The lost and untold history of Washington, DC. New and old content regularly tweeted automagically for your scrolling pleasure.
Washington, D.C.
Joined January 2012
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In December 1973, 86 guests sat down at a Georgetown club for Tip O'Neill's birthday dinner. The host was a South Korean rice broker whose luggage would soon get searched in Anchorage, with a very…
ghostsofdc.org/2026/11/02/ko…
On May 31, 1975, 74 Holton-Arms seniors held their prom in the East Room of the White House. The band played "Reefer Man," the Beach Boys got turned down, and Susan Ford's parents were in Spain.
ghostsofdc.org/2012/02/07/se…
In 1970, a Phoenix bread truck driver hijacked a TWA jet to Dulles and demanded $100 million from the Supreme Court. His grudge? A $471.78 tax bill.
ghostsofdc.org/2019/09/03/du…
In 1958, Benny Mendelson asked DC's liquor board to let him fly a Confederate flag over his 14th Street tavern. We made a podcast episode about the strip it anchored.
🎧 New podcast episode, 11 minutes. Listen at the link.
ghostsofdc.org/2012/05/07/14…
1971, Bowie, Maryland. A puppy turns up dead on Fletchertown Road. Her head is gone.
The neighbors know who did it. Half man, half goat.
But how did the Goatman get to Bowie?
Happy Halloween. Listen: ghostsofdc.org/2023/11/03/ma…
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On May 31, 1975, 74 Holton-Arms seniors threw their prom in the East Room while President Ford was in Spain. The Beach Boys were nearly the band, until one condition got in the way.
ghostsofdc.org/2012/02/07/se…
In 1939, Errol Flynn showed up to a Georgetown pirate club with a working brig at 3135 K Street. We made a podcast episode about what that building became.
🎧 New podcast episode, 12 minutes. Listen at the link.
ghostsofdc.org/2026/06/06/th…
On June 14, 1966, Arlington police watched two rival gangs gather in a Safeway parking lot for hours. Then 100 shots flew across the Lee-Harrison lot.
ghostsofdc.org/2023/11/15/bi…
In 1950, a Texas car dealer offered to give Georgetown's 1765 stone house to the government, if they'd move it off his M Street lot. We made a podcast episode about it.
🎧 New podcast episode, 10 minutes. Listen at the link.
ghostsofdc.org/2026/10/07/ol…
After WWII, Washington kids trick-or-treated on October 30 AND October 31. They called it beggar's night, and one furious reader compared the two-night shakedown to Mussolini and Hitler.
ghostsofdc.org/2026/10/30/be…
In 1939 the Washington Post declared George Lindner's place on Wheeler Road SE the last farm in DC, doomed by a new highway. The Lindners kept plowing anyway.
ghostsofdc.org/2013/08/12/la…
In 1969, James Brown canceled a Texas show to perform "Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud" at Richard Nixon's inauguration gala. He had backed Humphrey months earlier.
ghostsofdc.org/2013/01/17/ja…
In 1949, the Evening Star said a Catholic priest freed a 14-year-old Mount Rainier boy from the devil. One problem: the family lived in the next town over, and the legend chased the wrong house for 50…
🎧 Also a 9-minute podcast episode.
ghostsofdc.org/2026/10/29/ex…
In 1969, bricks flew through windows at 2249 and 2251 R Street. Police thought both were meant for one embassy next door. The house at 2249 has quite a story before it became Kenya's embassy.
ghostsofdc.org/2012/09/11/em…
They won the 1873 competition to design the Library of Congress. Thirteen years, ten designs, and 100+ drawings later, they were fired over a cement dispute. Then it got worse.
ghostsofdc.org/2021/12/30/ar…
July 1952: an air traffic controller at National saw 7 violet blips on radar, 15 miles southeast of DC. We made a podcast episode about what happened next.
🎧 New podcast episode, 9 minutes. Listen at the link.
ghostsofdc.org/2018/02/26/fl…
April 17, 1939: rain cancels the Senators-Yankees opener, so Clark Griffith and Joe McCarthy trudge out to Arlington to lay a wreath of roses on Abner Doubleday's grave.
ghostsofdc.org/2012/05/10/ab…
In 1881, an ice jam at Long Bridge flooded 254 acres of DC. The fix created Hains Point. We made a podcast episode about how a mud flat became a park.
🎧 New podcast episode, 9 minutes. Listen at the link.
ghostsofdc.org/2022/04/08/wh…
In 1966, a Maryland congressman asked the House to kill Wolf Trap to protect a Columbia pavilion that hadn't been built yet. The National Symphony had already turned down the Fairfax farm as too hard to…
ghostsofdc.org/2026/10/27/me…
In 1969, students paddled canoes to three rocky islands in the Potomac and camped out to stop an 8-lane freeway bridge. We made a podcast episode about it.
🎧 New podcast episode, 11 minutes. Listen at the link.
ghostsofdc.org/2015/04/13/ne…
