Haunted Places in Franconia, Virginia



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    Woodlawn

    Alexandria, Virginia

    4.5 miles from Franconia, VA

    Historic Woodlawn was originally built in 1805 for Martha Washington’s granddaughter Nelly Parke Custis and her husband Major Lawrence Lewis. Now a museum, the place is rumored to be haunted by some of its many generations of former residents.


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    The John Douglass Brown House - Fawcett-Reeder House

    Alexandria, Virginia

    5.6 miles from Franconia, VA

    The John Douglass Brown House, aka Fawcett-Reeder House, was built in 1772 and was allegedly visited by George Washington during his lifetime. Around the colonial home, witnesses claim to have seen apparitions of ghostly Revolutionary War-era soldiers.


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    Lee-Fendall House

    Alexandria, Virginia

    5.7 miles from Franconia, VA

    The Lee-Fendall House museum, once used as a Revolutionary War hospital, is said to be haunted by female apparition in period clothing, a woman and child who appear on the back stairs, and the sound of an antique telephone. The site has been featured on an episode of TV’s Ghost ...


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    Gadsby's Tavern

    Alexandria, Virginia

    5.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    Gadsby's Tavern was built in the 1770s and reportedly was visited by many of the country's founding fathers. According to rumor, the tours through the historic site do not include one of its rooms, which is closed tight. Why? It's said that a lovely ghost resides there. Legend has it ...


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    Ramsay House

    Alexandria, Virginia

    5.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    Ramsay House is used as a visitor information center, and originally was named for William Ramsay, Scottish merchant and city founder. Witnesses claim to have seen apparitions in 18th-century clothing in the building's basement.


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    Old Post Chapel

    Arlington, Virginia

    7.7 miles from Franconia, VA

    Many Arlington National Cemetery burials started in this old military chapel, in use since the 1930s. Witnesses have reported unexplained voices and footsteps, locked doors have been known to open by themselves, and at least once, a soldier went into a room to find all the cabinets wide open. A ...


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    Oxon Hill Cemetery

    Oxon Hill-Glassmanor, Maryland

    8.5 miles from Franconia, VA

    This cemetery is located off Oxon Hill Road, catty corner to Levi's Barbecue, behind the Post Office. About 10 years ago my husband and I were hanging out with a group of homeless people. We would go to wherever they set up camp and just sit around and drink and ...


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    Old Long Bridge - 14th Street Bridge

    Washington, District of Columbia

    8.6 miles from Franconia, VA

    General Edward Braddock's 1755 expedition to capture Fort Duquesne was attacked, killing or wounding 900 men, in what is now known as the Battle of the Monongahela. Rumor has it that on the anniversary of Braddock's departure near the bridge or along the nearby bluffs, the ghostly sounds of military ...


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    Piero's Corner Italian - Carlos O'Kelley's

    Fairfax, Virginia

    8.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    This location was once a "Carlos O'Kelley's" restaurant. Now it is an Italian place called "Piero's Corner." Back when it was Carlos O'Kelley's, it was said that a dishwasher who worked there hanged himself in the building and haunted the premises from then on. Numerous waitstaff reported ...


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    Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre

    Lorton, Virginia

    9.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    At the Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre, the ghosts in residence like to rearrange chairs and place settings or manifest as lights that glide around backstage.


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  • Ghosts of Alexandria (VA)
    Michael Lee Pope
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    Fort McNair

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    The ghost of Mary Surrat, convicted in a plot to assassinate President Lincoln, has been seen here, presumably trying to convince fort guests of her innocence. Building 21 has an unknown spirit lingering in spirit form. Workers here have heard footsteps in the attic and have felt something behind them ...


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    The Loft Gallery

    Occoquan, Virginia

    9.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    A haunting experience happened at The Loft Gallery in the 1990s when a painting flew off a wall. Then, one early morning in October 2006, an artist saw a glowing mist float through the gallery. Witnesses also report footsteps, creaking floors, and doors closing when no one is there.


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    Occoquan Inn

    Occoquan, Virginia

    9.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    The apparition of a Native American man has been seen in the Occuquan Inn, built in 1810. Legend has it that the man was enamored of the owner's wife, and he was shot when the owner caught him sneaking down the stairs one night. His ghost has been seen in ...


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    St. Elizabeth's Hospital

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.4 miles from Franconia, VA

    Paranormal experiences here have included groaning sounds, footsteps, cold spots, and strange noises. The site is still an operational hospital and trespassing is not permitted.


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    George Mason University

    Fairfax, Virginia

    9.4 miles from Franconia, VA

    The crew team at George Mason University has reported seeing the ghost of an old man near the docks or dam. Legend has it that he's Old Man Johnson, a deceased area rower who, in the 1970s, found his wife having an affair. The distraught man went out rowing and ...


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    Halcyon House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.5 miles from Franconia, VA

    Built by first Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert in 1787, Halcyon House was sold in 1900 to Albert Clemens, a nephew of Mark Twain. Clemens, who died in 1938, believed that perpetually altering the house would extend his life, so it changed quite a bit over the decades in ...


