Haunted Places in Union County, Iowa



    We're sorry, but there are currently no haunted listings available within the boundaries of Union County, Iowa. If you know of one that should be listed here, please let us know via our submission form. Alternatively, you may want to expand your search to the state of Iowa.


    In the meantime, here's a list of all haunted places within 100 miles of Union County, Iowa.



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    Tedrow Cemetery

    Kellerton, Iowa

    25.4 miles from Union County, IA

    Rumor has it that it is not actually the small cemetery, but the surrounding woods, that are haunted. Phenomena experienced here include glowing lights coming from the woods, shadowed apparitions, and the sounds of footsteps, moaning, and other strange noises.

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    New Virginia Cemetery - Beymer Cemetery

    New Virginia, Iowa

    28.4 miles from Union County, IA

    This is the gravesite of New Virginia's first settler. As legend has it, the gravestone has been replaced at some time over the years. Locals say an eerie glow will come from the stone at midnight, a protestation from the ghost, angry about the change.

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    Terre Haute Cemetery

    Decatur City, Iowa

    30.4 miles from Union County, IA

    The spirit of a little boy can be seen playing on the swingset behind a cabin adjacent to the cemetery. He may motion for you to follow him into the cemetery, where he is buried. Once at his grave, he disappears.

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    Davis City Cemetery

    Davis City, Iowa

    34.7 miles from Union County, IA

    It is said that visitors to the cemetery may exoerience a sudden feeling of pressure as they enter. Shooting lights also have been reported streaming across the grounds very late at night.

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    The Van Meter Creature

    Van Meter, Iowa

    37.6 miles from Union County, IA

    First seen in 1903, the Van Meter Creature is a monster with batlike wings and a horn on its head that glows with blinding light. It may also manifest as a hovering spot of light. Shortly after it began to terrorize the townsfolk, strange sounds started coming from a coal ...

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    Villisca Axe Murder House

    Villisca, Iowa

    38.7 miles from Union County, IA

    In 1912 an entire family was murdered here by axe, and it is said that the house is still haunted by their spirits. The house has been investigated and featured on the TV show Ghost Adventures.

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    Van Fossen Cemetery

    Adel, Iowa

    41.5 miles from Union County, IA

    Since the 1850's, the Van Fossen cemetery has had many names, from Rodenbaugh Cemetery, the Old Adel Cemetery, to the "official" name recorded by the state, the Gibson Cemetery. Along old highway 6, the cemetery is sometimes just called the Bilderback Cemetery, after the massive headstones that mark the ...

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    Old Chapel - College Hall

    Indianola, Iowa

    42.3 miles from Union County, IA

    Legend has it that around the turn of the 20th century, a young man, distraught over a love affair, killed himself here. Then in the 1920s, a young woman did the same. Several more people are rumored to have met their ends in this hall, and folks say their spirits ...

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    Jordan House

    West Des Moines, Iowa

    45.3 miles from Union County, IA

    This museum is allegedly haunted by the ghost of the young daughter of the original owner. She died when she was three years old after falling from the stair railing she was sliding down and breaking her neck. People claim they still see and hear her playing throughout the ...

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    Des Moines International Airport

    Des Moines, Iowa

    46.4 miles from Union County, IA

    There are two ghost stories around this airport. Some offices are haunted by a flight attendant, usually in the fall season. The offices used to be the site of a restaurant called the Cloud Room, and the flight attendant wanders there as if looking for her flight. Also, laughing and ...

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    Union Cemetery - The Devil's Chair

    Guthrie Center, Iowa

    46.9 miles from Union County, IA

    It is said that those who sit in the cement chair will receive a spell of bad luck. The Devil's Chair has no markings, and sits between the Peterson and Miller graves. According to reports, the chair has been believed to be cursed for at least 35 years.

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    Air Lanes Bowling Center

    Des Moines, Iowa

    47.4 miles from Union County, IA

    According to local legend, behind the bowling alley is an upstairs area that was used for illegal gambling in the 1920s. Reports say if you gain access to a room down the hallway, you may hear people talking, dice rolling, and you may even hear a ghostly disembodied voice calling ...

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    Smelly Ghost of University Avenue

    Des Moines, Iowa

    48.5 miles from Union County, IA

    Locals say a cloudlike presence occurs here, and it smells of kerosene. Sometimes within the cloud is the form of a man or several tiny flickering lights. Reports tell of a man who died nearby in 1881 as a result of his kerosene-soaked clothes catching fire.

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    Drake Municipal Observatory

    Des Moines, Iowa

    48.7 miles from Union County, IA

    Dr. Robert Morehouse was the first chairman of the Astronomy and Physics department, and he discovered a comet in the 1920s. He also haunts the observatory, according to local legend, perhaps because the remains of Dr. Morehouse and his wife are buried in the entryway wall. Students working in the ...

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    Terrace Hill

    Des Moines, Iowa

    49.2 miles from Union County, IA

    At this 1860s historic building, home of the governor of Iowa, the ghost of a little girl has been seen. She is transparent, and some say she likes to work the elevator, even though it is only supposed to operate by the use of codes.

