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Stories in Life

Something strange in your neighborhood: D.C. has plenty of haunted hotspots

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,").

The ghost trackers

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-treat with Trachtenberg

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.

"What's the deal with" ... slutty Halloween costumes?

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.

Halloween on Embassy Row: How do you say trick-or-treat in Irish?

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.