Tricks and Treats of D.C.'s Architecture cont.d

The Octagon House Museum

The Octagon House was designed for John Tayloe III by architect William Thornton, the first architect of the United States Capitol. Built between 1799 and 1801, this was the first house to be completed "in the neighborhood" of the White House.

• One of Tayloe's fifteen children either fell to her death through the center of the grand staircase. Stories include a strange candle-shaped shadow on the staircase and the faint sound of a falling scream.
  
• A second daughter, while pregnant, died in the house by throwing herself from the top banister upon finding out her father had done away with her soldier lover, whom he disapproved of. Her ghost is said to roam the halls.
  
• Occasionally visitors have claimed to seen John himself walking the halls of the home along with slaves performing their daily routines.
  
• A somewhat more pleasant ghost, reported to have been seen dancing and enjoying the lilacs, is assumed to be Dolley Madison who adored her stay in the house.

The Octagon House Museum Web Site



Healy Hall-Georgetown University

Officially, the fifth floor of Healy Hall does not, and never did, exist. The high Victorian design of the building, which was constructed in the late 1870's during the presidency of Patrick Healy, lends itself to speculation about secret sealed-off floors and ghostly inhabitants.

• One story of how this floor came to be haunted dates back to when Georgetown was a liberal arts college. A young Jesuit student accidentally opened the Gates of the Underworld when reading forbidden chants in a book about exorcism within a secret room in Healey Hall that is now sealed off.
  
• A second tale involves another Jesuit, who was crushed to death by the hands of the clock while working in the clock tower and now wanders the floor moaning in pain.
  
• Other Georgetown ghost stories tell of trapped spirits in the University's underground tunnel system.

Tricks and Treats of D.C.'s Architecture

It doesn’t have to be Halloween to be spooked. Washingtonians have been altering their routes after dark for years due to the haunting characteristics of homes and buildings in the area. In honor of the upcoming holiday we will be posting the a list of DC’s most well-known architectural sites whose style and history have invited legends, ghost stories, and strange visitors….

U.S. Capitol Building

The #1 tourist destination in Washington DC is the United States Capital. Like many other buildings in Washington, DC the U.S. Capitol is based on ancient Greek and Roman designs reinterpreted into a Neoclassical style. Construction of the Capitol building began after President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson chose the winning design of William Thornton in 1792.

• Legend tells that during the construction of the Capitol building, an irritable carpenter smashed the head of a stones man and buried the body in a wall. The stones man has allegedly been spotted walking the halls.


• In 1814, the British tried to burn the Capital building down. Damage was sufficient that congress had to relocate to a hotel. One story tells of a British soldier who runs the halls with a torch, evidently he doesn’t know the war is over.


• In 1890, Congressman William Taulbee was shot by Charles Kincaid, a reporter, on the marble steps of the Capitol building. Taulbee died 11 days after the incident but the bloodstain can still be seen today on the marble steps leading up to the House Press Gallery. When reporters pass that area, they sometimes trip, which is said to be caused by Taulbee enacting his revenge.


• In the late 1800's General John Alexander chaired meetings in the Military and Militia meeting room of the Senate’s wing. At 12:30 am, everyday, the General is said to appear outside this room looking upset.


• The cast-iron dome, replacing the original wooden structure, was constructed between 1855 and 1866. The ghost of a worker killed when he fell from the dome has been reported floating around the rotunda carrying a tray of tools.


• During the Civil War the Capital served as a hospital to treat soldiers. On occasion visitors have claimed to see soldiers dashing through the halls. One story tells of a man who appears and salutes, then vanishes.


• The Library of Congress once inhabited the rooms to the west of the Rotunda. A male librarian allegedly haunts the area, looking for $6,000 he stashed in the pages of some obscure volumes. (The money was found in 1897 when the collection moved to the Jefferson Building.)


• The best known legend is of D.C., Demon Cat, who lives in the basement of the U.S. Capitol Building, possibly in the room known as the Crypt. When it appears a national disaster is likely to occur within a short period of time. Some versions of the story, warns that while the Demon Cat may first appear as a helpless looking kitten, it grows in size and becomes threatening as people approach him.


• When guards walk through Statuary Hall, which used to be the early meeting place of Congress, they claim to be followed by footsteps. Guards have admitted to trying to outrun the footsteps, but are tackled by someone unseen. Some guards say theyt have seen John Quincy Adams leading a session of Congress, circa 1850, who died in that hall.