Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 - Youth Entries

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pooky stories

to tell in the Driftless

YOUTH ENTRIES (AUTHORS RANGE IN AGE 8-17)

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115 2nd Ave. W., Cresco 563-547-1066 For upcoming shows & events, visit

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JOURNAL DriftlessJournal.com

hroughout the month of October, Driftless Journal readers have been chilled and thrilled by the spooky stories submitted as part of the Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless writing contest. Prizes are awarded for first, second and third place in both fiction and nonfiction cate“gories” in amounts of $50, $30 and $15, respectively.

Meet the ‘spooktacular’ judges Spooky story entries were scored by three local judges, Dave Smutzler, Becky Bicknese and Erin Larson.

Prizes were awarded for first, second and third places in each category. The judges were given only the stories and categories, no information about the authors was shared.

Retired Decorah Chief of Police Dave Smutzler is a founding member of Police Investigating Ghosts (PIGs). The team has investigated schools, theatres, businesses, hospitals and poor houses. Additionally,

Travel Channel show Paranormal Emergency aired a segment in 2019 involving a story from investigator Smutzler.

Becky Bicknese is the lead investigator with Bluff Country Paranormal Investigators (BCPI) located in Spring Valley, Minn.

The team was established in 2014. The BCPI have investigated famously haugnted locations including the Cresco Theatre and Opera House the Villisca Ax Murder House.

A Decorah native, Erin Larson graduated from Luther College in 2016 and has worked at Decorah Public Library for nearly ten years. She is an aspiring author and has written more than thirty novels, although none of them have been published (yet). Erin is also a book reviewer, book group co-host, video editor, Twitch streamer and member of the Frame Fatales speedrunning community. She is, for some reason, memorizing the entirety of Paradise Lost. You can visit Erin’s website at culturecarve.com

The Fillmore Country Massacre

By Lincoln Iverson, Lenora, MN Youth Fiction

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Louis and Alice Kriesman were European immigrants who had moved to the United States in the 1910s. They were born into wealthy families in Europe, so they were well established at the time of their immigration. Their reason for coming to Fillmore County was they personally couldn’t handle life in their home city of Amsterdam and wanted an area more laid back with lush farmland. When the economy crashed in 1929, they still had loads of money, so they weren’t affected much. The others in their area weren’t so fortunate. Many of them lost their jobs and farms and became homeless.

The Kriesmans had built a large farm house on Edgewood Road, an obscure gravel road near Henrytown. They saw many people become homeless and decided they would use their large house to provide a roof for some of the neighbors who lost everything. The Kriesmans had always believed in the philosophy of helping others. So they visited those who had not been so fortunate and gave them an opportunity to live at their large house until the economy eventually got back on track and they could return to work. Soon they had about twenty people living with them. While the people stayed with them, the Kriesmans were able to give them food and other things.

This generosity continued until the summer of 1938. At this point the Kriesmans had been providing for the people that they housed for nearly 10 years, and Louis was breaking down mentally. He had thought their kind gestures would only go on for not even three or four years. Nobody knew about Louis’s mental state except for him.

One Sunday morning in August, most people were in church. However, this day was not like the others; those in the Kriesman residence had not shown up. This made many people worried, for the Kriesmans and their company attended regularly. The church pastor decided to call the police and ask if they’d be able to see what was going on at the Kriesman residence.

Later in the day, the officers of the small Fillmore County Sheriff’s department drove up to the Kriesman residence and walked up to the door and knocked. There was no answer; they opened the door and began to investigate the house. The stuff they found was horrifying.

Every single person besides Mr. Kriesman were found bludgeoned by an ax in their beds. The deputies climbed upstairs and found Mrs. Kriesman had experienced the same fate. Next to the bed was a knocked-over stool, and the body of Mr. Kriesman was hanging from a rafter. The police were astonished; they had never seen or heard of anything like it. It was the first instance of a crime as barbaric as that happening in the area.

Following the discovery of the massacre, a grave site for all the victims was made on a clearing near the house. The tombstones are still there to this day.

