6 haunted destinations cataloged across District of Columbia, spanning 1 county. The collection features museum, battlefield, and cemetery — every listing verified with family ratings, accessibility info, and practical visit logistics.
Washington, DC
St. Elizabeths Hospital opened in 1855 as the Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally operated psychiatric facility in the United States. Designed on the Kirkbride Plan, the 948-foot Center Building was constructed between 1852 and 1895, and the campus was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
Washington, DC
Fort Lesley J. McNair occupies Buzzard Point at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in Washington, DC, and has been an Army installation since 1791. The fort's Grant Hall, also known as Building 20, served as the courtroom for the May-June 1865 military tribunal of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Four convicted conspirators, including Mary Surratt, were hanged in the courtyard on July 7, 1865. Grant Hall was restored and rededicated in 2012.
Washington, DC
The Octagon House at 1799 New York Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., was completed in 1801 for Virginia planter John Tayloe III to a design by William Thornton, the first architect of the United States Capitol. The house served as the temporary Executive Mansion for President James Madison following the August 1814 British burning of the White House. Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent there in February 1815.
Washington, DC
The official residence and workplace of the President of the United States since 1800, designed by James Hoban and rebuilt after British forces burned the building in 1814. The White House Historical Association maintains a long-standing public collection of presidential ghost stories alongside its architectural and political history.
Washington, DC
The Octagon is the 1801 Federal-era mansion at 1799 New York Avenue NW, designed by William Thornton for Colonel John Tayloe III. The house served as the temporary executive residence for President James Madison after British forces burned the White House in August 1814. The American Institute of Architects acquired the property in 1902, and the Architects Foundation operates it today as a public museum.
Washington, DC
Glenwood Cemetery is a ninety-acre rural-style cemetery in northeast Washington, DC, chartered by Congress in 1852 and dedicated on August 2, 1854. Established on the former Clover Hill estate, it was the first for-profit cemetery in the District. Notable burials include Emanuel Leutze, Clark Mills, Constantino Brumidi, and (by long-standing cemetery tradition) Lincoln-conspirator George Atzerodt.