DC Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl By US Ghost Adventures

Washington gets stranger after sunset. This two-hour walk mixes documented ghost stories with old drinking spots, including the place linked to the Gin Rickey and bars tied to presidents, politicians, and Prohibition. I like the compact route and the small maximum of 15 people, which should make it easier to hear the guide and ask questions. I also like that the tour gives you genuine Washington history, not just spooky claims.

The main caution is simple: drinks are not included, and the ghost material may not satisfy you if you want theatrical scares. Some of the stories are told outside buildings rather than inside them, so this is best viewed as a history walk with haunted pub stops, not a full-on paranormal show.

Key details at a glance

• Start at 6:00 pm outside Old Ebbitt Grill: The route begins at 675 15th Street NW and finishes at The Hamilton.
• Seven historic stops in about two hours: You will visit or pass places linked to presidents, Mark Twain, Prohibition, political deals, and old Washington tragedies.
• A maximum of 15 people: The small group size should help you stay connected to the guide on busy downtown streets.
• Drinks cost extra: The $36 ticket covers the guided experience, but you pay separately for drinks at the stops.
• The Gin Rickey gets a proper hometown mention: Proper 21 is connected with the drink’s development, making this a useful stop for cocktail fans.
• Expect more history than horror: The strongest part of the experience may be the guide’s storytelling and Washington context, especially if you are not a serious ghost hunter.

What kind of tour is this?

The DC Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl is a short evening walking tour through central Washington. You move between historic bars, restaurants, public buildings, and theaters while your guide explains the reported hauntings tied to each location.

The route covers a compact part of downtown, beginning near the White House and ending near Pennsylvania Avenue. You do not need transportation between stops. That makes the experience easy to fit into an evening, though you should expect to walk and remain on your feet for much of the two hours.

The tone depends heavily on your guide. Past guides such as Anton, John, and Dena received especially warm praise for their history knowledge, friendly manner, and storytelling. That matters here because the tour is not built around elaborate effects. The guide has to make the tales work with words, timing, and a good sense of place.

I would think of this as a social history walk with drinks available, rather than a pub crawl where the alcohol is the main event. You can order at selected stops, but buying a drink is optional and separate from the ticket.

Starting at Old Ebbitt Grill

Meet at Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th Street NW, at 6:00 pm. The restaurant is presented as one of Washington’s oldest drinking establishments and is linked with presidents who enjoyed a drink there.

You spend about 10 minutes at this first stop. The appeal is less about getting settled for a long meal and more about beginning with a famous Washington institution. If you want a drink here, budget for it separately. Admission and drinks are not part of the $36 price.

Starting at a well-known restaurant gives the tour a useful sense of place. You are not beginning in an anonymous street corner. You are beginning amid the political center of the city, where dining rooms, hotel bars, and public buildings have long overlapped with Washington power.

One practical point: arrive with enough time to find the meeting point. The tour starts promptly at 6:00 pm, and the first stop is also part of the walking route. Since the group is capped at 15, a late arrival could be harder to fold into the evening than on a large bus tour.

Mark Twain at Rhodes Tavern

The next stop is on 15th Street Northwest, at the reported location of the former Rhodes Tavern. The site is associated with the ghost of Mark Twain.

This is a good example of the tour’s format. You are visiting a location connected to a building and a story, but you may not be entering the original tavern itself. The site works best if you enjoy the link between a real Washington place and a tale that has grown around it.

The 10-minute stop is brief, so expect a focused explanation rather than a long lecture. That pacing helps the tour cover several locations in one evening, but it also means the stories cannot all receive much detail.

If you prefer clear historical evidence over supernatural claims, listen for the background surrounding the site. Several people who enjoyed the experience most appreciated the ordinary Washington history, even when the ghost angle felt thin. That is a useful clue about how to get the most from the tour: treat the hauntings as one layer of the story, not the only reason to go.

