Penn Social

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Washington’s Spookiest Days,” on local seances and other efforts to communicate with the beyond during the early 20th century, with Mark Benbow, lecturer in American history at George Washington University and former historian at the Woodrow Wilson House Museum.&nbsp;
What do Harry Houdini, Woodrow Wilson, Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous Washington brewmaster Christian Heurich, and the spirit of a Native-American “Princess” named Monotowah have in common?
They’re all part of an eerie chapter of Washington history, the 1910s and 1920s, when seances were the focus of both harmless parlor games and serious religious practices, and when skeptics of the occult clashed with its believers in the halls of Congress.
Learn about this fascinating time with Mark Benbow, a historian who wrote two books on Wilson and one on Heurich, and who has earned great reviews in giving this talk in the past.
He’ll discuss how a Spiritualist movement that had arisen in the nineteenth century, combined with a spike in interest in contacting the dead following the First World War, left many Washingtonians trying to reach those on “the other side.”
Among the fascinating figures he’ll summon up: Madame Marcia Champney, a popular Washington D.C. medium, who claimed to have visited Edith Wilson and other First Ladies in the White House. She bragged of having fatally cursed debunker Harry Houdini during a Congressional hearing in which he testified in favor of legislation banning seances.
Edith Wilson, Woodrow’s second wife, was not the only believer in his circle. Her brother Randolph hosted seances in their S Street home using a Ouija board and color-coded lights and music, to contact wise spirits including a Native American maiden and a “Hindoo” mystic.
Benbow will share a few ghost stories from his time as the Woodrow Wilson House Historian and even let you know where the house’s “haunted” bathroom is. He’ll leave you with a better sense of where to look for ghosts when Halloween arrives. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-spooky-washington" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image by Canva.

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Washington’s Spookiest Days

District of Columbia

Georgetown

District Of Columbia

Profs & Pints DC: Washington’s Spookiest Days

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Washington’s Spookiest Days,” on local seances and other efforts to communicate with the beyond...

Monday, October 12 from 5 to 7 P.M.
In this workshop, Jennifer Wilkin Penick will lead participants through two accessible and engaging projects -- both inspired by the colorful art of Henri Matisse. In one project participants&nbsp;will create hand-cut stencils and use them to make layered monoprints, and in the second they will create colorful collages. Participants will leave with a series of colorful and unique monoprints and collages, with their favorite work matted and ready to frame.&nbsp;
This single-session workshop will familiarize participants with gel plate printing techniques, designing and cutting stencils, and abstract collage.
 Adults, no experience needed 12 Participants
$50 Supplies:&nbsp;: $10 supply fee paid directly to instructor

Local Event: Gel Plate Printing & Collage Workshop: inspired by the art of Henri Matisse with Jennifer Penick

Gel Plate Printing & Collage Workshop: inspired...

Monday, October 12 from 5 to 7 P.M.
In this workshop, Jennifer Wilkin Penick will lead participants through two accessible and...

Gel Plate Printing & Collage Workshop: inspired by the art of Henri Matisse with Jennifer Penick

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Witches of Antiquity,” on the sorceresses of ancient Greece and Rome, with Barbette Stanley Spaeth, professor emerita of classical studies at William &amp; Mary and scholar of magic and the supernatural in the ancient world.
Seductive enchantress. Murderous sorceress. Corpse-mangling hag. The witches of the ancient world were among antiquity’s most vivid and disturbing characters.&nbsp;
Get to know some of antiquity’s most unforgettable women with the help of Barbette Stanley Spaeth, who last year gave fantastic Profs and Pints talks on ancient magic and ancient terrors of the night.
We’ll spend time with Homer’s beautiful Circe, Euripides’ passionate Medea, and Horace’s sinister Canidia. You’ll encounter Lucan’s terrifying Erictho, a witch so powerful she could raise the dead and force even the gods to obey her.
Along the way, we’ll ask why the image of the witch changed so dramatically as it traveled from Greece to Rome. Greek writers often imagined witches as beautiful, alluring, and sometimes even helpful. Roman authors, on the other hand, increasingly portrayed them as ugly, lustful, dangerous old women. What can these frightening figures tell us about ancient attitudes toward magic, women, sexuality, and power?
The answers take us beyond spells and potions into some of the deepest anxieties of the ancient world, about women who possessed power, men who feared losing it, and what might happen when accepted boundaries—between male and female, human and divine, living and dead, and even order and chaos—began to break down.
For over thirty years at William &amp; Mary and Tulane University, Dr. Spaeth taught courses on ancient magic and the supernatural. She has published several studies of ancient witchcraft and is currently working on a book on the subject. Her talk is sure to leave you spellbound. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-witches-of-antiquity" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: From “Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus,” an 1891 painting by John William Waterhouse (Gallery Oldham / Public Domain).

