Haunting Tales on Historic Streets

History and the supernatural blend to give a spooky dimension to the world's power capital Washington DC's oldest neighbourhood

- By PALLAVI PASRICHA

The US is gearing up to get a new President. Anticipation and anxiety is building up in Washington DC. However, pause for a minute and see if the number 2024 is divisible by 20. No this isn't a math challenge, but a theory called the '20-year curse', which allegedly dooms US presidents elected in a year that is divisible by 20 to assassination or death in office. Get to know more about this spine-chilling curse and other ghouly matters on a ghost tour of Georgetown, the historic neighbourhood in Washington DC, where 19th-century architecture tells spooky tales of yore.

The 'Curse of Tippecanoe' started with William Henry Harrison who died from pneumonia just one month after being elected in 1840. Twenty years on, Abraham Lincoln came to power, and was assassinated. His successors, James A Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G Harding, Franklin D Roosevelt and John F Kennedy, were either tragically killed or died of ill health. The curse was broken when Ronald Reagan survived an attempt on his life in 1980.