Spirits of D.C.: Haunted Pub Crawl Brings History to Life
Tour blends political intrigue, ghost stories, and a dash of the paranormal.
There are few occasions when I wish I could still slosh down a beer or two. This is one of them. It’s 6 p.m. on a Wednesday night in September at the Old Ebbitt Grill, directly across 15th Street from the White House.
It claims to be Washington’s oldest saloon, tracing its roots to the mid-1800s. But I’m here on a tour, listening to a man who, with his tri-cornered hat, dashing black cape, and ancient lantern, looks more like he stepped out of the 1700s.
His name is John Waldron, and he is my guide for a unique pub crawl offered by US Ghost Adventures (USGA). Waldron, who has acted at venues across the DMV, including the Little Theatre of Alexandria, is one of the company’s locally sourced tour guides. USGA offers “haunted historic walking tours, haunted pub crawls,” and even the opportunity to spend the night in some of the most horrifying historic houses in the nation, like the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, Mass.
Waldron hands me an Electromagnetic Field Detector (EMF) as we begin the tour. EMFs are used in everyday life to measure electromagnetic fields, generated by things like power lines, appliances, faulty wiring, and—it is said—by paranormal activity. Soon I’m listening to tales both spooky and fascinating about political intrigue and poltergeists at the Old Ebbitt. Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, and Teddy Roosevelt are but a few of the famous figures said to have knocked back a few at the establishment’s former locations.
But, true fact: It was at this very location that officials of the Ronald Reagan administration hatched a plan to protect Reagan from the fallout of the Iran-Contra scandal of 1986, that famously crashed and burned, I learn. At which point, Waldron leans in closer with a conspiratorial air, his voice lowered to a near whisper, and intones, “Late at night, it is said…it is said…that a man on a winged horse can be seen floating through the restaurant, and he gravitates to those who are seeking power.”
And shortly, by golly…it actually happens! My EMF detector begins flashing rabidly, jumping from green all the way up to red…indicating an intense electromagnetic field! Good heavens—call Ghostbusters stat!
USGA is owned by Lance Zaal, a disabled Marine Corps veteran who completed multiple deployments to Iraq, Cuba, and Chile, and also volunteered to train soldiers in Ukraine at the start of the war. “I’ve always loved history, and I believe it must be preserved and understood fully by future generations,” he says, “[and] history told through entertainment isn’t just enjoyed, it’s remembered.”
The company is celebrating is tenth anniversary and has expanded to more than 150 locations throughout the country, including Alexandria.
Waldron continues the tour, leading me through half a dozen more locations, and I learn enough history for a school paper, and more than enough spooky tales to freak out an entire cabin full of young campers.
Interested in a tour? Cellphones are welcome, and guests are encouraged to send USGA photos and videos of ghosts and goblins encountered along the way. Happens quite often, they say …
Now, about that Lizzie Borden house. A popular schoolyard rhyme known to previous generations went like this: “Lizzie Borden took an axe/She gave her mother 40 whacks/When she saw what she had done/She gave her father 41.”
And it’s true. Lizzie Andrew Borden did actually hack her father and stepmother to death with an axe on August 4, 1892…and was found not guilty!
But…are you ready to spend the night in that house? No can do. Would require me to drink.
The spooky Halloween season is upon us! Visit US Ghost Adventures at https://usghostadventures.com/.
