Monday, October 27, 2008

Des Moines - Haunted!

The ghost of University Avenue: it could show up in the shape of a man, or just a cloud that smelled like kerosene. Turned out in 1881 a man from Des Moines who was wearing kerosene-covered clothes went up in flames. Go figure. This apparition hasn’t been seen since 1945….or has it? Hahahahaha

The Terrifying Table of Francis Avenue. In 1937 Mr. and Mrs. James Weaver brought home a seemingly innocuous table. But no! It was a small table apparently inhabited by a ‘confused spirit’. And not a quiet one. The table kept making rapping noises! The horror! These shenanigans went on until Mrs. Weaver (whose first name has apparently been lost in the mists of time) grabbed the table and read it the Bible. Shenanigans ceased. Case closed. They kept the table.

For these and more exciting tales of metaphysical mayhem, stop in at the Central Library and take a look at our reference book The National Directory of Haunted Places.

Graph Source: CLIPARTGUIDE.COM

1 comment:

Circulating Librarian said...

And let's not forget about all of those haunted LIBRARIES! To view the ones in the midwest (including those in Iowa), check out this blog site.

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/10/library-ghosts-midwestern-us/

One of those libraries is in my hometown--Willard Library, Evansville, Indiana. Folks there swear they've seen "the lady in gray," and the apparition has quite a fan club.