Do Ghosts Really Prowl DC-Area College Campuses?

Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that first appeared in another publication.

Many people might argue that the scariest thing about college these days is the cost. But colleges and universities across the country have long been the subject of a different kind of fear - the terror engendered by tales of encountering ghosts and other strange phenomena in the halls and classrooms of higher learner.

Of course, DC colleges are part of this supernatural tradition. As we bid goodbye to Halloween 2014, here are terror tales from 5 area colleges. WARNING: If you are attending 1 of these institutions or have relatives or friends who are, read at you own risk.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in In The Capital, click here.

Phantoms of the Museum

DC's Smithsonian museums (there are 17 of them here in the city) are among America's most visited and treasured places. But the Smithsonian also publishes a series of some of the most interesting, fact-filled blogs appearing anywhere on the internet. Each Sunday, The Prices Do DC re-posts an entry either about the Smithsonian or that 1st appeared in 1 of the institution's blogs. Hope you enjoy and maybe we'll see you soon at the Smithsonian.

As Halloween approaches, I am reminded of a May 13, 1900, article (see the scan at the bottom of this post) on the National Museum in the Washington Post that reported on “Shades of Scientists Who Walk There Nightly,” (shades was an old term for ghosts). 

The U.S. National Museum was then housed in what is now known as the Arts and Industries Building.  The guards and staff who worked late reported that the deceased but devoted scientists of earlier eras continued to walk the halls of the Museum at night, guarding over their collections.  Foremost among these was Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), the first Smithsonian curator and second Secretary of the Smithsonian.

To continue reading this post, which 1st appeared in Typepad, click here.