5 Haunted Iowa Destinations: #2 Squirrel Cage Jail

When it comes to jails, I suspect most of them are haunted. I mean they house some people who have done some pretty awful things to other humans so there is no way that that darkness just disappears from the jail when they leave the earth. No it stays there and every state has some haunting stories about their jails including Iowa. So let's talk about Squirrel Cage Jail.

Now Squirrel Cage Jail is in Council Bluffs and has a very rich history. One of the most interesting facts about this jail is that it is the only three-story revolving jail ever built. The jail was originally supposed to be able to continuously move with a water wheel at the bottom so that one can see into all the cells from the ground level at the same time. Unfortunately, the idea did not pan out because the cell blocks were too heavy. But each floor of the jail had one door and the jailor could use a hand crank on each floor to turn the 10 cells until the one needed would line up to the respective door to let them out. This jail has not rotated in years though.

The jail closed in 1969 and today is a museum with many tourists visiting the one of a kind establishment and of course experiencing some paranormal effects. Although there were only four deaths within the walls of the jail over the years (heart attack, fatal fall, suicide, accidental shooting), many visitors describe different paranormal occurrences while visiting that include lights flickering on and off, closing doors, disembodied voices and even seeing several ghosts. In fact, many visitors have reported one common ghost of a young girl dressed entirely in gray and sad.

So where do these spirits come from? Well no one knows exactly since there was not much of a violent past of the jail but it was built on top of a morgue that was torn down which could supply answers. Either way, it is said that none of these ghosts are violent but rather friendly so if you want to stay the night some where but are a little afraid, this may be the place!

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