Photo: Courtesy of George Alexander

 When the Omni Shoreham Hotel first opened in 1930, Mr. Henry Doherty, who was a minority shareholder, took a luxurious suite of rooms where he stayed with his wife, a daughter named Helen and the executive housekeeper, Juliette Brown. During the following years, first the housekeeper and later the daughter died in the suite.

In 1973, when Mr. and Mrs. Doherty moved out of the hotel, things began to get interesting. Hotel guests reported strange occurrences in and around the rooms in the wing that surrounded the suite. Televisions and lights would be moved, and people reported feeling a breeze, the same kind of breeze you might feel when somebody runs by.

Records show that a client staying in room 863, who knew nothing of the story, called the General Manager and asked who was in the empty room 864, which had been Juliette's bedroom. He complained of disturbing noises throughout the past two evenings. The hotel employees began to suspect that either Juliette or Helen, or both, were haunting their previous rooms. Later on, hotel employees came up with the name Vivica, for the ghost.

Following a redesign and restoration of this wing of the hotel, the rooms were converted to a two bedroom Presidential Suite, offering some of the most spectacular views of Washington. The suite was appropriately named The Ghost Suite.

The Omni Shoreham Hotel is located in Northwest Washington, D.C.
2500 Calvert Street, NW (at Connecticut Avenue)
Washington, D.C. 20008
Telephone: (202) 234-0700; Fax: (202) 265-7972
Website:  The Omni Shoreham Hotel

Visit: Haunted Washington DC: Spooky Legends and Ghost Stories to read more about the ghosts of the capital and to find out about other haunted places to explore during your next visit.