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Witches of Antiquity

Profs & Pints DC: Witches of Antiquity

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Witches of Antiquity,” on the sorceresses of ancient Greece and Rome, with Barbette Stanley...

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Horror in the East,” a look at truly frightening Buddhist beliefs and rituals, with Justin McDaniel, professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of the Penn Ghost Project, and former Buddhist monk.
Profs and Pints is bringing to Penn Social one of its most fascinating speakers, Professor Justin McDaniel, a former Buddhist monk whose teachings about macabre Eastern beliefs and practices are sure to expand your horizons when it comes to horror.
Westerners often regard Buddhism as a religion of peace, meditation, and compassion. While this is often true, it ignores the horrific and phantasmagoric side of many Buddhist rituals and beliefs. Those include practices such as meditating on corpses, strolling through giant “Hell Gardens” filled with terrifying images, and telling stories about haunting and highly sexualized ghosts. It’s no wonder that Buddhist countries produce some of the most violent horror films in the world.
Professor McDaniel will give an entertaining and highly visual talk looking at the ways in which Buddhists in Japan, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Singapore, and other places embrace the macabre. You’ll leave with a much richer understanding of Buddhism and the cultures and worldviews that gave rise to horror movies that can scare the wits out of you.
Dr. McDaniel has lived a life that gives him distinct expertise on this subject matter. He has published award-winning books on meditation, ghosts, and Buddhist literature, and he studies Buddhist art and translates Buddhist manuscripts. He lived for many years in Southeast Asia, where he conducted research as a Fulbright Fellow, taught and translated, and became a Buddhist monk. He also has regularly given cemetery tours and founded the Penn Ghost Project, an interdisciplinary effort to study beliefs in spirits from the beyond.&nbsp;
His talk will give you a much richer perspective on horror as a worldwide phenomenon. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-horror-in-the-east" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: Punishment depicted in the hell garden at Aluvihara Rock Cave Temple in Sri Lanka (Photo by istolethetv/ Creative Commons).

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Horror in the East

Profs & Pints DC: Horror in the East

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Horror in the East,” a look at truly frightening Buddhist beliefs and rituals, with Justin...

Georgetown Neighborhood Library

4,500+ gently used books in all genres. Proceeds go to library programs.

Local Event: Used book sale

Used book sale

4,500+ gently used books in all genres. Proceeds go to library programs.

To Be Provided

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective is excited to announce that registration is open for the ’26-’27 season of its youth chorus, Capital Force! Students learn barbershop from top educators and will perform locally and on the Barbershop Harmony Society International stage at Virginia Beach in February in the beautiful Sandler Center for the Performing Arts.Join the kickoff rehearsal

The kickoff meeting on October 18 includes voice placement, an informal audition, vocal warm-ups, and singing together. You will also learn about the season’s dates and rehearsal expectations. Interested singers are welcome to register and try the first rehearsal before deciding whether to join.
Who can join?
Capital Force welcomes singers in grades 7-12 from the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Seventh graders are considered on a case-by-case basis with a recommendation from a parent and teacher.
Location and registration
Rehearsals take place in Alexandria. For participant safety, the exact rehearsal location is emailed to registered participants. Capital Force is supported in part by a grant from the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. Questions to info@aaccsings.org. For more information and registration go to <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/capital-force-youth-chorus/home" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">sites.google.com/view/capital-force-youth-chorus/home</a>

Local Event: Capital Force Youth Chorus Kickoff

Alexandria city

Old Town Alexandria

Virginia

Capital Force Youth Chorus Kickoff

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective is excited to announce that registration is open for the ’26-’27 season of its youth...