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Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

FALL HOURS Garden Center Tues-Sat 9am-5:30pm Closed Sundays & Mondays Pumpkin Patch Open weekends in October Saturdays 9am-5:30pm Sundays 10am-4pm

563-382-0010 2475 IA-9, Decorah, IA pintersgardensandpumpkins.com

Driftless Multimedia photos by Roz Weis

Fifteen Steps

By Katie Pickett, Preston, MN Youth Fiction

After staying up past the late evening hours and into the early morning, I decide it’s high time to turn in. I move my snoozing cat off my lap, unfortunately waking her up in the process. She stretches a little before facing the window straight across the room. Staring directly at the window, she seems alert—like she sees something I don’t. But after half a minute, she yawns, licks her lips, and saunters away. Strange, but weirder things have happened in this house.

Rising and turning, I pace across the living room to the light switches. I flick on the light shining above the top of the stairway, but nothing happens. I flick it twice more with the same results. I sigh. I grew up hating the darkness. My imagination runs rampant whenever I look into the shadowy recesses of my closet; I make out mysterious faces in the dingy corners of the attic. I have to remind myself that it’s all in my head—I’m being irrational again.

I take a deep breath, ready to make my way up the fifteen creaky, carpeted steps to my bedroom. I turn off the living room light, letting the darkness surround me.

One. My foot hits the step, and my mind immediately starts racing. It’s so dark behind me.

Two. My other leg mechanically moves up to the second step.

I turn to look, and the darkness returns my stare. All I see is the red, glowing light below the powered-down TV screen. I return to my ascent up the steps.

Three.

Am I sure it was a light? It could possibly be the illuminated eyes of a creature. My mind starts conjuring dark, organic forms. If I focus hard enough, that rectangle sort of looks like a torso.

Four.

Two legs sprout from the bottom of the body. Six long arms emerge from the sides. A deformed, oblong head rises from the top.

Five.

I see mucus coating its epidermis. It makes me shiver.

Six. It’s holding an object in its hand. Leather scraps serve as clothes.

Seven.

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Its eyes. Glowing red pupils, piercing into my skull.

Eight.

That object looks sharp. My pulse quickens.

Nine.

I can hear footsteps. Is the demon drawing near?

Ten. My steps quicken.

Eleven.

I hear heavy breathing, quickly becoming louder.

Twelve.

I can see it readying its weapon.

Thirteen.

A hatchet, raised over my head. My body tenses.

Fourteen.

I utter a prayer. I hold my breath.

Fifteen.

I finally reach the top. I sprint to the door near the end of the hall. The footsteps behind me match my pace. They are heavy and loud.

Hastily arriving inside my room, I turn and slam my door. Safe. I press my back against the wood. Eupnea returns. Safety at last, no harm can come. I have survived another night.

But as I lie in bed writing this, my thoughts are filled by the faint scratching and labored breathing coming from outside my bedroom door.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

“Voted as one of the top 10 most haunted theaters in the Midwest, the Cresco Theatre opened in 1915 and offers a 100-year history of live performances and modern motion pictures. While the theatre is still in operation, it is now home to some unwelcome guests. Visitors have witnessed what appear to be ghosts of vaudeville performers on the stage, while another lone ghost has been seen sitting in the theater while the lights are off, disappearing when anyone tries to approach. More unknown entities have been reported in the basement, where strange electrical disturbances occur and odd sounds and voices are heard when the Cresco theater is empty.”

-Travel Iowa

MOST HAUNTED TOP THEATERS IN 10 THE MIDWEST

115 2nd Ave. W., Cresco 563-547-1066 For upcoming shows & events, visit

crescotheatreoperahouse.com

That Night

By Charlotte Yu, Decorah, IA Youth Fiction

Once upon a time it was a sunny morning in Decorah. Emile woke with a start from a bad dream, but somehow still felt nice and rested. She hopped out of bed and pranced over to her most beloved bobblehead. You see, Emile’s passion was collecting bobbleheads. Her most prized bobblehead was the Funny Ghost. The Funny Ghost wears a Luther Norse sweatshirt and smiles gleefully, maybe a little too gleefully.

