This post is about ghost tours in Washington, DC, including our ghost and scandals tours, as well as adult-only walking tours.
These aren't ghost tours, but they are great for a night out (adults only) for scandals, affairs, and murders!
- True Crimes of Georgetown (private only)
- Dark Side of Dupont and Embassy Row
- White House at Night: Secrets & Scandals
For such a small city, Washington DC has a lot of ghost stories. In any of the historic neighborhoods, you're bound to find an old house that has unexplained bumps in the night or otherworldly sightings of lost souls who suffered tragic ends.
Join Free Tours by Foot on a journey to the darker side of the historic, humorous and haunted on one of our Washington DC Ghost Tours. Don't believe us? Ask about why one of our guides refuses to lead tours past Halcyon House anymore!
Check out our Tour Schedule for the most up-to-date calendar.
Washington DC Ghost Tours
We also offer a Lincoln Assassination Tour on several evenings each week. While this tour is not a ghost tour, it is a gripping and spooky experience.
GHOST 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 on our Ghosts of Georgetown Tour.
Check our Guide to Visiting Georgetown for directions, restaurant recommendations, and self-guided tour options.
Want a taste of the tour? Listen to our podcast (Tour Guide Tell All) episode all about it:
Is the Ghosts of Georgetown Tour family-friendly?
Yes! We share with you stories of curses, eerie coincidences, and of course a few haunted houses. We are not ghost hunters, we're historians - so we'll be taking you through the darker side of Georgetown, but we do not have anyone jump out at you!
More humor than screams, this is fun for all ages!
Our own tour guide Canden has published a book on the wicked side of Georgetown's history! Wicked Georgetown: Scoundrels, Sinners and Spies and a pictorial history using vintage photographs, Images of Georgetown.
Recommended as a Once in a Lifetime Tour by the BLT!
Tour Information
Where: Tour begins outside the spooky Old Stone House at 3051 M Street NW (near 30th and M St).
Tour ends at the Exorcist Steps (36th and Prospect St NW).
Duration: Approximately 90 minutes. Total walking is about 1.5 miles (2,4km).
When: View our Calendar
Start: Old Stone House at 3051 M St NW (map)
Closest Metro: Foggy Bottom/GWU (Blue and Orange)
End: 36th and Prospect Street NW (map)
Closest Metro: Foggy Bottom/GWU or Rosslyn (Blue and Orange)
Cost: This is a specialty tour and thus does have a ticketed price. You can purchase tickets on our Booking Page.
White House Ghost Tour
The best place for Washington DC Ghost Tours is the park around the White House, Lafayette Square. Known also as Tragedy Square, there has been more than one violent death in the vicinity.
Our historian guides take you through this small park for the true stories of some of the city's most haunted houses, including the White House.
On the White House Ghost Tours, you'll hear stories of:
- Murder of Philip Barton Key
- Admiral Decatur's Duel
- Dolley Madison's Haunted House
- The Ghosts of the White House
- Haunted Hay Adams Hotel
- and so much more...
Please note that we do not enter into any buildings on this tour.
Is the White House Ghost Tour family-friendly?
Yes! We share with you stories of ghosts and hauntings. We are not ghosthunters, we're historians - so we'll be taking you through the darker side of the White House area, but we do not have anyone jump out at you!
More humor than screams, this is fun for all ages!
Tour information
Where: Meet at the Andrew Jackson Statue in Lafayette Square (North front of the White House). Look for your guide with the DC by Foot logo.
Duration: Approximately 1.75 hours. Total distance 1m (1.6k)
When: View our Calendar
Capitol Hill Ghost & Scandals Tour (Adults Only)
Our newest addition to the dark side walking tours, explore Capitol Hill with your guide to talk about the scandals that have rocked the nation's capital. This tour is PART GHOST - PART SCANDALS. Not every story is a ghost story!
From assassinations to affairs, from impeachment to impropriety, the buildings on Capitol Hill have stories to tell!
Our Capitol Hill Scandals Tour is a walking tour intended to provide guests with the sordid history of politicians, public figures, and more. The guides will discuss the deaths, misdeeds & often violent figures and events of Capitol Hill.
You’ll hear about ghosts and scandals associated with:
- The United States Capitol Building
- The House of Representatives
- United States Senate
- Library of Congress
- Old Capitol Prison (Supreme Court)
- And more!