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “The Macabre Poe,” a look at Edgar Allan Poe’s most gruesome and horrifying works and what inspired them, with Amy Branam Armiento, professor of English at Frostburg State University, past president of the Poe Studies Association, and editor of two books on the acclaimed American author.&nbsp;
Stephen King has said that he and other horror writers are all “the children of Poe,” a reference to how they’re unable to escape his shadow. Although Edgar Allan Poe penned works in a long list of genres, including fantasy, detective fiction, and poetry, his most prominent legacy is as the master of the macabre. Over the nearly two centuries since Poe lived, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Masque of the Red Death” have haunted millions of readers.
Who, exactly, was Poe? Why does he remain as one of the United States’ best-known writers at home and abroad? Why do his works continue to resonate with readers more than 150 years after they were published?
Come hear such questions tackled by Amy Branam Armiento, a leading Poe scholar who edited More Than Love: The Enduring Fascination with Edgar Allan Poe, co-edited Poe and Women: Recognition and Revision, and formerly served as president of an international organization that supports the scholarly and informal exchange of information on Poe’s life, works, times, and influence.&nbsp;
Professor Armiento will look at which people and events influenced Poe’s literary works. His troubled life included the slow deaths of his mother, brother, foster mother, and wife, as well as a problematic relationship with alcohol and a difficult relationship with his foster father. All shaped his relationship with death, horror, and the unknown.
She'll also look at how Poe’s horror tales laid the groundwork for the characters, circumstances, and other conventions of horror stories. We’ll explore how Poe shattered literary conventions of his own time by embracing lurid descriptions of violence, especially violence perpetrated between family members and loved ones. You’ll learn how Poe adapted conventions of the fairy tale to create his memorable, haunting tales, an aspect of his work that is hidden in plain sight.
The presentation will also include examples of evocative artwork used to illustrate editions of Poe's works. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-the-macabre-poe" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: Poe as depicted in a modern retouched version of a daguerreotype by Mathew Benjamin Brady. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.)

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: The Macabre Poe

Profs & Pints DC: The Macabre Poe

Profs and Pints DC presents: “The Macabre Poe,” a look at Edgar Allan Poe’s most gruesome and horrifying works and what...

Monday, October 19, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Step away from the demands of daily life and reconnect with yourself through the transformative practices of yoga, breathwork, and meditation. This immersive workshop is designed to help you cultivate greater awareness, reduce stress, and create a deeper connection between mind and body.
Through mindful movement, intentional breathing techniques, and guided meditation, you'll learn practical tools to support physical well-being, emotional balance, and inner calm. Whether you're new to these practices or looking to deepen your existing journey, this workshop offers a nurturing space to slow down, listen inward, and rediscover the wisdom that already exists within you.
Leave feeling grounded, refreshed, and empowered with techniques you can easily incorporate into your everyday life.
 Age group: 16+
8 Participants
$77
Please bring a yoga mat, blanket, pillow and anything else that helps you feel comfortable.

Local Event: Embodied Presence: Yoga, Breathwork & Meditation with Uyen Nguyen

Embodied Presence: Yoga, Breathwork &...

Monday, October 19, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Step away from the demands of daily life and reconnect with yourself through...

Embodied Presence: Yoga, Breathwork & Meditation with Uyen Nguyen

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Medieval Monsters,” with Lilla Kopár, a professor of medieval literature and culture at Catholic University who teaches courses on medieval monster lore and Norse mythology.
Bar the door and clutch your sword. Profs and Pints is about to bring you a visit from the monsters that kept medieval people awake throughout long, dark nights.
Your guide in touring this menacing menagerie will be Dr. Lilla Kopár, an expert on early medieval England and Scandinavia who teaches Catholic University’s students about things that terrified in days of yore.&nbsp;
Dr. Kopár’s illustrated talk will explore the origins of medieval monster lore in the classical, biblical, and Norse mythological traditions. It also will give us a much more nuanced understanding of monsters, explaining how we don’t just fear them, but love them and badly need them in our lives.
Among the questions Dr. Kopár will tackle: What, exactly, is a monster? Where do monsters come from? Why do all cultures treat them as serving a valuable purpose?
She’ll discuss how monsters are highly functional constructs. They help us define who we are and who were aren’t, and to explain, structure, and control the world around us. They highlight differences and they mark cultural categories and boundaries—which they then trespass. We can project our fears onto them and then feel better when we confine and kill them. Without monsters there are no heroes.
We’ll encounter categorization-defying monsters that are a mixture of beasts or half beast and half human. We’ll spend time with famous literary monsters, including dragons, giants, and the monsters of Beowulf and the King Arthur legends. We’ll get to know monsters that found a place on old maps or the sides of cathedrals.
On the much darker side, we’ll learn how monstrosity was attributed to people who were somehow different—through disease, disability, or belief in another religion—often as a means of justifying their exclusion or persecution. Sometimes belief in monsters turned people into monsters themselves. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-medieval-monsters" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: A gargoyle at England’s Magdalen College. (Photo by Chris Creagh / Wikimedia Commons.)

