
What we’re about
Our tours take place in Washington, D.C.--Lafayette Square, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, et al.--Alexandria, Virginia, and other historic sites such as Civil War battlefields in Antietam, Maryland. The tours last about 2 hours, and typically cost about $20 per person.
Washington, D.C. and nearby towns like Alexandria, Virginia drip with history and political intrigue--from colonial times to the present day. This is a group aimed at those eager to explore the often-violent and scandalous past of the nation's capital and its surroundings--its wars, espionage rings, assassination attempts, mayhem and misbehaviors, as well as more uplifting events--against its backdrop of architectural splendor and breathtaking vistas.
Detailed itineraries!:
Lafayette Square--White House, Andrew Jackson statue, Stephen Decatur House, slave annex, Dolley Madison House, St. John's Church, Frederick Douglass bank, Lafayette statue, Blair-Lee House, Renwick Gallery, Treasury Dept., Eisenhower Executive Office Building...Learn about: The assassination attempt on a President-one block from the White House!…The war-hero congressman who murdered his wife’s lover…The tragic suicide of the wife of America’s most esteemed author…The brutal stabbing of a Secretary of State…The ruthless spy who lost the U.S. Army a major battle…The scandal that caused the entire presidential Cabinet to resign!..And much more! And it all happened in Lafayette Square, across from the White House in Washington, D.C.
This tour starts and ends at the Andrew Jackson statue.
Old Town Alexandria, Virginia--the Torpedo Factory, the John Carlisle mansion, the Stabler-Ledbetter pharmacy museum, Lawrence Washington's House, George Washington's town house, Founder's Park, the City Hall, the John Wise tavern, Gadsby's Museum and restaurant, Christ Church, Robert E. Lee's boyhood home, the Lee-Fendall House, the old cotton mill, the Presbyterian Meeting House.
This tour typically starts at the Torpedo Factory and ends at Christ Church.
Capitol Hill--the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Library of Congress, the 9/11 memorial, the Anne Frank memorial, the Peace Memorial, the President Garfield statue, the Inauguration steps, the Ulysses S. Grant memorial, the Frederick Law Olmstead grotto, the Sullivan Brothers memorial, the hidden cornerstone of the Capitol.
This tour starts at the Supreme Court Building and ends at the Ulysses S. Grant memorial.
What We Do--"Walking history seminars": walking group tours of the most historic venues in Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, and other towns.
Where We Go--We tour historic, atmospheric neighborhoods and sites such as Lafayette Square, the Capitol Building grounds, Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria, the Navy Yard area, and the Antietam Civil War battlefield.
Upcoming events (4)
See all- A Halloween GHOST Tour of Old Town, Alexandria VA, Fri, October 31, 4 pm!Windmill Hill Park, Alexandria , VA
A Horrifying Halloween History GHOST Tour of Old Town, Alexandria Virginia, October 31!!
Ye Olde Town Alexandria--filled with scores of centuries-old houses and the scene of war, murders, and fatal accidents--is one of the most haunted places in America. And one of the most historic, being the hometown of George Washington.
On Halloween Night, take a horrifying stroll to visit the city’s many terrifying real-world sites of the supernatural!
When: October 31, 4 pm!
Where: Meet at Windmill Hill Park, 501 S Union St, Alexandria, VA 22314. Next to the haunted tunnel.Pre-Register and Pre-Pay at—
PayPal, sending $22 to: paypal.me/EMoser460
Or Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-halloween-ghost-tour-of-old-town-alexandria-va-fri-october-31-tickets-1656941920889?aff=oddtdtcreator
Or, pay $22 in cash at the start of the tour.Length: About 2 hours
Our most scary itinerary will select from:
• Ghosts from a doomed Navy voyage
• The headless sailor of King Street.
• The unsolved antebellum murder, and the murdered man’s actual mysterious ghost!
• Ghosts from a doomed Army voyage
• The bizarre plan to revive George Washington from the dead!
