Iowa folklore

The Villisca Axe Murder House in Iowa at night

The Villisca Axe Murder House, Iowa

by Elizabeth Fabowale

January 14, 2026

American Ghost Stories·American Haunted Places

In the early 1900s, Villisca, Iowa was a peaceful railroad town shaped by routine, faith, and familiarity. Families knew one another by name, and evenings often ended with lanterns dimmed and doors closed against the prairie wind. On a modest residential street stood a simple white house, ordinary in design and unremarkable in appearance. It was the kind of place

A glowing humanoid with wings hovers near abandoned Iowa mines at night while townspeople observe with lanterns

American Cryptids & Monsters·Classic American Cryptids

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In the quiet streets of Van Meter, Iowa, life followed the predictable rhythm of rural Midwestern towns in the early 1900s. Children played in dusty lanes, farmers tended their crops, and neighbors exchanged greetings across white picket fences. That peace was shattered one autumn evening in 1903, when townspeople reported

Parchment-style illustration of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in snowy woods, American folktale.

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Parchment-style artwork of Davy Crockett firing into the sunrise on a frosty Tennessee hill, American folktale scene.

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A realistic painting of an American alligator resting on a muddy riverbank at dawn, surrounded by misty wetlands and tall grasses under soft golden light.

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