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Medieval Monsters

Profs & Pints DC: Medieval Monsters

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Medieval Monsters,” with Lilla Kopár, a professor of medieval literature and culture at Catholic...

Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Early American Witch Hunts,” on the colonial hysteria that led to the tragedy of Salem, with Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland.
Salem, 1692: Two young girls living in the household of one of the town’s ministers are acting strangely and having fits. A doctor is summoned and tells the minister that his girls are suffering from the action of the Devil’s ‘Evil Hand’ upon them. News of the doctor’s diagnosis quickly spreads and confirms what many in town are already whispering: These girls are the victims of witchcraft. They have been cursed by witches living somewhere in Salem.
The notorious Salem witch hunts that resulted were hardly isolated incidents. Instead, they marked the culmination of anti-witch hysteria that had crossed the Atlantic with early colonists, inspiring laws banning witchcraft and the execution of accused witches elsewhere.
Learn in depth about witch hunts in the colonies from Dr. Richard Bell, a University of Maryland historian who has given terrific talks about the history underlying the Hamilton musical, Benjamin Franklin, the “reverse underground railroad,” and other subjects.&nbsp;
We’ll begin at the beginning, looking at what people in colonial America believed about witchcraft and how they carried out witch hunts to fight it. You’ll learn about the hallmarks of an American witch hunt and where else they had taken place.
Why is the 1662 outbreak of witch-hunting in Salem, a sleepy port town in Massachusetts, so well-known today? We’ll examine that infamous episode in depth, probing its most troubling corners and why that tragic episode claimed so many innocent lives. Among the questions Professor Bell will tackle: Did anyone face justice for their role in perpetrating this outrage? How have historians tried to explain the peculiar dynamics, impact, and legacy of what happened in Salem? (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/hc-early-american-witch-hunts" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: From the 1869 painting “Witch Hill (The Salem Martyr)” by Thomas Satterwhite Noble (New York Historical Society Museum and Library / Wikimedia Commons).

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Early American Witch Hunts

Profs & Pints DC: Early American Witch Hunts

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Early American Witch Hunts,” on the colonial hysteria that led to the tragedy of Salem, with...

Washington Printmakers Gallery

Join Naoko for a fun evening of Halloween origami at a cozy Georgetown studio. While sipping wine, participants will fold several spooky and comical Halloween figures and arrange them into a festive collage.
No prior origami experience is needed. Leave with your own handcrafted Halloween collage to display at home or in the office
7 Participants Maximum
Target age: above 15 yrs old (but those below 21 yrs old, only soft drinks will be served)&nbsp;

Additional fee: $3 for origami paper and a poster board plus $10 on the day for drinks and snacks. If you would like to bring those interested in sipping and seeing the art gallery (but not folding origami), they can join for $10. Pls let Naoko know beforehand.

Local Event: Sip & Fold Halloween Origami with Naoko Kamioka

Sip & Fold Halloween Origami with Naoko Kamioka

Join Naoko for a fun evening of Halloween origami at a cozy Georgetown studio. While sipping wine, participants will fold...

Join Naoko for a fun evening of Halloween origami at a cozy Georgetown studio. While sipping wine, participants will fold several spooky and comical Halloween figures and arrange them into a festive collage.
No prior origami experience is needed. Leave with your own handcrafted Halloween collage to display at home or in the office
Saturday, October 24 from 5:00 to 6:00 P.M.7 Participants Maximum
Target age: above 15 yrs old (but those below 21 yrs old, only soft drinks will be served)&nbsp;
$30
Additional fee: $3 for origami paper and a poster board plus $10 on the day for drinks and snacks. If you would like to bring those interested in sipping and seeing the art gallery (but not folding origami), they can join for $10. Pls let Naoko know beforehand.