Every single day, the first thing she would do is hold her Funny Ghost bobblehead out the window so it could see the world. On this day, she held it out, then realized the old, mysterious man next door who never goes outside was staring out his window, directly at her. She was so startled she let out a cry and dropped the bobblehead, which cracked into pieces. Stunned, she let out an ear-splitting shriek!

Little did she know she wasn’t the only one having strong emotions about that unfortunate event.

It took great effort by all the bobbleheads standing horrified on her desk to hold in their rage and terror. That’s because they had chosen the Funny Ghost as their bobblehead leader.

“It’s alright honey,” Emile’s mother said after coming into her room and seeing what had happened. “We’ll bury Mr. Ghosty after lunch.”

“Alright” Emile said. She was too emotionally overwhelmed to say anything else.

After lunch, Emile and her mother went outside to dig the grave.

That night, a rumbling of deep thunder woke up Emile. She heard what sounded like many people muttering. That couldn’t be right, but it sounded so close. When she got up to investigate, Emile saw that her bobbleheads were all nodding slightly. At first she was afraid, but then she noticed she’d left her window open.

“It must just be the stormy wind blowing in and making them move,” she said to herself. That calmed her down, and Emile slid back to sleep.

The next night, Emile was woken up again. This time, she turned her head, and shrieked! There, on her pillow, were all the remaining bobbleheads.

Afraid, she stuffed them in a backpack and put it in the closet. It took Emile forever to fall back asleep.

When she woke up the next morning, she was confused where she was. It was pitch dark. She felt around and found a backpack–her backpack–and it was…empty. Oh no!

She dashed to her room. All the bobbleheads were gone.

“Whew, it’s over,” Emile sighed.

But, it wasn’t over.

That night, the bobbleheads crept back into Emile’s room. All of the bobbleheads, including the Funny Ghost. Many of them surrounded her and set themselves on her blanket so she wouldn’t be able to move.

Then the Funny Ghost stood right by Emile’s ear, cackling frighteningly until she woke up.

“Hey, what’re you gonna do to me?” she said.

The only answer she got was the Funny Ghost’s wildly bobbing head, its eye sockets filled with worms and bugs and dirt.

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Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Cats Take Over

By Josie Kubitz, Allamakee Co. Youth Fiction

Hi my name is Phyllis and I’m 18. My cat has been acting strange lately. I don’t know why.

I live by myself and my cat’s name is max.

She is a calico cat. My cat is two years old. She turns three on October 29. Which is National Cat day. My cat is trying to eat me and I don’t know why because she has food in her bowl. I took her to the vet and the vet said there’s nothing wrong with her Phyllis. I don’t know what to tell you. She ate my pet frog named George. My pet frog was my best friend. That’s why I got a cat because he was lonely. George and Max were besties but then Max ate him. George was my first pet. I was upset when my cat Max ate him.

George was my pal. I got a hamster. Its name is Stanley. My new hamster is black and white colors. Stanley’s birthday is April 12th. Which is national hamster day and that’s the day i got him. This time Max is not allowed around Stanley’s cage at all. Because I don’t want Max to eat him like she did to George. And Max loves to eat anything and everything she can. Stanley loves to eat my hair, apples, and his hay. Max escapes and visits the holiday shop. The holiday shop had gingerbread men and Max ate all of them. And i got a call from the shop saying come get your cat now she ate the gingerbread men. Max loves her kibble.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Stanley’s Halloween

By Evan Mitchell, New Albin, IA Youth Fiction

I woke up on Halloween day and I felt excited. I was getting all my stuff ready for this Halloween. I felt like something was going to be different, but I shrugged it off. I went downstairs and told mom, “Todays Halloween!”

