn wagons. With centuries of history, Williamsburg is terribly haunted.
The Peyton-Randolph House, a blood-red painted house with notoriously bad energy, is said to be cursed. According to my tour guides, there have been a slew of bizarre, coincidental deaths within the home’s walls. Other sites on the tour were the College of William and Mary where the Wren Crypt houses William and Mary’s founder in a tunnel system underground.
Harpers Ferry — Most Compelling Stories
Harpers Ferry, the West Virginia site of John Brown’s Raid, is teeming with Civil War history and Civil War ghosts. The small building that my family had unknowingly parked our car by is the site of a Confederate soldier ghost, where the phantom sound of a body thumping down the stairs can sometimes be heard. A ghostly drummer boy haunts a building just a few feet away.