Political deals at the Occidental Grill

The Occidental Grill provides another short stop. The restaurant is tied to important political deals and is also said to have lingering spirits.

This is where the tour’s Washington setting does much of the work. The city’s old restaurants and hotel bars are not just places to eat and drink. They are settings where public business, private conversations, and political relationships have crossed paths for generations.

You should not expect to sit down for a full meal here. The scheduled visit lasts about 10 minutes, and the focus is on the history and reported hauntings connected with the location. If you decide to order something, remember that it adds to the cost.

The strongest guides can make a short stop feel worthwhile by connecting a building to the wider story of Washington. A less confident guide may leave you feeling that you have only looked at the outside of another bar. Guide quality is therefore one of the tour’s biggest variables.

The Round Robin Bar at the Willard Hotel

At 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, the route reaches the Round Robin Bar inside the Willard Hotel. The bar is associated with President Grant.

This stop gives the crawl a more polished hotel setting and adds a presidential connection without requiring a separate museum visit. The Willard is also close to the core of downtown Washington, so the walk continues through an area packed with political landmarks.

The Round Robin Bar is a natural place to order a drink, but again, the drink is extra. The ticket does not function as a bar tab. If you plan to buy beverages at several stops, the final cost can rise well above the advertised $36.

That is the main value question for this experience. The entry price is reasonable for a two-hour, small-group guided walk, especially if you mainly want stories and city history. It becomes less of a bargain if you expect several included drinks or long periods inside each pub.

The John A. Wilson Building and an old fire

The route then visits the John A. Wilson Building at the site of a former streetcar power station. Two workers who died in a fire there are said to haunt the location.

This stop has a different mood from the hotel and restaurant visits. Instead of focusing mainly on famous patrons and political deals, it brings in working history and an industrial accident. That change of subject helps keep the route from becoming a string of presidential anecdotes.

The building is also a reminder that central Washington has changed shape many times. Modern government offices can sit on sites that once served transportation or industrial purposes. The ghost story gives you a reason to pause, but the physical history of the site may be just as interesting.

Admission is not included here, and drinks are not the point of the stop. Expect another short explanation, roughly 10 minutes, rather than an extended building tour.

The National Theatre and a jealous actor

The National Theatre is included as a stop on the walk, with a story about the spirit of a jealous actor.

The theater setting suits a ghost story. Stage lore often involves rivalry, ambition, and strong personalities, so this tale fits the location more naturally than some of the stories connected with ordinary office buildings.

Still, do not assume that the tour includes a performance or a backstage visit. The available details identify the National Theatre as a stop, but they do not promise entry or access beyond the guided visit. You should listen to the guide’s account and enjoy the theater’s role in Washington’s evening streetscape.

This is one of the stops where presentation matters most. A lively guide can give the jealous actor a memorable presence. A flat delivery could make the story feel forced, a concern raised by some past participants who wanted stronger ghost material.

A Gin Rickey at Proper 21

Proper 21 on F Street is the tour’s clearest cocktail stop. It is linked with the development of the Gin Rickey, a drink with a Washington connection.

You can order one here, but it is not included in the ticket. That makes this a good place to spend part of your drink budget if the cocktail angle interests you. It also gives the crawl a concrete activity beyond standing outside and listening.

The Gin Rickey connection adds a small but useful piece of local culture. You are not merely visiting a bar selected for atmosphere. You are learning why a particular drink is associated with Washington.

The scheduled time is about 10 minutes, so you should not expect a leisurely cocktail session. If you want to sit, order food, or enjoy a second drink, you may need to balance that against the group’s schedule.

Ending at The Hamilton and the Man in the Green Hat

The final stop is The Hamilton at 600 14th Street NW. The pub crawl ends here, with a story about the Man in the Green Hat, a figure said to have supplied alcohol to members of Congress during Prohibition.

This ending brings the tour back to politics and drinking, two themes that run through much of Washington’s past. Prohibition stories also fit the pub crawl format well, since the setting naturally raises questions about who drank, who supplied the alcohol, and how official rules worked in practice.