“I know,” said mom. I asked where breakfast was, and mom made it for me. After I ate my breakfast, I went outside without asking. Mom attempted to get me back in, but I didn’t. I asked my friend, John, what he was doing today. He said, “I don’t know, just asking myself questions I can’t answer?”

I knew he was going to say that.

I told him we should scare people because of Halloween, and he agreed.

We scared people until 12:00, and I went home for lunch. My mom asked what I did because I had dirt on my clothes. I lied and said I was playing with John, and she believed me! I ate my lunch and went up into my room.

My brother, Bob, asked “What were you in?” I told the truth. He laughed. I went back to my room to discover things weren’t the same. My things were all over the place. Tables knocked over, toys all over the place, I was truly scared. I went to Bob and told him about the ghost. He believed me because I couldn’t do that in this amount of time.

Later, my mom made me get into my costume because it was time for Halloween. Me, mom, and Bob went trick-or-treating. The first house we went to was Mr. and Mrs. Barkers house. It was so bland, you would believe it was a normal night. I was still scared of that encounter in my room. We rang the doorbell and Mrs. Barker came out with a bowl of candy. We took some and walked away. We didn’t even say trick-or-treat. Why? Mrs. Barker is surprisingly rude.

We went to Mr. and Mrs. Decker’s home, and they are nice. Except that wasn’t true. When we went there, there was Mrs. Barker. I tried to run, but Bob and mom held on tight. They were Mrs. Barker!

I ran away when I got out of their grasp. I went into the forest. I was running for my life. I swear I heard my name being said repeatedly. “Stanley!” The words deformed into nothing. Suddenly, the trees just disappeared. The sky was turning red, twisting, and turning until the ground disappeared. I fell into an empty black void. I just fell and fell until I saw the trees again. I saw the ground. The sky was black, with a full moon shining brightly.

As I stood up, I could see the horizon. Something… approaching? A devilish grin appeared. Bloodthirsty eyes appeared. He ate me whole. I went through his stomach. I saw the ground again. The trees. The moon. I stood up again and noticed nothing was wrong. I woke up and realized it was all a dream.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Easter Bunny Man

By Gabrielle TerBeest, Decorah, IA Youth Fiction

It was Sunday, March 31, 1919. The teens of Driftsprings, Oregon, were ecstatic for the 10 p.m Easter egg hunt in the park. When the time came, they grabbed their baskets and rushed out their doors, telling their parents’ that they would be home by 11:30. When they got to the park, the hunt began. 30 eggs were hidden around the park and on the trails.

However, there was one trail that everyone stayed away from. It was rumored that if anyone went on that trail on Easter’s night, they would get lost and be found by a figure dressed in an old, dirty Easter Bunny suit and dragged to their doom without any chance of escape. Eventually, when all the eggs had been found, the teens gathered around a picnic table and counted their eggs.

When all of the eggs had been counted, they put them together to make sure they had all of the eggs. They only had 29.

Then they heard a faint voice behind them.”You forgot one.” said the voice. It ran chills up their spines. They slowly turned around, and to their horror, stood a figure in an old, dirty Easter Bunny suit, holding a dyed, red egg. It was dragging a grimy, smelly grain bag. No one knew what was inside. They all screamed, then ran. Not all of them managed to escape. There were 10 teenagers, but only 8 made it home that night. After that, the figure in the suit was never caught, nor seen again. No one knows where those two teens went, or what happened to them. No one knows who or what was in the suit, nor what was in the bag. They say if you go on that trail in Driftsprings, you will see the remains of a crushed, dyed, red Easter egg on the right side of the trail. So if you ever visit Driftsprings, Oregon, watch out for the Easter Bunny Man.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Angus and Camilla

By Gracie Tieskoetter, Ossian, IA Youth Fiction

Once upon a time there was a lady named Angus. She was entering a haunted house with her best friend, Camilla. Five steps in and they heard WHOOSH! They thought something flew by them in a flash. “It is a ghost,” Angus screamed!

These two old ladies attempted to run even though they were not fast.

