Ghostly Happenings in Iowa

Vaudeville Ghosts

The Cresco Theater and Opera House opened its doors in Cresco in 1915 as the Cresco Opera House. Throughout the years a number of actors and entertainers have performed on its stage. Both contemporary films and live performances have taken place here. It has been taken over by numerous ghosts and unusual paranormal activity. On stage people have seen the ghostly apparitions of vaudeville performers still doing what they did best. When it’s dark, a lone ghost sits in the theater and disappears if anyone attempts to get close. In the empty theater, people have heard strange noises and voices and experienced electrical disruptions.

The Haunting of Iowa State University/ICU

Founded in 1858 as the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, it later became Iowa State University, known for courses in science, engineering, and agriculture. Besides flesh-and-blood students, the university has also acquired ghostly spirits.

At both the Shattuck Theater and the Fisher Theater you’ll meet the ghost of Frederica Shattuck. She was a major contributer to the theater department of the university. People have seen her wheelchair move on its own and have heard disembodied voices.

At the Gold Star Hall you can find the ghostly apparition of Hortense Elizabeth Wind, a former Red Cross nurse during WWI.

And don’t forget to say hello to the two ghostly sisters at the Farm House Museum.

Beware the Black Angel

The Oakland Cemetery was founded in Iowa City in 1843. A bronze statue of an angel is located inside the cemetery. Because over time the angel has turned black it is frequently referred to as the Black Angel and is associated with numerous legends. Some people think that the statue honoring Eddie and Nicholas Feldervert has changed color because Teresa Feldervert, the artist who created it, loved the dark arts. According to legends, anyone who touches or kisses the angel will instantly perish. (pictured above)

Chocolate-Loving Ghost

In Lake City the Rainbow Bridge is haunted by a ghostly spirit. The ghost has a taste for chocolate. To contact the spirit, the story says you should leave an unopened chocolate bar in the center of the bridge. When you take another look, the wrapper will be completely intact and unopened, but the chocolate will be gone.

Ghostly Spirit of Lucinda

The Stony Hollow Road is located in Burlington. The haunting of this road is associated with the legend of a woman named Lucinda. Lucinda had gone to meet a man she was secretly engaged to only to have him never show up. She was so distraught she killed herself by jumping off the edge of a cliff, meeting her demise on Stony Hollow Rd. People driving along this road have seen her ghost roaming about. If and when the apparition of Lucinda appears and she drops a rose by your feet, you will perish the next day.

Strange Paranormal Activity

In the town of Villisca on June 9, 1912, the Moore family, Josiah and Sarah Moore, and their children Herman, Katherine, Boyd, and Paul, as well as Lena and Ina Stillinger, friends of the children, were sleeping when during the night, someone killed them with an ax and it became the Villisca Ax Murder House.

The following morning after the murders, a concerned neighbor contacted Ross Moore, Josiah’s brother. Besides discovering all the bodies, the murder weapon, the ax, was also found in the same room as the two Sillinger girls. A traveling preacher, George Kelly was accused of the crime but was found innocent. To this day no one know who committed the horrific crime.

The house was purchased and opened to people who were interested in seeing where the murder took place. Over the years visitors to the house have experienced all kinds of paranormal activity. Green lights have been seen as well as bloodstains on the walls. People have experienced being pulled or pushed by unseen hands, and voices of the dead children have been heard.