Iowa is a pretty safe state, overall. We don’t have nearly as much crime as many of the larger states and, for the most part, life around here is quiet. But that doesn’t mean strange and scary things can’t, or won’t, happen. From bizarre sightings of creepy cryptids to bone-chilling murders that were never solved, here are seven of the most infamous, most disturbing, and most baffling unsolved mysteries in Iowa.

1. The Visitor of Van Meter
Åsa Hagström/Flickr
Possibly the most mysterious and spine-tingling incident to have ever happened in Iowa is the infamous Visitor of Van Meter. It all began in 1903, when several of Van Meter’s most well-respected citizens reported seeing a half-human, half-animal creature with enormous bat wings flying around town. The townsfolk claimed it traveled at rates of speed they'd never seen, let off a powerful stench, and shot a blinding light from its horned head. Though they shot at it, the creature was unphased. The beast had been seen by many reputable town-members, including the town doctor and bank cashier, the local high school teacher, and countless others. The creature, which the townsfolk thought to be a demon, terrorized the town for several more days until a group of citizens got together with their guns and chased the creature into a nearby mine, where it disappeared - never to be seen again.
2. Bigfoot Sightings in Ottosen
Derek Hatfield/Flickr
In 1978, the residents of Ottosen, Iowa, reported strange sightings of "something" as well as bizarre sounds around town - especially in and around the woods. Townsfolk reported being awakened by strange screams and an eerie, high-pitched whistle. But, it didn't stop there: cats began turning up dead and mutilated, and people woke up to family dogs with their necks cruelly snapped. Many townsfolk reported seeing a large, hairy, man-like creature wandering around the outskirts of town. One woman reported that she was doing dishes one night when she looked up to see a pair of glowing red eyes outside the window, staring at her. After she screamed, the creature ran away. It was seen by several different townsfolk on several different occasions, but nobody ever quite figured out what happened that summer.
3. The Earling Exorcism
Insomnia Cured Here/Flickr
The Earling Exorcism, otherwise known as the exorcism of Anna Ecklund, was a prominent case of demonic possession not only in Iowa but throughout the country. The movie "The Exorcist" was partially based off of the Earling exorcism incident. "Anna" was a normal Iowa girl, who went to church and said her prayers, but, at the age of 14, she started showing disturbing signs of being possessed. She reportedly could not enter the church, and showed extreme aversion to anything religious very suddenly. It was also reported that demons spoke through her in Latin and other ancient languages that she had no knowledge of, and that a pea-sized lump moved freely through her body just underneath her skin. At the age of 26, Anna sought help from a priest, who performed the final, church-sanctioned exorcism on her. It took 23 days, and with great difficulty, the several demons inhabiting her were expelled. Her case remains a mystery, and it's debated whether or not she was really possessed, or perhaps mentally ill.

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4. The Villisca Ax Murders
Jennifer Kirkland/Flickr
One warm night in June 1912, the Moore family came home from a church event, tucked the kids into bed, and went to sleep as well. The family: Josiah, his wife Sara, their four children, and the two children they were watching, did not survive the night; they were found in the morning, murdered in cold blood with an axe that belonged to Josiah. Several people were tried for the crime, but they were found not guilty, so the killer was (and is) still a mystery. The house and crime scene is supposed to be haunted now, and the current owner rents it out for people to stay the night in. Think you could brave a night at the axe murder house?
5. The Disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit
FindJodi.com
Jodi Huisentruit was a well-known and well-liked anchorwoman for a TV station in Mason City, Iowa. On the morning of June 27, 1995, she was supposed to report to work at 4 a.m., but she slept in. A coworker called her to wake her, and she left home shortly after - but Jodi never showed up at her destination. A coworker went to her apartment and found some of her belongings scattered around her car; it appeared that a struggle had taken place, but her whereabouts were unknown. Jodi had no known enemies, so police thought it may have been an obsessed viewer that was likely responsible for her vanishing. No trace of her was ever found, and her case remains unsolved, though she was declared legally dead in 2001.
6. The Vicious Murder of Myrtle Cook
User Screenshot/Google Maps
In September 1925, Myrtle Cook was shot dead in her Vinton, Iowa, home, a few days after publishing the names of suspected bootleggers. She was said to be sitting in her window seat, rehearsing a speech, when an unknown assailant shot her through the heart. Cook was not a well-liked citizen, and was a reviled member of both the KKK and the Women's Christian Temperance Union - both organizations that supported Prohibition. Cook's death remains a mystery, though many think it was one of the bootleggers she attempted to expose.
7. The Rowe-Richardson Twins
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
Now that we've scared you with a bunch of totally creepy, disturbing unsolved mysteries, we'll give you a more wholesome one to end on. The story of the Rowe-Richardson twins is truly bizarre. The twins, who were born in 1933, were believed to have some sort of ESP that connected them so they could feel one another's pain as well as knowing exactly what was happening with the other one. Throughout their lives, they experienced the same illnesses and injuries, and could sense when the other was in distress. One story states that when Lavelda got into a car accident, Lavona knew about it immediately, and was able to show their father exactly where it happened. To this day, nobody can explain the twins' strange and extraordinary connection, and they were said to have had the strongest ESP of any twins ever reported.

So, what do you think? Were the Rowe-Richardson twins psychic? Was it Bigfoot that was killing beloved pets in that small Iowa town? What happened to Jodi Huisentruit? Do you know of any more compelling unsolved mysteries in Iowa? Tell us your favorite head-scratchers in the comments.

And for more of the creepy and macabre in Iowa, be sure to check out this haunted road trip.

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Unsolved Mysteries in Iowa

Tori Jane | April 18, 2021

What are some famous Iowa haunted places?

So maybe Iowa isn’t exactly known for much more than farms and fields, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our fair share of creepy and haunted places to brag about. Some of our haunted places are pretty well-known, at least in the ghost-hunting and paranormal circles of the internet. For example, the Villisca Axe Murder House was once the site of a horrific mass murder: two adults and six children were hacked to death in the night by an unknown assailant. Now, the home is said to be insanely haunted, with some people reporting minor injuries like scratches and hair-pulling by invisible hands. The Franklin Hotel, in Strawberry Point, is well known for its haunting by two ghosts, and we’ve even got a few haunted roads, too. There’s a lot of spooky things going on in Iowa - you just need to know where to look. 

Are there any Iowa urban legends? 

Just like most places, Iowa is home to some creepy and downright scary urban legends. For instance, did you know that Union Cemetery in Guthrie Center, Iowa, is the resting place of what’s known as the “devil’s chair”, a strange pit of sadness in the form of a stone chair said to bring horrible luck and sometimes even death to anyone foolish enough to sit in it? There are at least two “black angel” legends in two different Iowa cemeteries, which say that anyone foolish enough to approach the angels will be blessed with illness or bad luck. Check out this list of some of the creepiest Iowa-based urban legends out there. 

Where are the scariest places in Iowa?

There are some places in our lovely state that are, thanks to their histories, appearances, or overall vibes, simply spooky. Does it necessarily mean they’re haunted? Maybe not, but that doesn’t stop them from being super-eerie. The Hotel Blackheart, in Davenport, has a strange and dark history, from celebrity deaths to a meth lab explosion, so it’s no stranger to tales of being a little eerie. We’re the proud home of some (allegedly) super-haunted cemeteries, and the fact that we’re an older state means we’ve got lots of historically haunted places, like Mason House Inn (a historic hotel said to be haunted by numerous restless ghosts), and the old Independence State Hospital is said to be very haunted, too.

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