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Ghosts, guests liven up D.C. cemetery for Halloween bash

Heather Mongilio
USA TODAY
The grave of John Philip Sousa, the American composer and conductor famous for his marches, is seen at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington.
  • Guests can visit graves of J. Edgar Hoover%2C Mary Ann Hall and John Philip Sousa
  • Tours will include %22visits%22 from the cemetery%27s residents
  • The Congressional Cemetery is home to more than 65%2C000 burial sites

Ghosts of congressmen, composers and murder victims will rise again to tell their tales to guests brave enough to visit their graves at the Congressional Cemetery during the Historical Congressional Cemetery's Ghosts and Goblets event.

The Historical Congressional Cemetery will host its annual Halloween party Saturday from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. in the Congressional Cemetery located on E Street Southeast in Washington, D.C.

"Why not have a Halloween party in the cemetery?" program director Lauren Maloy said.

Partygoers can take guided tours that include "visits" from notable and less-known residents of the cemetery, portrayed by actors, who share information about the deceased's lives, Maloy said.

Two of the notable residents telling their tales will be composer John Philip Sousa and Mary Ann Hall, who owned a brothel during the Civil War era where the National Museum of the American Indian now stands, Maloy said.

"She's just an intriguing character for us, so I'm glad she'll be able to make it," she said.

Hall's grave is marked by a marble tombstone, which features a woman crying over an urn. She is buried near her mother and sister, according to the Smithsonian Institute.

The tour also features horror stories, including that of a woman murdered by her lover on a park bench, Maloy said.

"My favorite part of the event (is) probably the tours just because it's fun to see people dress up and kinda bring these people to life," she said. "I walk around these gravestones all day and it's fun to see people's interpretations of them."

The cemetery does not have any "real" ghosts haunting it, she said.

"That makes me feel a little better about being here at night," Maloy said.

But the cemetery does have some scary stories, she said.

The Congressional Cemetery is 260 years old and holds the burial sites of 65,000 people, including former members of Congress, war heroes and J. Edgar Hoover. The first tombstones dates to 1804, according to an article from the Evening Star dated June 4, 1857, on the cemetery's website.

Tickets for the event cost $60 for general admission, which includes a drink ticket for four drinks, and $80 for the VIP ticket, which adds premium cocktails in the Public Vault and a year-long membership to the Historical Congressional Cemetery.

Tickets are also being sold through a Living Social deal, which includes a general admission ticket for $29.

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