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    Old Stone House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.7 miles from Franconia, VA

    The 18th-century home is reported to be one of the oldest buildings in D.C. It's believed to be home to at least four spirits, who knock things off shelves and perform other mischievous tricks. One spirit is said to be an "unfriendly male" who has scared many a visitor.


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    The Octagon House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.7 miles from Franconia, VA

    Built by Colonel John Tahoe in 1799, the historic Octagon House was used as The White House during former president Madison's term. One ghost here is the spirit of Colonel Tahoe's pregnant daughter, who died when she threw herself from the top banister. She committed suicide after finding out her ...


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    Lafayette Square - Presidents Park

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    President's Park, a.k.a. Lafayette Square, is said to be haunted by Philip Barton Key II, son of Francis Scott Key. As legend has it, in 1958 Philip Key had an affair with the wife of one of his friends, Daniel Sickles. In his rage, Sickles shot Key, who was unarmed, ...


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    M Street Bridge

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    Visitors to the bridge should keep a lookout for two ghosts. One is a phantom stagecoach, which locals saw from the early 19th century to the early 20th century; the other is a drummer boy who had been knocked off-balance by a strong breeze and drowned. Witnesses say they have ...


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    Independence Avenue SW

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.9 miles from Franconia, VA

    This part of the avenue is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of slaves. It is the former site of two notorious slave markets: the Yellow House or Williams Slave Pen, now the FAA headquarters, and the nearby Robey Slave Pen, at the 7th Street corner. Locals have heard ...


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    The White House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.9 miles from Franconia, VA

    A number of mysterious happenings have been reported in the White House. President Abraham Lincoln's apparition is seen in the Lincoln Bedroom and all over the White House, President Andrew Jackson is seen in the Rose Bedroom, and President William Henry Harrison is heard in the attic. Abigail Adams is ...


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    Blair House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    9.9 miles from Franconia, VA

    Now a complex of four connected townhouses and the official state guest housing for the President of the United States, the historic Blair House was built in 1824 for Joseph Lovell, eighth Surgeon General of the United States Army. It is said that the ghost of President Woodrow Wilson has ...


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    Willard InterContinental

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10 miles from Franconia, VA

    The grand hotel has had many famous guests, such as Abraham Lincoln, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, General John J. Pershing, and Harry Houdini. Another renowned guest, once a U.S. president, is believed to still reside here. An apparition believed to be Ulysses S. Grant has been ...


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    Decatur House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10 miles from Franconia, VA

    The ghost of war hero Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., is said to peer out the second-story window of his 1819 house or walk out its back door. Decatur was killed just 14 months after moving here, in a duel between himself and former friend James Barron. Ghostly weeping also can ...


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    National Theatre

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    Opened in 1835 originally, the theater was demolished and rebuilt in 1923. Deceased actor John McCullough's spirit has appeared here in the role of Shakespeare's Hamlet. According to local stories, the actor was murdered here in the 1880s by another actor. The ghost has been seen as far back as ...


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    Treasury Annex

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    A ghostly woman in a long white dress roams the second floor, seen by several employees working late. Also experienced have been unexplained footsteps and voices, and even a toilet flushing.


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    Hay–Adams Hotel

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    Allegedly haunted by the ghost of Marian (Clover) Hooper Adams who lived in the residence that occupied this site prior to the hotel being constructed. Mrs. Adams committed suicide by ingesting potassium cyanide. People claim to see and smell distinct scents that they attribute to her, including the smell ...


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    St. John's Episcopal Church

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    The 1816 church's President's Pew, reserved for the President of the United States, is where the hauntings are said to take place. So the story goes, when the old church bell tolls for the death of a notable person, six ghostly men in white robes appear at midnight in the ...


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    Cutts-Madison House - Dolley Madison House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.1 miles from Franconia, VA

    The spirit of former First Lady Dolley Madison is said to reside at her home, built in 1822 by Richard Cutts, Dolley's brother-in-law. After her husband James Madison died in 1836, Dolley lived here until her death in 1849. Although the house's next owner Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes changed things ...


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    Renaissance Mayflower Hotel

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.2 miles from Franconia, VA

    This 1925 is known for its beautiful inlaid gold decor, and also for its resident ghost. When Calvin Coolidge won the U.S. presidency, he was expected to go to his Inaugural Ball at the Mayflower Hotel. However, his son Calvin Jr. had just died of an infection, and the devastated ...


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    Ford's Theatre

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.2 miles from Franconia, VA

    At this historic theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, folks say John Wilkes Booth's footsteps still can be heard running up the back stairs to the Presidential Box.


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    Walsh Mansion - Embassy of Indonesia

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.4 miles from Franconia, VA

    Formerly the Walsh Mansion and now the Embassy of Indonesia, this 1903 mansion is believed to be haunted by Evalyn Walsh McLean, daughter of original builder Thomas J. Walsh. The mansion had 60 rooms, including a theater and a ballroom. Evalyn Walsh married publishing heir Edward Beale "Ned" McLean, whose ...


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    National Museum of Crime and Punishment

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.4 miles from Franconia, VA

    On display is the Tennessee electric chair, used on 125 men from 1916 to 1960. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the men whose lives it took.