• Scary visits to locales of our published murder mystery!
• A shocking mortuary from olden days
• The smallest park in the nation.
• The smallest house in the nation.
• The unknown tomb of the Unknown Soldier
• The untimely death of the Mysterious Woman
• Apparitions along the Underground Railroad
• The loud ghost of the devilish Black Cat
• The mysteriously disappearing house
• The mysteriously disappearing spy
• The mysteriously disappearing presidential ballroom
• Confederate graves and Union surgeons
• A real-life pirate
• Trick or treat on a President
• The house of a notorious blackmailer & seductress
• The warriors who were skinned alive
• Washington's terrible final hours
• The warring ghosts of the War Between the States
• High spirits: Old Town's hard-drinking Irish of yore
• The tragic bride who was killed on her wedding day
And more!Your host is an ex-Tonight Show writer, & former White House speechwriter.
The Host's books on his tours!
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Lost_History_of_the_Capitol/MsM3EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
Our murder mystery set in Alexandria!:
[THE OLD TOWN HORROR: Murder and Theft in America's Most Historic Locale by Edward P Moser, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-old-town-horror-edward-p-moser/1143650532)Our Top-Ranked TripAdvisor Reviews!
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d12791843-Reviews-Lafayette_Square_Tour_of_Scandal_Assassination_Intrigue-Washington_DC_District_of.htmlMeet at Windmill Hill Park, 501 S Union St, Alexandria. Next to the ghostly tunnel.
Join us on this horrifying history tour!!
Faint of heart & courage?: Avoid this event!! - Halloween Ghosts Tour--Capitol Building & Congress’ Hidden History, Sun, Nov 2!US Capitol/west front; "James Garfield Statue," , Washington, DC
Halloween Ghosts Tour--Capitol Building & Congress’ Wild, Hidden History!
The Capitol Building, home of the U.S. Congress, is justly renowned for its stunning architecture and landscaping. Yet its interior and grounds have also held court to 225 years of misbehavior & mayhem--by powerful men, and some unscrupulous women! Making for a scary Halloween tour: of hanging, canings, bombings, riots, protest marches, and assorted and sordid acts of revenge! And some noble feats as well!
When: Sunday, Nov. 2, 3 pm.
What: A walking tour of the Capitol’s ground that covers two centuries of misdeeds, murders, ghosts, betrayals, and many accomplishments too.
Where: MEET at the James Garfield statue, southwest side of the Capitol Building, Washington DC 20001.
Price: Starts at $22.Pre-register and Pre-pay via—
Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/halloween-ghosts-tour-capitol-building-congress-wild-hidden-history-tickets-1660802447829?aff=oddtdtcreator
Or PayPal, sending $22 to:
Or pay $22 in cash at the start of the tour.Length. About 2 hours.
Experience the thrill, the shock. Of episodes drawn from this litany of horror:
• The first assassination attempt on a President
• The near fatal beating of a Senator by a Congressman
• Arbors of heartbreak--the Capitol’s commemorative trees
• The Capitol’s first hanging
• Bootlegged spirits by the legislators of Prohibition
• Where Washington & Jefferson fired L'Enfant
• The bloody steps of a Capitol shooting
• The city & Capitol riots of 1835, 1857, 1919, 1968, 1991, 2020, 2021.
• The Capitol curse of its slain architect
• The burning down of the Capitol Building
• The legislators’ ladies of the evening
• The Army veterans vs. Eisenhower & MacArthur
• The restless spirit of a hanged war criminal
• A doomed, wounded President
• The unusual demise of convicted spies
• The duel to the death—with rifles!--between two Congressmen
• The underground bombing of the Senate
• The bombing of the Senate chamber, and the bomber’s awful demise
And more!Your guide is a former writer for the “Tonight Show”, and ex-White House speechwriter, historian and professional tour guide, and author of 14 books, such as:
The Lost History of the Capitol:
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-History-Capitol-Tumultuous-Congress/dp/B09LVXZB8T/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0
And his latest, Femme Fatalité, a Georgetown spy thriller:
https://www.amazon.com/Femme-Fatalité-Lizzy-Thorne-Novel-ebook/dp/B0F4945MR5/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0We’re on TripAdvisor!:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d12791843-Reviews-Lafayette_Square_Tour_of_Scandal_Assassination_Intrigue-Washington_DC_District_of.htmlThink history’s boring? Think again!!
