Decatur House Tours and Tickets

If you've already explored Washington D.C.'s best-known landmarks, discover another side to the capital on this after-dark tour. Learn more about the history of Washington D.C. through its hauntings and ghost stories as you visit such places as America's most haunted office building while your guide recounts colorful stories of the city's dark past.

Enjoy an offbeat experience—and discover a new side of the nation's capital—on an evening ghost tour of Washington DC. Follow your animated guide to the Dolley Madison House, Lafayette Square, and a range of other historical locations. At each stop, learn the spooky stories behind the city’s alleged hauntings and ghost sightings. The tour is also a great opportunity to see the nation’s capital illuminated at night.

Step into the dramatic side of Capitol Hill on a walking tour filled with political intrigue, scandal, and shocking moments from American history. From secret affairs and courtroom dramas to duels of honor and deadly rivalries, discover the stories Congress would rather forget. Along the way you’ll hear about spies in the Civil War, lawmakers attacked on the Senate floor, a journalist’s murder on the Capitol steps, and even a scandalous love story that shook Washington society. This tour reveals that behind the marble monuments and grand institutions of Capitol Hill lies a history packed with ambition, betrayal, and controversy. Join us to explore the scandals, secrets, and sensational stories that unfolded just steps from the U.S. Capitol.

Washington, DC, has not always served as the federal government's headquarters. Following the Revolutionary War, the Residency Act of 1790 allowed for the establishment of the federal government in New York City, Philadelphia, and finally Washington, D.C. Establishing the federal government's seat was difficult due to the undeveloped state of the area that is today known as downtown Washington, DC. Land needed to be surveyed, maps needed to be created, and plans needed to be created for the new US capitol. Given that the newly established federal government had incurred enormous debts during the Revolutionary War that needed to be paid off, these duties proved to be easier said than done. As we travel through historical sites that date from the period immediately following the Revolutionary War to the present, we will be reminded of the American tale.