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    Woodrow Wilson House

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.4 miles from Franconia, VA

    At this museum, both staff members and visitors have reported seeing President Woodrow Wilson's apparition sitting in his rocking chair. Also reported have been the sound of a man with a shiffling gait walking with a cane and the sound of a man sobbing.


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    United States Capitol

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.5 miles from Franconia, VA

    At the U.S. Capitol, folks say that late at night, the statues in the Statuary Hall come to life and move about the room. It is also said that a black cat appears in the basement just before a national disaster occurs. The ghost of a builder who died during ...


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    Mary Surratt's Boarding House - Wok and Roll

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.6 miles from Franconia, VA

    Notorious Lincoln conspirator Mary Surratt's former boarding house is now Wok and Roll, a Chinese restaurant, and it is said to be haunted by Mary Surratt's ghost. Witnesses have heard unintelligible murmurs, unexplained footsteps, muffled weeping and creaking floorboards.


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    National Building Museum

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.6 miles from Franconia, VA

    The 1887 National Building Museum is said to be haunted by ghosts who appear in an unusual way. Formerly the "Pension Building," where pensions were processed for Civil War veterans, widows, and orphans, it has 15 Corinthian brick-and-plaster columns painted to resemble black onyx. Witnesses say the colors on the ...


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    Marine Barracks - 8th & I

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.6 miles from Franconia, VA

    The mysterious presence is said to linger around the lower parking garage, where a fatal accident involving a young child occurred. Some Marines have heard the child calling out early in the morning; others have seen a red ball rolling down a garage ramp.


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    Library of Congress

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.6 miles from Franconia, VA

    Tales are told of a ghostly police officer who haunts the stacks at the famed Library of Congress, often helping those who become lost amid the vast collection. Appearing both in uniform and in casual clothes, the officer, who often even tells people his name, is deceased sergeant. Other strange ...


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  • Ghosthunting Virginia
    Michael J. Varhola
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    Omni Shoreham Hotel

    Washington, District of Columbia

    10.9 miles from Franconia, VA

    This mammoth upscale 1930 hotel is home to its fair share of haunts. In 1930, a rich family, one of the hotel's finiancial backers, moved into Room 864. Reports say that one night their nanny awoke feeling ill, suddenly collapsed, and died. A few days later their adopted daughter Helen ...


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    Gallaudet University - MSSD

    Washington, District of Columbia

    12.2 miles from Franconia, VA

    MSSD is the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. The ghost of a girl who committed suicide has been seen in the dorms, as well as another female spirit. Hoofbeats also have been felt through the campus, thought to be left over from Revolutionary War soldiers.


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    Kerby Hall - Trinity Washington University

    Washington, District of Columbia

    12.7 miles from Franconia, VA

    This hall is rumored to be haunted by a student who died in the late 1960s. She has been seen in both the staircase and the 5th-floor lounge, as well as in some dorm rooms.


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    Clara Barton National Historic Site

    Glen Echo, Maryland

    12.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    Clara Barton National Historic Site, home of the famous wartime nurse for the last 15 years of her life, is said to be haunted. Folks have reported apparitions and it is believed that Clara herself still lingers here in spirit.


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    Caldwell Hall - Catholic University of America

    Washington, District of Columbia

    13.2 miles from Franconia, VA

    A ghost story told at this historic university explains some mysterious lights and an apparition that appears in Caldwell Hall's attic window. The spirit is said to belong to a priest who took a fatal fall from the window after discovering a book on exorcism.


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    Surratt House Museum

    Clinton, Maryland

    13.5 miles from Franconia, VA

    The historic 18th century inn and tavern building, now a museum, was once owned by Mary Surratt. Her son John sometimes met with friends there, one of whom was John Wilkes Booth. These meetings were said to be when the plot for the assassination of President Lincoln evolved. The guns ...


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    Bladensburg Dueling Grounds

    Colmar Manor, Maryland

    14.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    When dueling was outlawed in the district limits, this area, now a park, became the spot where men could defend their honor. The apparition of Commodore Stephen Decatur, killed here in 1820, has been seen here, as well as other shadowy figures.


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    Marwood Mansion

    Potomac, Maryland

    17.4 miles from Franconia, VA

    Witnesses in this former house of the Gore family say they have seen the bathroom window open by itself, the toilet flushing, and steam coming from the tub, as well as eerie sounds from the basement. An apparition of the family's butler has been seen on the steps and around ...


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    Olde Towne Inn

    Manassas, Virginia

    17.6 miles from Franconia, VA

    A ghost called Miss Lucy is said to haunt rooms 51 through 54. She is rumored to levitate guests and frequent the tavern.


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    Weems Botts Museum

    Dumfries, Virginia

    17.8 miles from Franconia, VA

    Weems–Botts House Museum is dedicated to the history of Dumfries and the two people who lived here: Mason Locke "Parson" Weems and attorney Benjamin Botts. Weems (1759-1825) was a clergyman and author, the first biographer of George Washington, who created the cherry tree story ("I cannot tell a lie, I ...


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  • Haunted Richmond II
    Pamela K. Kinney


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