A DC ghost tour — that’s even too scary for the tour guide

People on an evening ghost tour of D.C.
People attending a ghost tour in Georgetown. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
Light shines through the window of a haunted house during a ghost tour of Georgetown. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
Tour participants stand in front of this haunted house during a ghost tour of Georgetown. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
Some people say they have seen a “ghost cat” through the window of this haunted house in Georgetown. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
(1/4)
People on an evening ghost tour of D.C.

You know a ghost tour is pretty spooky when the original guide no longer takes people on the tour. But it’s still happening and you can participate.

Historian Canden Arciniega with DC by Foot gave the tour for years, but about eight years ago, she was telling the story of a ghost in a home that she said “hated electricity.”

“And as I said that line, the lamppost I was standing underneath — the light went out,” she said.

Then Arciniega said her group looked at a window in the home “in this house that nobody currently is living in, there was like a noose hanging from the top row of windows.”

Historian Trevor Comeau, also with DC by Foot, is one of the tour guides that is currently giving the tour. He said not all the ghost stories are scary.

He told the story of what he called a “ghost nanny” turning off lights in the kid’s room of a home at 10 p.m. every night for decades after her death — until no more children lived in the house and she stopped.

Comeau said a maid at the home had a conversation with the ghost, who said she was leaving because her work was done: “Outside Fox Hall Manor, there’s a stairs down to the street. She says (the ghost) got down to the street (and) watched the apparition vanish at the second she touched the last step.”

Comeau also told the story of the ghost of a little boy who now haunts the Stone House on M Street in Georgetown. The ghost sometimes appears in the window, along with other things at times.

Comeau claims he has a picture that shows a “ghost cat” appearing in the window.

“We don’t make up stories to spook you. We’re sharing with you true stories from the past of curses, murder, affairs, and eerie coincidences. They say truth is stranger than fiction after all,” reads a statement on DC by Foot’s website.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Kyle Cooper

Weekend and fill-in anchor Kyle Cooper has been with WTOP since 1992. Over those 25 years, Kyle has worked as a street reporter, editor and anchor. Prior to WTOP, Kyle worked at several radio stations in Indiana and at the Indianapolis Star Newspaper.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up