It has been a busy weekend for me, what with Halloween coming, as well as preparing for a number of book talks related to my latest book on urban legends and the historic lore of Washington, DC. So, here is a repeat of one of my favorite Capitol Hill ghost stories for you.
It was a late night in 1892. A Washington Post reporter was taking the street car down B Street (Now Independence Ave) past the Capitol. The street car turned north onto 1st St. SW and was proceeding towards the Garfield Statue when the gripman threw on the brakes and brought the car to a shuddering halt. “Quick, John, I’ve run over a bicyclist sure this time!” cried the gripman, and he and the conductor disappeared under the front of the car, where the bicycle and its rider were presumed to have ended up.
There was, however, nothing to see. The two trainmen searched under the rest of the car, and came up empty. Finally, certain that no one had been struck, they continued on their way. The Post reporter smelled a story and asked the gripman for more details as they continued up 1st and turned onto Pennsylvania Avenue for the long run to Georgetown.
“Strange.” said the gripman “I would take my oath that I run down a cyclist then. I saw him plain as day come darting at full speed down Capitol Hill, and I caught him just as he left the shadow of the bushes.”
As they continued the trip, the reporter drew out the gripman some more. “This is the fourth time I have been taken this way, and each time it has happened at that same spot., where the Capitol Hill driveway emerges into First street, near the circle. […] I am haunted by a cyclist, and if you like I’ll tell you why I, more than all the other gripmen, should be thus cursed.”
Detail of map from 1892 showing street car tracks. Red dots are track of bicyclist, red lines are the path of the street car before the ‘crash,’ green line after. (LOC)
It turned out that the gripman, while operating one of the horse cars-which were DC’s public transportation option before cable-drawn street cars became the norm-had had a bicyclist ride into the front of his carriage, separating it from the horses which were pulling it. The cyclist had been run over by the carriage and died shortly thereafter. And now his ghost was exacting revenge on the driver by repeatedly appearing to come to the same end. The only difference was that the original cyclist had been riding a penny-farthing bicycle (with his legs draped over the handle bars, no less) and his ghost had chosen a more modern conveyance. Presumably with the retirement of the gripman, so too has the ghost retired. There have been no further incidents of ghostly cyclists careening down Capitol Hill.
I will be talking about my latest book this Sunday, November 3, at 1:30 PM at the Southeast Library. If ghosts are more your thing, Tim Krepp will be talking about his new book on Georgetown Ghosts at 3:00 PM at Congressional Cemetery. Or, why not hear about both?