- Special 250th Independence Day Tour! Thomas Jefferson’s Wild Life & Times, D.C.!Willard Hotel, Washington, DC
Special 250th Independence Day Tour! Thomas Jefferson’s Wild Life & Times, Washington D.C.
Friday, July 3, 2026, starting from the Willard Hotel!
Held in and around the White House’s Lafayette Square, on the 250th anniversary weekend of Independence Day, this tour will examine the accomplishments of, and many crises faced, by Jefferson—D.C.’s first two-term President--during the American Revolution, in Europe, and during his eventful stay in the then-new Executive Mansion. And of his colleagues & rivals Alexander Hamilton, George Mason, Benjamin Banneker, James Madison, Aaron Burr, George Washington, & John Adams, and others, all of whom left a significant mark on the capital, and America, from the first July 4th and thereafter.
Friday, July 3, 5:45 pm.
MEET in the lobby of the Willard Hotel
1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
Length: 2 hours.
Nearest metros: Length: Farragut North or Farragut West
Lafayette Square next to the White House has dozens of sites related to the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson, Alexandria Hamilton, et al.Discover:
• A traitor’s attempted overthrow of Jefferson’s Lewis & Clark expedition
• The man who reconciled Hamilton and Jefferson
• The other Jefferson memorial--outside the White House
• George Mason’s battle against—the U.S. Constitution
• The Marquis de Lafayette’s amazing & perilous associations with multiple American Presidents
• Inventor of farm, kitchen, and spy apparatus
• The secret language of the Jefferson Memorial
• The undeclared naval war, and declared trade war, that nearly wrecked Jefferson’s second term
• Sally Hemings and Maria Cosway
• Disputes over the Jefferson Memorial
• Rollercoaster relationship with John Adams
• “The room where it happened”
• The “miracle mansion” of TJ’s militia chief
• The scoundrel who betrayed Jefferson, killed Hamilton, and tried setting up his own country—with the head of the U.S. Army!
• Architect-in-Chief: Did TJ secretly design the White House?
• When Jefferson was almost hanged
• How Mason & Jefferson ended the slave trade—from Minnesota to the Mediterranean!
• President Jefferson’s “First Lady”
• Did Jefferson plagiarize Mason?
• How TJ came to write the Declaration of Independence, and its hidden coda
• And more!Pre-Register and Pre-Pay via--
Eventbrite, at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/special-250th-independence-day-tour-thomas-jeffersons-wild-life-times-dc-tickets-1602841434879?aff=oddtdtcreator
Or PayPal, sending $26 to paypal.me/EMoser460
Or pay $25 in cash at the start of the tour.We’re highly rated on TripAdvisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d12791843-Reviews-Lafayette_Square_Tour_of_Scandal_Assassination_Intrigue-Washington_DC_District_of.htmlYour tour guide is a former speechwriter to the President of the United States, a former writer for Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show”, & author of the newly published spy novel, set in Georgetown, Femme Fatalité:
https://www.amazon.com/Femme-Fatalité-Lizzy-Thorne-Novel-ebook/dp/B0F4945MR5
Also the hidden history of Lafayette Square—The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood!:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Houses-Unruly-Neighborhood-Lafayette-ebook/dp/B082ZVDCD7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
And:
https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-America-Things-American-Should-ebook/dp/B076MR3XS3/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
And, The Lost History of the Capitol--
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-History-Capitol-Tumultuous-Congress-ebook/dp/B099JBSN9Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Questions?: [191.EP.JM.56@proton.me](mailto:191.EP.JM.56@proton.me)
Bring your walking shoes, and perhaps water and sunscreen.
