This post was updated on October 16, 2025.
There’s no better time of year than now for a candlelit ghostly walking tour. In these tours, you can explore some of the legends that haunt the nation’s capital, from horror movie locations to murder stories to spooky beings. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts or hate to be scared, you can learn something new about Washington.
Hill of Haunts
National Nightmares features costumed tour guides from beyond the grave who embark on the journeys of historical figures from the region. They tell their own stories from spooky spots including the US Capitol, Library of Congress, and Congressional buildings. These tales are augmented by stories from witnesses like Hill staffers and members of the Capitol Police. Public tours start between 8 and 8:30 PM every Sunday through Thursday night in October. Private tours and daytime walking tours are also available. Price: $19.
Soul Strolls at Congressional Cemetery
This cemetery with more than two centuries of history features the graves of some of Washington’s most (in)famous politicians, veterans, and more. In these hourlong tours, learn tales of tragedy and scandal from the residents of Congressional Cemetery, led by costumed guides. Tours are rain-or-shine and depart from the “Tavern of Lost Souls” chapel every 15 minutes between 6 and 9:30 PM on Fridays (October 17, 24, 31) and between 5 PM and 9:30 PM on Saturdays (October 18, 25 and November 1). Tickets are limited. Price: $40 for adults, $15 for kids.
Lesser-Known Notables of Oak Hill Cemetery
Run by Off the Mall Walking Tours (whose other offerings in October include Queer Black Broadway and French Connections-themed tours), this tour on October 25 and 26 takes you around Oak Hill Cemetery. This cemetery was established in 1848 and features obscure historical figures like poets and spies as well as the mausoleum where the remains of Abraham Lincoln’s son Willie rested before they were returned to Illinois. Price: $30 per adult, $20 per child.
Alexandria’s Original Ghost and Graveyard Tour
The charming streets of Old Town Alexandria take on a macabre tinge in these tours, which have been running for 40 years. Tour guides in period costume start from the Burke & Herbert Bank branch on King Street and use flickering lamps to lead the way. You’ll see haunted houses, alleys, and cemeteries, including a mass grave for Confederate soldiers. Tours take place on Fridays and Saturdays in October, as well as on Halloween and November 1-2. Price: $15 for adults, $10 for kids, $14 for seniors.
Ghosts of Georgetown
Georgetown is filled with ghostly history, and at night, after shopping hours, you can embark on a ghost tour by DC on foot that takes you back to the 18th century. Starting at the Old Stone House, DC’s oldest unchanged building, this tour takes you through haunted backstreets, churchyards, a legitimate haunted house, and hidden places that shaped Georgetown. Highlights include the site of a seance that President Lincoln attended on N Street and the “Exorcist steps,” where director William Friedkin shot the climax of the classic 1973 horror movie. Tours are nightly. Price: $39
Ghosts of Lafayette Park
For more than 200 years, Lafayette Square has been a place of intrigue. You may know the park next to the White House as a place of protests and occasional respite from politics, but the Nashville-based company AmeriGhost Tours explores its lesser-known, darker history, from conspiracies to assassinations. Tours depart at 8 PM nightly from March through November. Price: $24.99 for adults, $9.99 for kids 12 and under, free for kids 6 and under.
Nightly Spirits Ghost Tour Pub Crawl
This 21+ tour lets you learn about spooky spirits while you imbibe the alcoholic kind. Go on a bar crawl through up to three of DC’s historic bars led by tour guides dressed in 19th-century garb. These can include the (closed, but haunted) Occidental Grill, Old Ebbitt Grill, and the Round Robin Bar at the Willard Hotel. (Pro tip: From a staffer’s experience of taking a boozy tour while sober, maybe take advantage of the drinks, safely, of course.) Nightly Spirits also offers all-ages ghost walks and Haunted History Field Trips for educators and youth organizations. Price: $29.95
DC Ghosts
Dive into the horrifying histories of places you didn’t even know were haunted in these ghost tours run by US Ghost Adventures. From Blair House to the National Theatre, guides escort you through the ghostly stories that haunt neighborhoods and historical sites. Tour options include Hidden Hills of Power, DC Ghosts of the Capital City, and Ultimate Dead of Night around the White House, and Spies, Secrets, and Symbols on the National Mall and Capitol Hill. Tours are offered daily, year-round. Price: Tickets range $24 to $30 for adults, $17 for children 6 and over, and free for children under 6.
Dark Nights in D.C. and Ghosts of Washington D.C.
Whether you want an adults-only ghost tour or an all-ages experience with your kids (both nightly at 9 PM), Ghost City Tours offers plenty of options to get your spook on in the Capitol Hill area. The company prides itself on pushing the envelope and merging history and hauntings, telling spooky stories of residual energies in the Hay-Adams Hotel and the ghosts of war criminals and Confederate spies in the Old Brick Capitol, for instance. Private tours and group pricing options are available. Price: Dark Nights in D.C. is $34.99 and Ghosts of Washington D.C. is $29.99 for ages 12+ and $14.99 for ages 6-12 and free for under 6.
Horror on Capitol Hill
As the tour guides at Scary DC put it: “Politicians suck so take a ghost tour and talk about the ones that are dead.” In the company’s popular family-friendly tour on Fridays and Saturdays, you can get a good glimpse of Capitol Hill at night and hear creepy tales about the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Capitol building, and more. Costumes and ghost radars are welcome, if you’re into that, and private tours are available. Price: $25 for adults, $20 for children.
