Ghosts and spirits in the Cedar Valley

Halloween is a time in which to be scared and scare those around us. Scary movies play on television, haunted houses and hay rides open up for the season, costumes are bought and ghost stories are told.

There are two buildings on the University of Northern Iowa campus said to be haunted. One is the Strayer-Wood Theatre. The ghost who resides there is Zelda. She was described in the College Eye in 1963 as "the spirit of the theatre that is neither seen nor heard." Zelda first lived in the basement of the Old Auditorium, now Lang Hall, but moved with the theatre department when the Strayer-Wood Theatre opened in 1978.

One incident involving Zelda was during a sold-out performance at the Strayer-Wood in its opening year.  According to the College Eye, "an overhead electrical cable became unhooked and Zelda guided the cable to fall on the only open seat in the theatre." Theatre students said "she appears when all the lights are shut off, that she yells insults, opens and closes doors, plays the piano and also sounds like a baby crying."

The other building on campus that is said to be haunted is Lawther Hall. When the building was being used as an infirmary, a soldier died. Augie, the ghost, used to reside only in the attic but has moved to the rest of the building also. Augie appeared in the Northern Iowan as early as 1977. He was reported to have changed the lettering on a bulletin board to say, "Augie will return to haunt Bordeaux House." Augie was also rumored to have removed posters from walls and turned on radios which would keep playing even after they were unplugged.

Another story concerning Augie happened one night when an unsuspecting resident was sleeping. The resident woke up to find her television screen was blue. She heard footsteps moving across her floor. She also held her sheets tightly and felt someone on the other end starting to pull them off. While this was happening, the television screen flickered and then said "Good Night."

In Waverly, at Camp Ingawanas, rumor has it that a 12-year-old boy haunts the boy scout camp. A boy  swinging on the swing set jumped off, hit his head on a rock and died. Some say that they see the swing moving at the same height, and that height only. Others say they can hear giggling.

In Waterloo, the Wal-Mart on Flammang Drive is said to be haunted by another 12-year-old boy, Jeremiah. He plays small pranks on people in the store. Reportedly, he moves merchandise from one side to another, tugs on employees' smocks, taps shoulders and was reported to have been seen by an employee. He was described as small, pale and thin, wearing black trousers, suspenders, a white t-shirt, and a straw hat.

There are many other scary stories from all over Iowa. To read about more, go to theshadowlands.net/places/iowa.