Please note that we do not enter any buildings on this tour.
Tour information for Capitol Hill Scandals Tour
Where: Meet your guide at the benches at the NW corner of 1st and C St SE, across the street from the Capitol South Metro Station. Look for your guide in the orange!
Purchase a guaranteed parking spot in advance near the tour’s starting point with SpotHero.
End: West side of Capitol complex Closest Metro: Federal Center SW or L'Enfant Plaza
Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours. Total walking is about 1.5 mile (2,4km).
When: View our Calendar - this tour is offered on Fridays at 8pm in October and select other dates, or any day as a private.
Cost: This is a specialty tour and thus does have a ticketed price. You can purchase tickets on our Booking Page.
True Crimes: Dupont Circle & Embassy Row (Adults Only)
Interested in a different view of Washington, DC? Join us as we venture through the downtown streets on our Dupont Circle Walking Tour tour discussing stories of the dark side and forgotten tales. From curses and assassinations at the embassies to the home of the accidental inventor of the electric chair.
These shrouded mansions built and then abandoned by millionaires were once lived in by wild women and philandering men.
Want a taste of the tour? Listen to our podcast (Tour Guide Tell All) talk about one of the stops!
Disclaimer:
We consider this tour for adults only. We'll let you decide what adult means but be forewarned we will go into gory details and not gloss over topics of what happened around the White House at night. If you think your teen can handle it, they are more than welcome but you've been given a heads up.
Tour information
Reservations: REQUIRED. Click here to reserve.
Where: Look for your guide in orange at the fountain in the center of Dupont Circle. (map)
Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours. Total distance 1m (1.6k)
When: View our Calendar
Cost: This is a specialty tour and thus does have a ticketed price. You can purchase tickets on our Booking Page.
White House at Night: Secrets & Scandals (Adults Only)
While this isn't technically a ghost tour, it is the perfect accompaniment to the darker side of history.
A scandalous side of White House? Who would've thought it? Join Free Tours by Foot for a walk through the neighborhood around the White House at night to talk about presidential affairs, nearby duels, murders, and scandalous first ladies.
Our historian guides take you through this small park, known as Tragedy Square, for the true stories of some of the city’s darkest secrets and most haunted houses, including the White House.
Disclaimer:
We consider this tour for adults only. We'll let you decide what adult means but be forewarned we will go into gory details and not gloss over topics of what happened around the White House at night. If you think your teen can handle it, they are more than welcome but you've been given a heads up.
Tour information
Reservations: REQUIRED. Click here to reserve.
Where: Meet at the Andrew Jackson Statue in Lafayette Square (North front of the White House). Look for your guide with the DC by Foot logo.
Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours. Total distance 1m (1.6k)
When: View our Calendar
True Crimes of Wicked Georgetown (Adults Only)
This is a tour of scandals, true crime, and tragedy. It is NOT a ghost tour and does not visit the Exorcist Steps. Check out Ghosts of Georgetown tour!
Focusing on the tragedy of Georgetown's darker side, we'll explore the oldest neighborhoods in DC with local legends and true crime events from its past.
We'll see old cemeteries, supernatural tales, and the sites of unsolved murders, leaving you at night in an abandoned cemetery.
Disclaimer:
We consider this tour for adults only. We'll let you decide what adult means but be forewarned we will go into gory details and not gloss over topics of what happened around the White House at night. If you think your teen can handle it, they are more than welcome but you've been given a heads up.
Want a taste of the tour? Listen to our podcast (Tour Guide Tell All) episode about one of the stops:
This tour is Adults Only due to mature content. We recommend this tour for ages 14 and above but you choose.
Our own tour guide Canden has published a book on the wicked side of Georgetown's history! Wicked Georgetown: Scoundrels, Sinners and Spies and a pictorial history using vintage photographs, Images of Georgetown.
Tour information
This is a private tour only.
Where: The tour starts at the C&O Canal Bridge on 31st Street NW, just south of M Street NW (near GPS Address: 1061 31st Street NW. (map) Note that the group meets on the bridge over the canal). Look for your guide with the DC By Foot logo!
End: 28th and Q Street NW. Closest Metro: DuPont Circle (Red)
Duration: Approximately 2 hours. Total walking is about 1.5 mile (2,4km). This tour is not wheelchair/stroller friendly.