Camilla looked behind them and saw skeleton after skeleton! The old ladies stopped to catch their breath and the skeletons grabbed them and carried them ‘til they met the creepiest monster!

More and more ghosts came. They kept galavanting through the haunted house and met a witch. She put the most evil spell on them.

They just finished going through the haunted house. The two old ladies went back to Angus’s house. Before they walked through the door they heard people knocking stuff over in her house and the creepiest laugh. They went to make supper and the stove was on. There was a pot filled with water! They wondered what was going on. They went to check all over Angus’s house to see if anyone was there. There was no sight of anyone.

They started making their pasta. They had nowhere else to stay overnight, except Camilla’s old little rusty car so they stayed in the house. Angus and Camilla slopped their pasta down and went on with life. Next it was time for the shower. When they opened the shower curtain the tub was already filled with water.

They went to bed and tried to sleep. They slept in little beds and their feet hung off the bed. There was breathing on their feet. Ahhhhhhhhh! They ran downstairs as fast as they could.

They decided to go back to the haunted house and sleep there for the night. They didn’t get a good night of sleep, because those skeletons came and slept by them.

They went back to Angus’s house in the morning to change clothes and they heard creepy moaning. They saw her house was just a complete disaster. They had no idea what happened! They finally went upstairs to change clothes and there was something in Angus’s bed! “Oh no, what is that,” screamed Camilla!

She pulled down the covers and saw skeletons and witches! They both screamed. They ran as fast as they could downstairs but they had a problem.

They were trapped! They were trapped with skeletons, witches,monsters,vampires and pennywise! They had no idea what to do. They decided to try fighting the skeletons, but that did not work. They decided to risk their lives and crawl under everyone. They surprisingly made it through. They raced for the door. It was locked! Angus was not smart at all. She did not know how to unlock the door. They had no other choice but to break through the window.

There was the same pennywise outside and something happened to them but nobody knows. Nobody has seen those two for 75 years!

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Duch je zpět

By Lanie Monk, Lansing, Ia Youth Fiction

As she pushed through the long shoulder length grass running as fast as she could, she felt something. She felt her body chill from her head to her toes. Her eyes went to the back of her head. Her body tensed up as her soul was taken, never to be found.

It was a dark and gloomy day. Willow awoke and looked out the window. When she saw what was outside, she whimpered to herself in Czech, “Duch je zpět.” Willow went downstairs to say good morning to her mom.

When Willow first saw her mom she said, “Duch je zpět”, her voice full of terror. Willow’s mom turned around and dropped the light up ghost fixture that was in her hand. With the sound of glass shattering, the doorbell rang.

“Go! Get the door! I will hide this mess,” whispered the mom to Willow. Willow had forgotten she invited friends over. With a frightening look on her face, Willow said, “I’m so sorry, but something came up, you can’t be here, it’s not safe!”She shut the door on her friends and covered her face with her hands, forming her body into a ball. “When will this be over!” she yelled. Her mom came to sit next to her.

“I’m sorry dear, this is for everyone’s safety.”

“What safety mom? We will never be safe!”

“Don’t talk like that! You know I just want to protect you!”

“Then maybe you should stop involving me in your problems because you can’t just move on!”Willow stomped to her room.

When Willow was trying to work on her homework, she heard laughing.

She rolled her eyes and went to her window and opened it, “Mom! Why do you always have to talk to dad right when I ask you not to!”

“He is my husband and I love him very much!” she replied “Ahhhh! He’s dead, just get over it already!” Willow got called downstairs for a very serious talk with her mom. They sat at the dining room table and her mom explained her intentions for everything.

“When your father died, so did I. I was lost, and now that I found a way to connect with him, I’m going to talk to him,” her mother said “But mom, look at all of these bad spirits and ghosts you are welcoming into our world because of the portal you made! Is it really worth it to talk to dad if that means I am no longer safe?” Willow responded.

“I’m sorry dear, but I am not putting him back through that portal to suffer.”

“Fine, I’ll take care of it myself!”Willow ran out the front door and through the long grass, but her mother ran after her. The spirit of Willow had been taken as her mom lived in her child’s body.

