Georgetown does Halloween well. So it should — we have a serious reputation to uphold after the 1973 release of William Friedkin’s cult horror film “The Exorcist.” The movie’s chilling score, which crawls up and down my spine even now as I listen to it for the 10th time, serves as the perfect anthem for our favorite holiday here on the Hilltop.

As narrow streets become lined with pumpkins and giant inflatable cats peer over the edges of townhouses, we Hoyas are just gearing up for the season. The arrival of the special day will deliver some predictable, yet nonetheless enjoyable sights, including a few brave students attending lecture in full costume and a few bolder professors doing the same.
O’Donovan Hall will go heavy on the pumpkin, to the delight of some and to the chagrin of others. And as the light fades, packs of students will wander to the Exorcist Steps, loiter for a while and tell a few scary stories as they huddle closely under the streetlight.

The Georgetown neighborhood itself harbors a healthy share of haunted locations. Old Stone House sits unassumingly on M Street, tucked between the Kate Spade and the Paper Source, two decidedly un-spooky locations. I myself pass by it without a second glance on a nearly weekly basis. But just inside, an evil spirit named George watches over the third-floor bedroom.

On multiple occasions, female visitors to the house (which is now a museum that closes around 4 p.m.), have felt his hands wrap around their neck. Four or five other spirits bounce around the house, running up and down the stairs or peeking out of the windows. The building’s plot of land has been designated a national park, so even if you’re not in the mood to be strangled, the quaint yard behind Stone House may be a good place to spend an hour or two.

Beyond the confines of our creepy neighborhood, the White House is a surprising epicenter of spiritual activity. If you manage to secure one of the highly desired holiday tours, keep an eye open for Lincoln. The lanky figure has been seen many times in the last century, and he reportedly visits most during times of crisis. He visited most frequently during the Franklin D. Roosevelt years, surprising Churchill and Eleanor Roosevelt with his frequent appearances.

Just across Pennsylvania Avenue, Lafayette Square serves as the launch point for a number of ghost tours. For the most part, these can be ignored — the haunting information can be found online, and it’s a great source of entertainment if you’re procrastinating for midterms. The park’s most famous haunt is the son of Francis Scott Key. The young man had an affair with a woman and then an unfortunate run-in with her jilted husband at night. The man fired three shots and Philip Barton Key died a few hours later in the nearby Tahoe House.

The Tahoe House, or as it’s more commonly known, the Octagon House, holds the title of Most Haunted Location in Washington, D.C. The American Institute of Architects uses the house as a museum today and likes to downplay this fact, but the house still serves as a gem in many ghost walks. Three women have fallen to their deaths from the third floor landing and the ghosts of slaves reportedly still ring bells from their living quarters in the back of the house. Guests have seen a man reclined in the third-floor bedroom, a footman ready at the door and a female presence that brings the scent of lilacs with each visit. The house is virtually dripping in ghosts.

Even if you’re not captured by the stories of supernatural mischief, a walk to downtown on Halloween is a good idea. M Street is electric and alive on Halloween. If you make it past the buzzing throngs of tipsy partygoers, there are some more approachable celebrations in the surrounding areas. Silver Spring hosts a zombie walk each year that’s worth an eternity on the Red Line, and there a number of haunted trail walks that provide some terrifying diversions.

If all else fails, grab some friends and a computer. As the opening chords of “The Exorcist’s” lilting track fill the room, take a moment to reflect on the abundance of local haunts that make Georgetown unique. Then stop thinking about it. That stuff is scary.

Erin Hickok is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. DISTRICT ON A DIME appears every other Friday.