Iowans who want to scare up a good time for Halloween might consider staying in the town of Saint Ansgar’s only bed-and-breakfast.
The 109-year-old Victorian house that’s now the Blue Belle Inn may be inhabited by one of its original residents, according to B-and-B owner Sherrie Hansen. She says one unexplained incident involved the original floor plans to the house which were mistakenly thrown out by the home’s previous owner, only to reappear in the attic.
The plans were in a long tube with a bunch of window shades that were all accidentally taken to the city dump, but when they returned, the plans were in the attic. Hansen says they figured the ghost retrieved the plans, not wanting them destroyed.
In a recent instance, she says two guests found they were locked out of their room by a lock that could only be locked from the inside. They got an employee who tried everything to unlock the door and in exasperation just said “Will whomever is in there, please open the door,” upon which, the door came open.
Hansen says one guest claims the fireplace in that same room was doing “funny things” and she felt a presence that caused the flames to grow brighter. Hansen says she’s never encountered anything ghostly in the house.
Hansen says the ghosts have never threatened her guests and some visitors are booking rooms Halloween weekend soul-ly on the hope of meeting something other-worldly. For more information, call (641) 713-3113 or surf to “www.bluebelleinn.com”.