Todd Ristau of The Third Eye Over Iowa Ghost Hunters Clubª
leads a sunset tour of paranormal adventurers through Haunted Iowa City.
photo courtesy of the Daily Iowan
1: The Mill, a place where Iowa Citians have raised spirits for many years.
2: The Hall Mall, home of George the Ghost & Moon Mystique (catering to paranormal & unusual interests).
3: Old Capital, where restless legislators still roam.
4: Currier Hall, site of the supposed triple suicide & haunted dorm room.
5: EC Mabie Theatre, the spectral EC still watches student productions. (Behind Currier Hall, across river.)
6: 319 E. Bloomington, AW Insurance, home of Maude the Ghost.
7: 507 N. Linn St., former home of table-tapping cemetery sleeping youths.
8: 228 Brown St., The Alamo, once very haunted!
9: 327 Brown St. a hair pulling ghost lived here.
10: The Gaslight Village, filled with ghostly stories.
11: Hickory Hill Park, Iowa City's Pest Houses.
12: Oakland Cemetery, home of the Black Angel.
Other haunted or weird locations:
A: 113 E. Prentiss Street, much weirdness there (one block south of # shown on map).
B: 906 E. College, The Alpha Phi House, exploding gumball machines and ghostly drafts.
C: The Apartment of Katherine S., 200 Block, E. Jefferson St.
D: 207 Myrtle Avenue (across the river)
E: The Beta House, where a suicide victim returns from the dead to party down. Beta Theta Pi House, 816 N. Dubuque St.
F: The House on Edgewater Drive, Coralville
The Third Eye Over Iowa Ghost Hunters Clubª is interested in identifying haunted sites in Iowa City. Belief in ghosts is not a prerequisite for membership, and skepticism is encouraged. We are not "Ghost Busters"! Our mission is not to remove, banish, or exorcise ghosts. The TEOIGHC exists to investigate, document, and share information about life after life. In places like Malta, the study of ghosts and poltergeists is forbidden by law, so we encourage you to enjoy your freedom as Americans to legally study the paranormal!
Ghost hunting resources:
In Search of Ghosts, by Daniel Cohen, Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1972
How to Find a Ghost, by James M. Deem, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1988
International Ghost Hunter's Society:
http://www.aone.com/~starwest/index.html
Paranormal Investigations:
http://www.swiftsite.com/PARANORMAL_INVESTIGATION/
American Supernatural Research Association:
http://users.aol.com/pnrmlrsrch/ASRA.html
Third Eye Over Iowaª: http://www.yawp.com/3rd-i
American Society for Psychical Research, 5 West 73rd Street, New York, NY 10023
(If your report is convincing enough, they will send someone to study the ghost themselves).
GHOST HUNTING TIPS
*Keep an ear out for strange tales.
*Be very careful investigating old buildings. They may be safe for ghosts, but you're not dead yet.
*Get permission from the property owner before you investigate a haunted house. Excited investigators forget such details!
*Remain objective; be ready to admit there isn't a ghost if a good explanation exists. Not all hauntings are real, a good investigator wants to find the truth, not "prove" a falsehood.
* Look in familiar places. There the unusual is easier to spot.
*Keep detailed and accurate records. Include the date, time, exact location, duration of the experience, number of people present, and how many saw the same thing.
*Record information on the observers. Note information on the person who saw the ghost, and what they think happened. Keep it separate from what you think happened!
*Record information on the personality of the ghost. Lastly, record your impressions of the ghost's appearance, gender, age, and personality.
*Share your information with others.
Todd Wm. Ristau: International Ghost Hunters Society Member and the publisher of Third Eye Over Iowaª. A graduate of the U of I Playwrights' Workshop, he can be seen most nights haunting one of the stools in the front bar at the Mill Restaurant. Contact him if you have a really weird story you need to tell someone. He will be prepared to believe it, and may even publish it in our magazine!
