AMERICAN HAUNTINGS GHOST HUNTS
NIGHT AT THE MASON HOUSE INN
KEOSAUQUA, IOWA
NEXT AVAILABLE DATE: OCTOBER 19, 2024
7:00 PM TO 2:00 AM
$75 PER PERSON
click here for reservations!
Join American Hauntings at a place the “Today Show” dubbed as one of the most haunted bed-and-breakfasts in America! Allegedly inhabited by more than 20 spirits – including Abraham Lincoln – this spirited inn offers one of the best chances you might ever have of encountering a ghost!
Built in 1846 as a place for Des Moines River steamboat travelers to rest, the Mason House Inn has been drawing ghost enthusiasts to the Iowa-Missouri border for decades, all looking for the spirits that once called this place home. Are you brave enough to search for the inn’s resident spirits?
THE HISTORY….
The small village of Bentonsport (the address of the inn is Keosauqua) was laid out in 1839 and was an important river and railroad junction, boasting as many as 1,000 residents. The first paper mill in Iowa was located here, along with grist, saw, linseed oil and woolen mills, and was the terminus for the Des Moines Valley Railroad. Between the river and the rail, Bentonsport played a major role in the westward expansion of the United States.
But it wasn’t meant to last. Floods, fires and economic troubles led to the town's decline by the end of the nineteenth century. Today, with only about 40 residents, remains as a reminder of the past, a haven for folk art followers, and a popular spot for outdoor enthusiasts.
The Mason House itself, built by Mormon craftsmen from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846, began its life as a hotel for steamboat travelers. It served as a station on the Underground Railroad, was a temporary hospital for Civil War soldiers awaiting transport and in 1913, was turned into a tuberculosis sanitarium. The three-story brick structure has been the final stop for many of the sick and wounded, as well as various owners and residents.
Lewis Mason died of diphtheria in the house 1868, his daughter, Mary Mason Clark, died of a heart attack on the third floor in 1911, and resident Dr. Gray died there during its boardinghouse years in the first half of the twentieth century, and proprietor Fannie Mason Kurtz died in the dining room, in front of the fireplace, in 1951.
Is it any wonder that it’s earned a reputation for being haunted?
AND THE HAUNTINGS.
Many travelers come to the inn looking to spend a quiet night in a beautiful bed-and-breakfast full of antique furniture and quilts, situated amid scenic landscapes in any season. They have no interest in ghosts, but many of them leave the place as believers.
Even those who don’t believe in spirits might still hear bumps in the night or see a figure in white gliding down the staircase. They’ve heard footsteps on the third floor, where Mary Mason Clark had her sewing room. She only tolerates having one of the inn’s owners – a fellow seamstress – in the room, so it’s kept locked.
But that doesn’t keep Mary from bothering the guests in other rooms – or from being seen. She has been glimpsed on the third floor in a white nightgown, standing in a doorway. People staying in the room below her old sewing room claim to sometimes hear thumping and footsteps in the room above, or the creaking sound of an old rocking chair.
A retired Congregationalist minister named McDermet lived in the inn in 1989 and admitted to seeing Mary’s ghost. He kept an office in her old sewing room, and he would often look up from his desk to see her sitting in a chair by the window. She told him she was not happy with the renovations they were doing on the house – and then she made it clear how unhappy she was. When the room was being re-papered, they often found all the paper stripped off. When it was put back up, it was stripped again. On the third morning, they found the wallpaper sample book on the floor, open to a certain page. They bought that wallpaper and put it up. The paper stayed in place and is still there.
Guests have complained about children playing in the hallways at night when no living children were there. Some have complained of having their hair pulled or their backsides slapped. But no one visible was to blame.
One resident ghost is a young boy who has been seen on the landing. He likes to play tricks on guests and is believed to move things around the house, knock on doors, and poke and tug at your clothes.
Another haunting seems linked to a murder in the inn’s past. A man named Knapp was stabbed and died in what is now Room 7. Apparently, he was visiting the inn, got confused about which room was his, and tried to get into bed with a fellow traveler. He was stabbed for his mistake. Many who have stayed in this room say they feel a heavy presence there and have heard heavy footsteps in the room.
And then there’s Fannie Mason Kurtz, the last Mason to own the house. She died in the dining room by the fireplace in 1951, sitting in her rocking chair. She was 84 when she died and had no family left. She was dead for three days before anyone checked on her and found her body. She’s been encountered in the dining room ever since.
Of course, close encounters with the spirit world are not guaranteed, but based on the sheer number of sightings and experiences that have become part of the inn’s history – you definitely can’t rule it out! Join us for this eerie event and see if you’ll be the next to come face-to-face with the other side!