Local Event: Sip & Fold Halloween Origami wih Naoko Kamioka

Sip & Fold Halloween Origami wih Naoko Kamioka

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “A Guide to Witches,” on the figure of the witch in history, legend, folklore, and fairy tales, with Linda Lee, lecturer in folklore and literature at the University of Pennsylvania.
Get ready for something spellbinding: A look at various depictions of witches as reflections of ideas about female sexuality, independence, agency, and power.
Offering up this pre-Halloween treat will be folklorist Linda Lee, who earned rave reviews in previously giving this talk in other cities.
We’ll start with an introduction to witches from European folklore, fairy tales, and legends. You’ll learn how they’re generally portrayed as powerful, solitary, and defiant figures who can be either helpful or harmful. They may appear as mothers, helpers who aid heroes on quests, or monsters to be vanquished. They can represent a threat to the community by snatching children or by pilfering cows’ milk.
Individual witches who will be conjured up include the child-eating witch from Grimms’ “Hansel and Gretel” and Baba Yaga, the ambiguous witch of Slavic folklore who lives in a hut on chicken legs and flies around inside a giant mortar while clutching a big pestle. Lee contrasts such fictional depictions with the ideas about witches and witchcraft espoused by Christian demonological thought.
You’ll learn how witches are described by early modern sources like Malleus Maleficarum, the 15th-century treatise on witchcraft which also served as a witch hunters’ manual. Such texts presented witches as entirely malevolent figures who gain magical powers through a pact with the Devil (usually signed with menstrual blood). They depicted witches as using a special ointment that empowers them to fly to a Witches’ Sabbath to dance and perform demonic rituals.
You’ll see how such ideas were visually reinforced through engravings, woodcuts, and drawings, by artists like Albrecht Dürer, that depicted naked women riding broomsticks and dancing with devils.
You’ll come away with a better understanding of why witches are among the most versatile, notorious, and enduring figures from fairy tales and legends and remain an iconic part of contemporary Halloween traditions. Feel free to dress witchy if you wish. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-guide-to-witches" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: From “Preparation for the Witches' Sabbath,” by 17th Century Flemish artist David Teniers the Younger.

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: A Guide to Witches

Profs & Pints DC: A Guide to Witches

Profs and Pints DC presents: “A Guide to Witches,” on the figure of the witch in history, legend, folklore, and fairy tales,...

Monday, October 26, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Discover the fascinating connection between your energy, emotions, thoughts, and overall well-being through an in-depth exploration of the chakra system. This workshop goes beyond the basics, offering practical insights and experiential exercises to help you better understand and balance your energy centers.
Together, we'll explore the qualities, strengths, and challenges associated with each chakra while incorporating affirmations, mantras, guided reflection, and simple practices that support energetic harmony. You'll gain a deeper understanding of how energy influences your daily life and learn ways to cultivate greater confidence, clarity, creativity, compassion, and personal empowerment.
Whether you're new to chakra work or looking to expand your knowledge, this workshop offers a meaningful opportunity to align with your highest potential and create greater balance from within.
Age group: 16+
8 Participants
$77
Please bring a yoga mat, blanket, pillow and anything else that helps you feel comfortable.

Local Event: Energy Alignment: A Journey Through the Chakras with Uyen Nguyen

Energy Alignment: A Journey Through the Chakras...

Monday, October 26, 2026  from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Discover the fascinating connection between your energy, emotions, thoughts,...

