One of the legends of Halloween in Iowa centers around a solitary grave on Highway six west of Homestead near the Amana Colonies. Local author Lori Erickson says the grave is that of a young girl.
Erickson says, “She was a little girl who was traveling west on one of the wagon trains and died of some illness that we don’t know what it was.” Erickson says the pioneer parents of six-year-old Mary Wright left her behind in 1854. Since then,
Erickson says the stories of her restless spirit have floated throughout the area. She says, “You can see a blue aura above the grave on Halloween night at midnight.” The real story involves a railroad company and an actual cemetery that was here. When workers laid the track, they had to move all of the bodies, except that of the girl.
This piece of haunted history has been a mystery for years, and Erickson says the legend continues because people talk about it. Erickson says, “Unless stories are told, they die.” Erickson says whether you believe in ghosts or not, passing the story down will keep Mary’s spirit alive for many years to come.