Stories from the October 31, 2005, Print Edition
In a city full of memorials, D.C. certainly pays attention to the dead. And some say that the dead pay attention to D.C. "D.C. is a good candidate to have a lot of haunted places," said Lawana Holland, historian and folklorist at the D.C. Metro Area Ghost Watchers (see story "The Ghost Trackers,").
Another trick-or-treating destination is an Embassy Row neighbor - the home of University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. With a few neighborhood children and about 10 GW students stopping by each year, trick-or-treating traffic at the Trachtenbergs isn't normally very heavy.
A nurse. A French maid. A Catholic schoolgirl. A bunny. It's not what you put on that makes these costumes. It's what you take off. These costume concepts, which are often accompanied with the pre-fixes "slutty" or "sexy," are some of the most popular on college campuses.
Who are you going to call? Try a ghost watcher. The D.C. Metro Area Ghost Watchers is a volunteer organization, founded in 2002, that provides free ghost-hunting services to clients. Ghost watchers travel to suspected haunted sites and use scientific equipment to determine if there is a ghostly presence, said Lawana Holland, the group's historian and folklorist.
Trick-or-treating along Embassy Row is not the average door-to-door walk. It's more like a trip around the world. If a student is going trick-or-treating, Embassy Row is the place to go. Or, at least that's what people say. Every country doesn't celebrate Halloween, so not every embassy participates in the candy-dispensing tradition.
Vol. 108
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