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    Merle Hay Mall

    Des Moines, Iowa

    50.2 miles from Union County, IA

    The mall and its tower are rumored to be built over a monastery that was closed in the 1950s. According to the stories, some nuns became pregnant and had miscarriages, and the babies were buried in unmarked graves at this site. Reports say ghosts of both nuns and infants have ...

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    Spooky Table at the Weaver House

    Des Moines, Iowa

    51 miles from Union County, IA

    Local legend has it that when the Weavers purchased a table in 1937, they bought a ghost along with it. The table is said to have made rapping noises and caused other disturbances until a minister's wife quieted it by reading from the Bible. A spiritualist consulted by the Weavers ...

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    Old Red Horse Armory

    Des Moines, Iowa

    51.3 miles from Union County, IA

    This old cavalry armory is now the housing for city school buses. There have been reports that members of the National Guard, when they occupied the building, heard ghostly sounds from long ago: clopping of horses' hooves and jingling of harnesses. An apparition of an older man in cavalry garb ...

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    Avon Railroad Tracks

    Carlisle, Iowa

    51.7 miles from Union County, IA

    Reports say an apparition appears of an old man holding a lantern and walking along the tracks. Before too long, the man simply vanishes.

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    Elk Grove Cemetery - Union Township Cemetery

    Coon Rapids, Iowa

    54.2 miles from Union County, IA

    According to local legend there is a small headstone with an eerie ability: If you position yourself the right way in front of it, after a few minutes it will begin to glow.

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    Mt Hope Cemetery

    Madrid, Iowa

    61.9 miles from Union County, IA

    The ghost of a child named Sara resides at this cemetery. She and four other children from her family are buried near the back. Sara is said to follow around visitors and ask for someone named Ree. She is also known to touch people and tug at clothing if her ...

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    Farrar Schoolhouse

    Maxwell, Iowa

    70.2 miles from Union County, IA

    This building, formerly a middle school, has been a private residence since 2008. Please respect the owners' privacy. Witnesses have seen the ghost of a small boy in the stairwell; one has also appeared in a photo sitting on the edge of the auditorium stage. Voices of children talking and ...

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    The Mud Man of Metz Bridge

    Newton, Iowa

    71.5 miles from Union County, IA

    As urban legend has it, a mud monster, or Mud Man, lives under the bridge. Some say the Mud Man is a spirit lingering from a fatal car accident that once occurred in the mud near the river; the body was never found. Others assert the tale was created by ...

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    Kate Shelly High Bridge

    Boone, Iowa

    72.7 miles from Union County, IA

    Local legend tells the tale of 15-year-old Kate Shelley, who in 1881 crawled across a badly damaged bridge during a terrible storm to warn an oncoming train that the bridge was out. This bridge, built in 1901, is said to be her ghost's home. Phantom trains also have been seen ...

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    Boone County Historical Society - Masonic Temple

    Boone, Iowa

    73.9 miles from Union County, IA

    Dating back to 1907, the historic former masonic temple and museum may have a resident ghost. Known as 'Frank', the poltergeist frequently slams doors and turns on lights after the place has been closed up for the night. Disembodied footsteps have also been heard on the second floor, and ...

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    The Boone News-Republican

    Boone, Iowa

    73.9 miles from Union County, IA

    Employees who work late have heard unexplained footsteps and, at times, have heard their names called. The phenomena seem to occur only when the place is nearly empty of people.

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    Friley Hall - Iowa State University

    Ames, Iowa

    75.3 miles from Union County, IA

    One dormitory room is nicknamed Satan’s Legion. Rumor has it that a student killed himself there, and everyone who is assigned to that room either dies or disappears. Reports say many students are afraid to go into the room, and some maintain that because of this, the university stopped assigning ...

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    Iowa State University - C.Y. Stephens Auditorium

    Ames, Iowa

    75.4 miles from Union County, IA

    A friendly ghost, C.Y. Stephens himself, in fact, is known to haunt this auditorium. He has been seen in the basement tunnels or sitting in the back right corner of the 3rd balcony. He also makes himself known by cold spots and the sound of footsteps. When performers see him, ...

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    Iowa State University - Memorial Union

    Ames, Iowa

    75.4 miles from Union County, IA

    The hall is a tribute to graduate soldiers who died at war. According to reports, a strange low moan can be heard constantly here. Some say is it the voice of the only woman who ever graduated from the school who died in World War I.

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    Fisher Theatre - Iowa State University

    Ames, Iowa

    75.4 miles from Union County, IA

    Named for contributor J.W. Fisher, the 1974 theater is rumored to be haunted by Frederica Shattuck, another university theater department contributor. So the story goes, the ghost took up residence in the Fisher Theatre after her Shattuck Theater was demolished.

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    Farm House Museum

    Ames, Iowa

    75.7 miles from Union County, IA

    The spirits of two sisters are believed to reside at the museum; details of the hauntings are unknown.

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    The Historic Klondike Hotel

    Manilla, Iowa

    78.7 miles from Union County, IA

    The Klondike Hotel was built on the street that in 1897 was named Railroad Street. It faced to the west toward the bustling Milwaukee tracks and depot. An access road was completed shortly after the hotel was built which directly connected the Hotel with the Depot. The ...