Energy Alignment: A Journey Through the Chakras with Uyen Nguyen

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “The Haunted House,” on scary dwellings and their grip on us, with Brittany Warman, former instructor at Ohio State University and co-founder of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic.
The haunted house has long held a place in the imaginations of those who enjoy a bit of uncanny terror, posing the ultimate threat to security and normalcy. It’s where something familiar becomes strange and unsettling, even threatening. You initially might have thought you're safe—after all, you should be safe indoors—but you're not. Sanctuary and shelter have turned against you. The very walls trouble your dreams.
Come tour some of the most terrifying real estate ever imagined with Brittany Warman, who has earned herself a large and devoted following among Profs and Pints audiences with excellent past talks on folklore, fairy tales, and horror.&nbsp;
She’ll show you the fascinating folkloric, literary, and real-world history of the haunted house. She’ll leave you wondering about the creepy old places in your town with doors that you’re afraid to approach on Halloween, and she might even leave you eager to turn your own home into such an eerie dwelling.
She’ll begin by discussing the scary structures of fairy tales, such as gingerbread houses and Bluebeard's castle, exploring how the early stories told about them influenced the terrifying tales of Henry James' Bly Manor and Edgar Allen Poe's House of Usher. She’ll consider the impact of haunted spaces on the Gothic and horror genres and explain why haunted houses are often so opulent and so decadent in their decay.&nbsp;
Among the questions Dr. Warman will tackle: What might the haunted house have to say about history, culture, and society? What draws us, again and again, to haunted houses, making us want to visit them, find their ghosts, and uncover their stories?
She'll conclude by examining how these tales still resonate today, in haunted houses both purportedly real and those decidedly fake, meant for shocks and thrills. Even Disney's Haunted Mansion ride will make an appearance. It’s a scary world after all. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-haunted-house" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: An abandoned house near Pocomoke City, Md., in 2008. (Photo by Matt Trostle / Creative Commons.)

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: The Haunted House

Profs & Pints DC: The Haunted House

Profs and Pints DC presents: “The Haunted House,” on scary dwellings and their grip on us, with Brittany Warman, former...

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Digging Up Vampires,” on the origins and evolution of vampire beliefs, with Jordan Wilson, bioarchaeologist, skeletal biologist, and assistant professor at Georgetown University.
Hollywood has taught many of us that vampires are alluring undead creatures that drink blood, recoil from garlic and crucifixes, and turn to dust in sunlight. The truth, however, is much creepier.
Venture into DC’s Penn Social to learn what we know about real vampire beliefs based on research by archeologists, forensic scientists, and psychologists.&nbsp;
Dr. Jordan Wilson, who gives excellent Profs and Pints talks, will discuss how vampires prowled long before Dracula emerged from Transylvania.&nbsp;
You’ll learn how folkloric traditions from the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East spoke of fears of restless dead, nocturnal demons, and spirits that preyed upon the living. In later Europe, fears of revenants and vampires took on new forms as disease outbreaks swept through communities and the exhumed dead were seen as having undergone mysterious transformations.
Drawing on mortuary archaeology and paleopathology, Dr. Wilson will examine real graves of individuals believed to be vampires, their skeletons found with stones in their mouths, iron stakes through their bodies, or sickles across their throats to prevent them from rising. She’ll explore what these burials reveal about fears of disease, death, and social marginalization, and how modern anthropology can help explain the beliefs that created them.
We’ll also investigate how sleep paralysis inspired encounters with demons, how diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, and malaria contributed to vampire traditions, and how misunderstandings about decomposition convinced communities that the dead were feeding on the living.&nbsp;
You’ll emerge with an appreciation of how the real history of vampires is far stranger—and far more revealing of basic human fears—than the stories about vampires in popular culture. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-digging-up-vampires" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: The skeleton of a suspected vampire buried with head between legs in Gliwice, Poland. (Photo by Andrzej Grygiel/EPA/Creative Commons.)

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Digging Up Vampires

Profs & Pints DC: Digging Up Vampires

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Digging Up Vampires,” on the origins and evolution of vampire beliefs, with Jordan Wilson,...