- Special 250th Independence Day Tour! Thomas Jefferson’s Wild Life & Times, D.C.!Organization of American States, Washington D.C., DC
Sunday, July 5, 2026, starting from Constitution Ave and 17th St
Held in and around the White House’s Lafayette Square, on the 250th anniversary weekend of Independence Day, this tour will examine the accomplishments of, and many crises faced, by Jefferson—D.C.’s first two-term President--during the American Revolution, in Europe, and during his eventful stay in the then-new Executive Mansion. And of his colleagues & rivals Alexander Hamilton, George Mason, Benjamin Banneker, James Madison, Aaron Burr, George Washington, & John Adams, and others, all of whom left a significant mark on the capital, and America, from the first July 4th and thereafter.
Sunday, July 5, 5:45 pm.
MEET outside the OAS Building, 200 17th St NW DC·
Length: 2 hours.
Nearest metros: Length: Farragut North or Farragut West or Metro Center
Lafayette Square next to the White House has dozens of sites related to the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson, Alexandria Hamilton, et al.Discover:
• The other Jefferson memorial--outside the White House
• A traitor’s attempted overthrow of Jefferson’s Lewis & Clark expedition
• The man who reconciled Hamilton and Jefferson
• George Mason’s battle against—the U.S. Constitution
• The Marquis de Lafayette’s amazing & perilous associations with multiple American Presidents
• Inventor of farm, kitchen, and spy apparatus
• The Royal Navy's "impressment" makes a bad impression
• The secret language of the Jefferson Memorial
• The undeclared naval war, and declared trade war, that nearly wrecked Jefferson’s second term
• Sally Hemings and Maria Cosway
• Disputes over the Jefferson Memorial
• Rollercoaster relationship with John Adams
• “The room where it happened”
• The “miracle mansion” of TJ’s militia chief
• The scoundrel who betrayed Jefferson, killed Hamilton, and tried setting up his own country—with the head of the U.S. Army!
• Architect-in-Chief: Did TJ secretly design the White House?
• When Jefferson was almost hanged
• How Mason & Jefferson ended the slave trade—from Minnesota to the Mediterranean!
• President Jefferson’s “First Lady”
• Did Jefferson plagiarize Mason?
• How TJ came to write the Declaration of Independence, and its hidden coda
• And more!Pre-Register and Pre-Pay via--
Eventbrite, at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/250th-independence-day-tour-thomas-jeffersons-wild-times-july-5-2026-tickets-1628454765039?aff=oddtdtcreator
Or PayPal, sending $25 to paypal.me/EMoser460
Or pay $25 in cash at the start of the tour.We’re highly rated on TripAdvisor:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28970-d12791843-Reviews-Lafayette_Square_Tour_of_Scandal_Assassination_Intrigue-Washington_DC_District_of.htmlYour tour guide is a former speechwriter to the President of the United States, a former writer for Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show”, & author of the newly published spy novel, set in Georgetown, Femme Fatalité:
https://www.amazon.com/Femme-Fatalité-Lizzy-Thorne-Novel-ebook/dp/B0F4945MR5
Also the hidden history of Lafayette Square—The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood!:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Houses-Unruly-Neighborhood-Lafayette-ebook/dp/B082ZVDCD7/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
And:
https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-America-Things-American-Should-ebook/dp/B076MR3XS3/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
And, The Lost History of the Capitol--
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-History-Capitol-Tumultuous-Congress-ebook/dp/B099JBSN9Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Questions?: [191.EP.JM.56@proton.me](mailto:191.EP.JM.56@proton.me)
Bring your walking shoes, and perhaps water and sunscreen.
Kick off this special Independence Day weekend with this unique tour!Think history is boring? Not on our tours!