Out of Willows ice cold lips, her mother whispered “Duch je zpět,” smiling. The Ghost is back. The father of Willow, and husband of her mom.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

The Old Woman in the Woods

By Iris Reiter-Marolf, New Albin, IA Youth Fiction

An old woman left her house in the deep dark forest. She shut the door as she left, and it hit the panels on each side of the door to make a horrible sound. She stepped down her front porch stairs, each step with a loud creek. She started walking and found herbs and fungi for a soup she was going to make.

She kept walking until she found a feather on the ground. She turned around and saw a blue and black slimy object floating a few feet in the air. It didn’t talk as far as she knew, and it didn’t move either. Until, a bird swooped over the floating slimy object and it moved as fast as a car towards the bird and ate it. After the woman witnessed this, she turned around and started to run.

She had been running for a while, so she decided to stop and catch her breath. After a few minutes a half-elk, half-human hopped out of the bushes. The centaur asked for the old woman’s name. She said nothing. It asked to play a game. The woman shared a slight nod. A game of checkers appeared in front of the centaur. The woman closed her eyes slightly to let the centaur go first. He insisted she go first, and she gave another nod in agreement.

As they played, the old woman wondered what he was plotting.

It was the dark forest, and everyone was plotting something. They played until the old woman eventually won. The centaur gave her three wishes. With the first wish she asked for a map of the dark forest. Second, she asked for a compass. Third, she asked for a water barrel full of water. The centaur gave her those exact items and the old woman gave a peak into the water barrel.

She started walking away, and the centaur creature stood on its hind legs. There was a giant mouth on the creature’s stomach! As the centaur got closer to the woman, she turned around and threw the water barrel at it. Instead of water in the barrel, it was poison and the centaur slowly disintegrated. The woman opened the map and looked at the compass she got from the now disintegrated creature. She kept walking.

She walked for a while and then she found a toe on the ground.

It was hairy and scary, so she took it and started walking back to her house. She cooked the toe and the herbs she had collected. She made a delicious stew in her black pot. Once it was done, she ate it and loved it.

She went to bed that night and heard horses outside. She heard a deep voice saying, “give me my toe!” The old woman was terrified.

She stood against the wall listening to “give me my TOE!” No one in the dark forest ever saw the old woman again.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Spooky Forests

By Amelia Moonen, Ossian, IA Youth Fiction

Once upon a time two girls, Emma and Paisley, were in a spooky forest. While they were exploring, they found an old church. They proceeded in. All of a sudden, they heard footsteps coming towards them.

The footsteps got faster and louder until they saw a man with old tattered filthy clothes. He started to chase them. They ran as fast as they could out of the door. He continued chasing them for about a mile.

Farther into the woods they found another old building. They went in and noticed three witches stirring up magical potions. The magical potions were blue and red. Out of nowhere the blue potion splattered on Emma, and red potion splattered on Paisley. They didn’t notice the splatters so they kept running til they got to the park where they hid until the witches were gone.

A few minutes after the witches left, Paisley turned into a black cat and Emma turned into an orange cat.

They ran back to their houses and found a spellbook that they got for Halloween while they were trickor-treating. They opened it and found a cat spell. IT WORKED! They turned back into humans.

They went to their moms and told them the whole story, but of course they didn’t believe a word they said.

Would you?

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

In Cold Blood

By Rose Wheeler, Lansing, IA Youth Fiction

It seemed from the minute I was born, I knew I was meant for this.

Meant for something greater than others understood. I fancied myself a Liberator(not that much of this world deserved it).Ready to save and defend. I have a lot of fond memories and valued achievements from when I was young. One achievement in particular sparked a vital moment in my life that changed the face of what we call justice.