Wednesday, October 28 th to November 18 from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M.
Budget frames cost $200-$300 and high-quality frames cost $400-$800. For any artist, framing is always a pervasive problem and sometimes a crippling cost. Fortunately, with a little bit of knowledge and the right tools and materials, it doesn’t have to be you can build the highest possible quality frame for approximately $80. This class will cover everything from basic woodworking with hand tools to cutting glass to archival matting for artwork. By the end of this class, you will have a complete frame and all of the knowledge you need to make your own frames going forward.
Please note: Students will be expected to bring their own artwork to frame. Artwork must be under&nbsp;20” x 26”. The price of the class reflects the cost of artwork framed with UV protective glass.&nbsp;The maximum dimension frame that glass is practical is 24” x 30”.
If any artist is interested in larger, the price of class will be adjusted to reflect the cost of UV Plexi.
For classes, a syllabus: 4 Weeks
Week 1: Cut and Glue Frame stock.
Week 2: Finish Frame stock &amp; cut mat board.
Week 3: Cut glass, cut spacers, Cut strainer.
Week 4: Mount artwork, Cut Backing, &amp; Assemble frame.
Age group: Adult - beginner
Number of participants: max 3
Cost: $400
Required supplies:
<a target="_blank" href="https://eventdirectoryusa.com/intro-to-drawing-august-5-to-august-26-on-wednesday" rel="nofollow noopener">Respirator https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-Reusable-All-Purpose-Valved-Safety-Mask/3466798</a>
Supplies Included in the Price
Frame stock, wood, archival matt boards, UV protective Glass, wood, spacers, hand tools, power tools, wood finish, fasteners

Local Event: Frame it Yourself! Works on Paper with William Demaria - 4 Sessions

Frame it Yourself! Works on Paper with William...

 Wednesday, October 28 th to November 18 from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M.
Budget frames cost $200-$300 and high-quality frames cost...

Frame it Yourself! Works on Paper with William Demaria - 4 Sessions

1675 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20007

Wednesday, October 28 to November 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M.
Have you ever wondered how and why the impressionist painted the way they did?&nbsp;
Would you like to learn to paint like an impressionist yourself?
Around the turn of the 20th century, there were dramatic changes in the art world. Where previous generations of artists once favored rigid techniques and spending thousands of hours in studios glazing hundreds of layers of paint, now artists aspired to create more immediate paintings and tried to more directly capture the world they saw.
This class, meant for students at all skill levels, will start from the ground up teaching students how to mix colors like the impressionists and introduce students to various techniques that evolved in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
All supplies are included with the class as students will be encouraged to try out different paints, brushes, and other painting materials throughout the class.&nbsp;
Syllabus
Week 1: Basics of composition
Week 2: Blending Color
Week 3: Breaking down paintings into achievable steps
Week 4: Finishing Painting!
Adult, all skill levels
 Participants 9
$200
Supplies: All supplies included. Students will be provided with professional grade brushes, canvas, and paint

Local Event: Intro to Oil Painting: Alla Prima and Impressionism - Fall Session with William Demaria - 4 Sessions

Intro to Oil Painting: Alla Prima and...

Wednesday, October 28 to November 18  from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M.
Have you ever wondered how and why the impressionist painted the...

Intro to Oil Painting: Alla Prima and Impressionism - Fall Session with William Demaria - 4 Sessions

Fairmont Washington D.C. Georgetown

Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown’s Canine Ambassador Georgie*, invites friends and neighbors to stop by with their canine companions for Fairmont’s 15th annual Howl-O-Ween.The event, takes place on Thursday, October 29 in the Courtyard Bar from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.
Prizes, awarded at 7:00pm, are for best-costumed doggies with their people, including overnight stays, dinners and more. Local celebrity judges will award prizes for most creative, most adorable, funniest and honorable mentions.

Local Event: Fairmont's 15th Annual Howl-O-Ween

Fairmont's 15th Annual Howl-O-Ween

Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown’s Canine Ambassador Georgie*, invites friends and neighbors to stop by with their canine...

Saturday, October 31, 2026 from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. and Sunday, November, 1, 2026 from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.
Explore dry point technique to create your monoprint artwork. In this class we will discuss image composition and combining drawing, texture, and form to create a monoprint of your image.
Students should to bring their sketchbook and multiple images (landscape, still life, portrait, abstract, photograph, etc.) and ideas to review for their first print. Black and white images, preferred. Artwork should be sized to 6x8. Students will be expected to work on their own during the course. No experience necessary.
Dry Point Monoprint Class Schedule (subject to change)
Class 1 Project 1: Student Choice
Bring SIZED (6x8) copies of your ideas/inspiration (landscape, still life, portrait, etc.) to use for your print.
Demo
Review and choose image and size, analyze image and drawing composition.
Start first monoprint drawing and print.
Class 2 Project 1: Student Choice
Personal studio time (based on student’s individual progress).
Finish work(s)
Art Show discussion including framing.
Class Critique
Student need to bring:
Personal, copyright free images to work from. 
Sized: sized to 6x8; black and white preferred.
16 Years Old – Adult 
Maximum 6 participants
No experience necessary; open to all skill levels

$20 Supplies fee (payable to instructor)

Local Event: Dry Point Printing 2-Day Workshop with Bridget Murphy - 2 Sessions

Dry Point Printing 2-Day Workshop with Bridget...

