When I realized that Halloween in college would be all about bobbing for beer cans and a pageant of risqu? costumes, I started to miss the eerie element of late October. I wanted to be scared, and in the spirit of the season, I decided to take the Washington Walks haunted tour of D.C.
I met up with my fellow ghost hunters at the Farragut West Metro stop on a Wednesday evening. Had my guide been a six feet, five inch monster with wiry hair, black clothing and a lazy eye, I would have known I was on the right tour. I found my tour guide, however, standing on the corner equipped with a badge, a binder and a cup of coffee, looking like any suburban soccer mom. I was immediately sure that she wouldn’t-couldn’t-scare me.
The tour commenced in Farragut Square, a quaint park surrounded by relatively modern office buildings. My guide, Carolyn, told us a story about a tailor who lived in this well-to-do area back in 1876. Apparently he murdered his wife and buried her in the wall, which caused the house to be plagued by the sounds of her moaning and scratching. I wanted to hear the moans for myself, but Carolyn informed us that the house burned down in 1890. I had to trust her on that one.
Next, we moved to Lafayette Park and the house of Steven Decatur, which has a clear view of the White House. This well-known naval commodore from 1819 had been shot in a duel in Maryland and brought back to die in his house. Museum docents swear they have seen a ghost in full naval uniform lurking at the landing of the stairway or staring out the window.We did not enter this house, so I had to take Carolyn’s word for it once again.
My feet started to hurt and I leaned on my sister as Carolyn told us more tepid stories about the Hay Adams Hotel and Major Henry Wrathbone. Finally, Carolyn took us to The Octagon. It is the oldest residential building (besides the White House) in the District, and according to the Washington Walks brochure, it is considered “the most haunted home in the city.” The house was well-lit, gorgeous and had peculiarly interesting circular rooms but was in no way scary. If someone had cut the lights and screamed, I would have enjoyed it, but I walked around without finding any trace of ghosts or spirits. I was officially unimpressed when the docent of 28 years admitted she had never encountered a single spirit.
At the end of the walk, I just felt depressed that I had spent $15 on a two-hour walk and ghost stories I could have Googled. If you want to be scared this Halloween, save yourself the Metro fare and check out The Exorcist in Gaston Hall.
