James Chapman and his wife, Clementine, had no idea who...

  James Chapman walked out onto the porch to greet...

Jim Arpy was a veteran reporter who loved a great...

Hampton, Illinois is a quiet river town nestled into the...

  When the Reverend Clarence Valentine Sheatsley walked into his...

When Reverend Clarence Sheatsley found his wife, Addie, in the...

In this short story, the assembled crowd at the Saunders,...

Competition amongst growing cities on the Midwestern frontier could be...

William Engelberg was probably looking for a better life when...

  When William Engelberg came to America, he was probably...

In 1962, Continental Airlines Boeing 707 Flight 11 crashed in...

  It was just another day for James Clarity. He...

While investigators were dealing with a devastating plane crash near...

Carefully, the fireman removed the man from the fuselage. He...

As the Great Depression gripped the nation, two mass murders...

  August is always hot in Iowa. The sun beats...

All Thaddeus Fancher wanted to do was have a drink....

  All Thaddeus S. Fancher wanted to do was have...

In 1924, Bernice Zalimas was accused of poisoning her husband...

Bernice Martikonis was young when she first came to America,...

During an almost ten-year period, the Botkin family faced two...

Have you ever sat and watched people? I mean, not...

In this continuation, we find that Dr. Frank Loomis has...

On February 22, 1927, Dr. Frank Loomis left his home...

In 1927, Detroit police were convinced that Dr. Frank Loomis...

I’ve always been fond of going for long walks. When...

Ever been afraid of a stranger hiding in your house?...

At one point when I was in college, I lived...

The mansion was a secret hidden in plain sight, overlooking...

The mansion was a secret hidden in plain sight. Situated...

In 1912, a horrific murder took place in Villisca, Iowa....

Villisca is a sleepy town in southwest Iowa. While there’s...

When you wander around the dark by yourself for hours...

In this short story that your grandma didn’t want you...

  In 1947, a woman’s mutilated body was found on...

George Whitbeck pointed to the patch of grass where he...

When two children found a body floating in the river,...

When Steve Lanigan first saw the bloated shape floating in...

Courthouses were a big boost for the economies of frontier...

Courthouses are, without a doubt, iconic structures within our civilized...

John David owed Arvid Helloian a debt. Arvid was content...

  It was cold that early February morning as the...

When Olive Funk was killed, nearly everyone saw it happen....

    The handgun glinted in the sun, shaking slightly...

In 1906, everyone loved Grace Reed. Everyone wanted to be...

  It was a beautiful evening, Grace Reed thought. She...

In 1940, a burning car in rural South Dakota held...

  Warning: This material contains content that may be sensitive...

  Guy Gilbert was probably a little surprised when his...

Guy Gilbert returned to his South Dakota home to find...

Mary Schultz was a young, well-educated 20-year-old with her whole...

  After a long, cold winter, spring had finally arrived...

Another collection of short tales from Midwest history, Volume 3...

  I’ve always been fascinated by the little stories, the...

Shortly before Christmas 1946, 35-year-old Bessie Moore trip to bake...

Bessie smiled to herself as she carefully wrapped her cookie...

Heartrending events in the life of Margaretha Nehlsen had brought...

  Starting in about 1820 and ending at the turn...

Mary Schlais was murdered on a cold February morning in...

  When the residents of Dunn County, Wisconsin woke up...

  Mary Schlais was a beautiful young artist with her...

The young woman walked slowly along the shoulder of the...

  Steamboats are an iconic part of the history of...

  The Mississippi River, despite its nickname the “Big Muddy,”...

The first time that I remember hearing about a place...

The Death Curve of Cambridge, Illinois, will forever be linked...

Horace and Geneva’s marriage began to fall apart for all...

Living with another person is not always an easy thing....

When I was growing up, western movies were just starting...

Stories of the American West have captivated generations of people....

By 1930, 68-year-old George W. Appleby had practiced medicine for...

Dr. George Appleby was everything a small-town doctor should be:...

In 1922, Myrtle Belden was a rural mail carrier around...

In many true crime tales, women are all too often...

William Koenig came to America with his family for a...

Some have said that the most dangerous people that you...

In 1921, 18-year-old Marie Wick checked into a Fargo hotel...

Earlier this  year, I was driving down Illinois Route 84,...

In 1918, Americans on the home front were supporting their...

As America prepared to fight World War I, the deadliest...

Mt. Zion is a small cemetery outside of Newton, Iowa....

I have always loved Adams County. Located in the southwestern...

When I was attending Iowa State University, I decided that...

History is a forgetful creature. While there is much about...

One night several years ago – longer ago than I...

I’m not afraid of the dark. I take my trash...

Charles Englehart was attacked outside of his car one dark...

If history is made up of small stories, then some...

When I was younger, I spent a year working for...

In the early 1900’s, a Nebraska schoolteacher visited an unspeakable...

Jeffery McCain was going to school. Jeffery, or Jeffy, as...

An early December blizzard chilled Iowa to the bone. It...

The rain began to fall steadily across Iowa. The weather...

Malone, Iowa, is perhaps the best hidden town in Clinton...

No expects to see a life-sized hippo along an Iowa...

If you had just spent eight years in prison, would...

Paul Schroeder ran through the repair shop, trying to avoid...

In 1921, a former newspaper editor and a barber decided...

Some people just don’t know when to quit. Granted, that’s...

The murder of the Spencer family was one of the...

Most of us take our lives for granted. We wake...

Willis James was just going to work in 1877. Instead,...

  Welcome to the first story of the new year,...

In the 1870’s, the town of Delmar, Iowa, had a...

George Scott was a loving family man. All of a...

   In 1927, William Coffey was a middle-aged newlywed on...

January is a cold month in the Midwest, especially in...

In 1943, Naomi Cheney was murdered in Sioux Falls, South...

December 7, 1941 was a day that changed America. After...

Mabel Moore and William Stewart each lost a spouse in...

In 1940, a burning car in rural South Dakota held...

In a St. Louis hotel room in 1912, Mabel Moore...

16-year-old Augusta Bartz was murdered in  1892. Even though her...

Fall is a transitional season. The temperatures start to get...

We all love ghost stories, but not all of them...

I love a good ghost story. Ever since I was...

In 1933, William Kelly made a horrific decision. He would...