The ending point is convenient for central Washington. You can continue your evening nearby, order a drink at The Hamilton, or simply leave once the tour finishes. Transportation is not provided, so plan your return trip from downtown on your own.

Because The Hamilton is the final stop, you will not need to walk back to Old Ebbitt Grill. That simple one-way route makes the experience easier to combine with dinner or another evening plan.

How much walking and standing should you expect?

The tour lasts about two hours and requires a moderate level of physical fitness. Transportation is not included, and the stops are connected on foot through central Washington.

The supplied timing lists about 10 minutes for most locations. That leaves a meaningful portion of the evening for walking, gathering the group, and moving between sites. Comfortable shoes are a sensible choice.

The route is near public transportation, which helps before or after the tour. Service animals are allowed. No special physical access details are provided, so if you have specific mobility needs, confirm them before booking.

The small group limit is useful here. A group of no more than 15 people should be easier to keep together on city streets than a large tour. It also gives you a better chance to ask the guide about Washington history or the stories behind the stops.

What the $36 price really gets you

At $36 per person, the ticket pays for about two hours with a professional guide, the walking route, and researched accounts of reported hauntings. It does not pay for transportation, food, or drinks.

I consider that a fair price if you want an organized evening walk and your main interest is the guide’s storytelling. The value rises when the guide is engaging and adds useful historical context, which was the most praised part of several past outings.

The value drops if you expect a drink at every bar or want access to private rooms and hidden parts of the buildings. A few past participants also felt the experience was too expensive when the ghost stories were brief or lacked force.

Plan your spending before you go. One reasonably priced drink can keep the evening manageable. Several drinks at upscale downtown bars can easily add more than the ticket itself.

Who should book this haunted pub crawl?

I would recommend it to you if you enjoy:

• Washington political history with a spooky side
• Short walking tours that fit into an evening
• Historic restaurants, hotel bars, and theaters
• Meeting a small group of fellow visitors
• Ghost stories presented through real places and documented accounts
• Ordering your own drink rather than paying for a package

I would be more cautious if you want jump scares, actors, dark interiors, or a strongly supernatural experience. The tour may feel too mild if you have already taken more theatrical ghost walks in other cities.

It also suits couples, friends, and solo visitors. One solo participant especially appreciated having a friendly guide who answered questions throughout the walk. The capped group can help a solo visitor feel less anonymous, though the quality of the evening still depends on the guide assigned to your departure.

Final verdict: book it for history first

Book DC Ghosts Boos and Booze if you want a compact, social way to see central Washington after dark. The Old Ebbitt Grill, Willard Hotel, National Theatre, Proper 21, and The Hamilton give the route a strong sense of place, while the stories add a playful supernatural layer.

Do not book it expecting several free drinks or nonstop scares. You will pay extra for everything you order, and some stories may feel more convincing as local history than as ghost lore.

For the best value, arrive on time, wear comfortable shoes, keep your drink budget in mind, and approach the tour as Washington history with haunted stories along the way. You can cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours before the 6:00 pm start, which gives you some flexibility if your plans change.

FAQ

Where does the DC Ghosts Boos and Booze tour begin?

The tour begins outside Old Ebbitt Grill at 675 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005.

What time does the tour start?

The tour starts at 6:00 pm.

Where does the pub crawl finish?

The tour ends at The Hamilton, 600 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005.

How long does the experience last?

The walking tour and haunted pub crawl last approximately two hours.

Are drinks included in the $36 ticket?

No. Drinks are not included in the price, so you pay separately for anything you order.

How many people can join the tour?

The tour accepts a maximum of 15 participants.

Is transportation provided between the stops?

No. Transportation is not included. The stops are connected as a walking route through central Washington.

Is the tour offered in English?

Yes. The experience is offered in English.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes. You can cancel at least 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Cancellations or changes made within 24 hours are not refunded.