Georgetown After Dark: A Washington Night of Ghost Stories and the House from 1765

The house from 1765

The Old Stone House was built in 1765, when Georgetown was part of the British colony of Maryland. When the British invaded Washington in 1814 it was already 59 years old. The National Park Service now preserves it as a rare example of pre-Revolutionary architecture, but it survived for a different reason: a mistake.

In 1791 George Washington and the planner Pierre L'Enfant stayed at Georgetown's Fountain Inn, known locally as Suter's Tavern after its owner, John Suter. On Bridge Street, now M Street, John Suter's son, John Jr., ran a clock shop in what is today the Old Stone House. Over the years local memory merged the two buildings, and the wish to remember the President's visit kept the house standing while the street changed around it. Among its furnishings today is a clock built by John Suter Jr.

The ghost walk meets outside the house and has access to its yard. For the house's own opening hours, check the National Park Service's page before you plan to go inside by day.

The walk, stop by stop

The walk is 90 minutes with a licensed guide, for up to 15 people, and it starts after dark. The stories are the neighbourhood's ghost stories and local legends, told as you pass its row houses, churches and alleys:

• The yard of the house on M Street, about ten minutes.
• A building called The Colonial, about ten minutes.
• The streets of Georgetown, about half an hour, along Wisconsin Avenue.
• Outside a house called Halcyon, about ten minutes; you do not go in.
• Past Georgetown University, without a stop.
• The Exorcist Steps, at 36th and Prospect Streets, where you walk down the steps from the film and the walk ends.

The ghost walk is rated 4.8 from 782 reviews. It is listed as family-friendly, service animals are allowed, and a gratuity is not included.

A port before it was a neighbourhood

Georgetown is older than the city around it: it was a town in Maryland when the house went up, decades before the District of Columbia was laid out. The walk tells how it grew from a small port into a major commercial centre, and the stories come from that longer past: the cemeteries, the churches and the alleys off the main streets. That is why it feels so different from the Mall and its memorials, and why the two make a good pair on separate nights.

Before you book the walk

• When it starts: after dark; the start times show when you pick a date.
• Where to meet: outside the house at 3051 M Street NW. The walk ends at the steps, not back at the house.
• Who it suits: it is listed as family-friendly, and one family in August found the guide made sure every age could take part. Service animals are allowed.
• Weather: it needs good weather. If it is cancelled for that, you are offered a new date or a full refund.
• Cancelling: a full refund up to 24 hours before the start.
• Tipping: the gratuity is not in the fare.

Georgetown or the Mall: how the evenings differ

A ghost walk and a memorial evening are not rivals; they are two different nights. The table sets them side by side against the 7:30pm coach, which has a guide on foot at every memorial.

If you have a second evening, do the memorials first, while the city is new, and Georgetown second. If you have one, the memorials are the reason most people come; the ghost walk is the one to add. Other ways to spend the evening beyond a tour are on things to do at night.

Getting there and away

Georgetown has no Metro station of its own. The nearest is Foggy Bottom-GWU; a taxi or rideshare is simpler at night. The walk ends at the steps, not at the house, so plan the way home from 36th and Prospect. Where the house sits among the other starting points is on the meeting-point map, and the ride home is in our post on getting back.

Other ways to see Georgetown at night

If you would rather ride, the private car with six stops drives through Georgetown and past the Kennedy Center on the way to the memorials, with a driver-guide who speaks English, Spanish or Portuguese; it runs for four hours. Its fare is per person and falls as the group grows. The ghost walk is the only evening that stops in Georgetown on foot.

And if you want a guide on foot on the Mall instead, the private evening walk starts at the Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue and ends at the White House two and a half hours later. The memorials it passes are on the memorials page, and every private option is compared on our page of private night tours.

Wear shoes with grip for the steps at the end; our post on what to wear has the rest.

Evenings on foot, in Georgetown and on the Mall

Ghosts of Georgetown & The Exorcist Steps Walking Tour

Ninety minutes on foot through Georgetown after dark with a licensed guide, from the yard of the oldest house in the city to the steps from the film. Up to 15 walkers.

From $49 per person

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Private Washington DC Night Tour with Stops at 6 Top Sites

Four hours in a private car with a driver-guide, picked up downtown: six stops, and a drive through Georgetown and past the Kennedy Center. English, Spanish or Portuguese.

From $275 per person

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The National Mall Private 2.5-hour Evening Tour in Washington DC

Two and a half hours on foot with a private guide, from the Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue to the White House. Listed as wheelchair accessible; no transport.

From $185 per person

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