Mossy Glen

Have you ever suddenly felt a chill go down your spine for no apparent reason?  Heard random noises you couldn’t explain or had the eerie feeling that someone was watching you even though you were alone?  Well, if you’ve been to Mossy Glen you probably have!

Located between Strawberry Point and Littleport in Iowa, Mossy Glen appears to be a beautiful, peaceful place but is actually known to be haunted by a handful of restless spirits.  The ghosts are believed to be those of individuals who all died under tragic or mysterious circumstances.

The first ghost believed to haunt Mossy Glen is that of a peddler who came to the area during the 1850s.  Some local residents wanted his goods and killed him for them, hiding his body in a small cave though his ghost is said to still haunt Mossy Glen.

There’s also the story of a local, successful attorney whose wife died under very mysterious circumstances in the 1800s.  Shortly after her death, the husband began to be plagued with awful luck and misfortunes that were said to be caused by his wife’s ghost.  One day the attorney drove his buggy out to Mossy Glen and was never seen or heard from again – the locals believe his ghost still remains there.

Another local story centers around a young woman named Lucinda who, when she found out her lover was leaving her for another woman, committed suicide years ago by throwing herself off a cliff in Mossy Glen.  Legend has it Lucinda left a single rose on the path before she jumped and today, if you go there late at night and speak her name, her ghost will appear!

Perhaps the most famous story of Mossy Glen originates from the infamous Shine murder which took place in 1936.  A beautiful young woman named Pearl married an older wealthy and reclusive farmer named Dan Shine.  A short time after their wedding, Pearl conspired with a young farmhand and murdered her husband. Although they tried to make it appear as a suicide, the two were convicted of first-degree murder.  After Pearl’s death, many residents claimed they saw her ghost wandering all over Mossy Glen, perhaps trying to atone for the unspeakable crimes she committed during her mortal life!