Saturday, October 31, 2026 from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. and  Sunday, November, 1, 2026 from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.
Explore dry...

Dry Point Printing 2-Day Workshop with Bridget Murphy - 2 Sessions

Arlington County

Arlington

Rosslyn

Washington Metropolitan Area

Clarendon-Courthouse-Rosslyn

Clarendon

Washington DC

Michael O'Connell

Ballston

Fairfax County

Patch AM Team

Seven Corners

Bailey's Crossroads

Del Ray

Montgomery County

Gaby Arancibia

Bethesda-Chevy Chase

Maryland

Conflict Resolution Support for Families and Organizations

Rogers Resolution Services

Hi, I'm Shelby! I’m a local mediator who helps neighbors resolve family, relationship, and workplace conflicts in a calm, structured way. Through my small business, Rogers Resolution Services, I offer mediation and conflict-resolution support tailored to your unique needs and help guide people through difficult conversations. I work primarily with co-parents, partners, relatives, roommates, and teams who need help talking through decisions, routines, boundaries, or recurring disagreements. I also support workplaces and community groups facing communication challenges or breakdowns. My role is neutral. I don’t give legal advice or take sides. I facilitate conversations, de-escalate tense situations, and help people reach practical and maintainable agreements they can feel comfortable with. Services include: • Family, community, and workplace mediation • Co-parenting communication planning • Conflict coaching (one-on-one support) • Group and organizational facilitation • Workplace and team communication support Please feel free to reach out if you or a neighbor need help with repairing communication, setting boundaries, and/or creating a healthier dynamic at home or at work. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to helping you!

Hi, I'm Shelby! I’m a local mediator who helps neighbors resolve family, relationship, and workplace conflicts in a calm, structured way. Through...

R2 Advisors | Strategic Financial Advisory · Tysons VA

R2 Advisors

R2 Advisors is a CPA and strategic financial advisory firm based in Tysons, Virginia. We help organizations build financial systems leadership can trust — aligning accounting, reporting, tax, and operational workflows so decisions can be made clearly, even as complexity grows. Led by experienced CPAs and CFO-level advisors, R2 Advisors works with businesses, nonprofit leaders, and executive teams across the Washington DC metro area and nationwide. Our services include strategic CFO advisory, accounting and client advisory services (CAS), tax strategy, financial systems and automation, and risk and governance. What makes R2 different: we don't treat accounting, tax, and advisory as separate functions. Every engagement is built on one integrated structure — so reporting stays consistent, leadership gets reliable numbers, and nothing conflicts across areas. R2 Advisors serves organizations navigating growth, operational complexity, and leadership transitions — from multi-location operations and compliance-heavy environments to service-based businesses and project-driven firms. Industries served include government contracting, healthcare, professional services, nonprofits, technology, and capital markets. 1775 Tysons Blvd, Office 4162, McLean, VA 22102 r2.cpa | (571) 766-6727

Tysons Corner

R2 Advisors is a CPA and strategic financial advisory firm based in Tysons, Virginia. We help organizations build financial systems leadership can...

Nearby Communities

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Events and Things to Do in Georgetown, DC

Sunday, October 18

Capital Force Youth Chorus Kickoff

OCT

18

2:30 PM

Old Town Alexandria, VA

Also around town...

Please confirm event details with the organizers before attending

Sunday, October 11

Monday, October 12

Tuesday, October 13

Saturday, October 17

Sunday, October 18

Monday, October 19

Tuesday, October 20

Saturday, October 24

Sunday, October 25

Monday, October 26

Tuesday, October 27

Wednesday, October 28

Thursday, October 29

Saturday, October 31

Capital Force Youth Chorus Kickoff

Rogers Resolution Services

R2 Advisors