Capitol Hill Gets Its Fright On
The best of Halloween from Roll Call’s archives
What did we learn from trick-or-treating at the Capitol this year? Chuck Schumer might give you some Chobani.
There’s nothing particularly hair-raising about that. But it’s not all fruit-on-the-bottom bliss when Halloween rolls around in Washington. Roll Call has chronicled years of congressional frights and blood-chilling happenings on the Hill.
A demon cat supposedly roamed the halls. Goats descended on a cemetery. And pumpkin enthusiasts carved the faces of Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton into legions of defenseless gourds.
Here’s a look back at Halloweens past:
To All the Specters Who’ve Haunted Us Before
The Capitol may not haunted, but it’s teeming with ghost stories. It’s two centuries old, after all. What four-legged creature kept killing all the mice? What was that strange disturbance in Statuary Hall? Roll Call poked into the cobwebbed corners of the building’s history.
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Lawmakers Conjure Up Zombies on the Floor
D.C. may be dead this month as lawmakers enter the frantic homestretch of their midterm campaigns around the country. But last year, Halloween was a hot topic on the House floor, from zombies to hobgoblins to tax tricks.
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Dogs in Wigs on Parade
Who could forget that time Thom Tillis threw a canine costume party and some “Game of Thrones” dogs showed up? These photos speak for themselves.
The Ghosts Who Stare at Goats
When the caretakers of eternal rest at Congressional Cemetery first let loose the goats back in 2013, Roll Call was there. Invasive plant species threatened the historic grounds, but the Eco-Goat herd chowed down on poison ivy and pokeweed in a landscaping method as old as the hills — or at least as old as some of the residents of Congressional Cemetery, which opened in 1807.
You may know that the cemetery is the final resting place of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and that lawmakers’ cenotaphs dot the grounds.
But did you know that it’s also home to a private dog-walking program and something called the Dead Man’s Run, in which runners huff and puff through the headstones?
Lasso of Truth
Last year was a banner year for congressional kids in costume, as a few went trick-or-treating for the very first time. At least one adult got in the spirit too; Rep. Stephanie Murphy was Wonder Woman.
Erin Franczak contributed to this report.