It was a decade or so ago, maybe more. I was a graduate of Law with a bright and fresh perspective. Innocent, naive to the horrid truth of the world. Armed with charmingly good looks, wit, brains, and athleticism to top it off, I was ready to take on the big world and start for real. I got an internship offer from Kenly and Wright Law firm all the way in the bustling city of San Francisco, the Golden State’s pride and joy. I was convinced I’d be a big shot and make it big. After all, it was a new age. “The age of justice” I thought.

I prepared to move into the big city as soon as I got the offer. I’d insisted on driving and moving on my own with no help. Afterall, I’m sure anyone wouldn’t be so trusting of strangers. Plus had a need for privacy just like anyone else would. Miraculously, I had acquired a fairly nice condo for what people like me would call “a good deal” and others “too expensive for worth”.

Oh? You’re bored? You want me to skip to the “good stuff”? Well, that’s a funny way of putting it, but…I suppose I could fast forward my story a bit, if that pleases you so much.

It really started with an affair. Yes, an affair. I was working on a girl’s case. She was about the same age as me. She was forced into an affair with her boss who threatened her whole career and life if she reached out for help. He used money and power to silence her. That got me thinking, REALLY thinking. It was then that I’d decided I would bring all filth to justice, even if it meant taking their life.

Inspired by the infamous Zodiac Killer, I took the strategies and applied some of my own. Justice is fair. I did what must be done. I got my wish. I became famous. Famously anonymous. Leaving trails of fear behind me and with it came a sort of giddiness. Killing became a strange addiction. I must, I must! I was making the world a better place with each filth I erased.

So that’s my story,abridged of course. What’s that? You liked my story? Well, aren’t you a gem! This past hour truly has been lovely.

But, now, I’m afraid I have to kill you. Maybe in your next life, you’ll think twice before taking advantage of someone less fortunate, hm?

Well, that about wraps things up then. Cheerio!

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

The Spooksillvania Vampires

By Caidance Moellers, Ossian, IA Youth Fiction

Jack was scared! It was one week until Halloween and his parents were sending him to Spooksillvania. His parents had said that it was just a run down little town, but Jack knew better. He had heard Bobby Joe say that only vampires lived there. Jack knew that he was right. After all, his Aunt Dorthy was a vampire and that is who his parents said he was going to stay with.

When they got there, Aunt Dorthy was standing outside her door to greet them. As soon as she saw Jack step out of the car, she said, “I’m so happy you’re here. How we need fresh blood around here.” Jack was so freaked out he ran back to his parents and begged them to reconsider, but they stayed firm and said that he was going to have fun. Jack thought differently.

Jack froze. He saw something darting between the clouds.

Then without thinking, he said, “Aunt Dorthy, is there a dragon around here?”

But she simply said, “There is no such thing as dragons.”

Then she led Jack into the house, and with a devious smirk she locked the door.

It was midnight and Jack had a plan. He knew this was bad, but he didn’t care. He had to get away from here, really far away. Just as he was about to make his escape…a dragon, black as night, scooped him up and carried him to a castle where he was tied up to a chair and left in a room.

Jack was trapped. He screamed and shouted! Then a vampire came over and grinned. Jack knew that grin was the same grin that always greeted him; it was Aunt Dorthy! She simply said, “Your parents, foolish people.” Then with one more evil smile she gave Jack medicine that made him sleep.

When he woke up he felt the worst pain ever! His neck ached. He felt bite marks when he ran his fingers along his neck. But his mouth felt worse. It felt as though new teeth were pushing out his canines! These new teeth were so sharp that when he touched them they cut his finger.

So Jack lived a life as a vampire, scaring children and biting innocent people. So if you ever go to Spooksilvainia,beware an army of vampires live there. Never go near the castle of DOOM!

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The Corn Haunting

By Hannah Kingsley, Harmony, MN Youth Fiction

October 29, 2015. I will never forget the events that occurred on this gloomy fall day. Neither of us will.

--Mia, Evelyn, and I were having a get-together to prepare for Halloween as it was rapidly approaching. It was around 11 p.m., and we were getting pretty bored. We had already baked, watched movies, and figured out what our group costume was going to be. Each of us was going to be one of the Power Puff Girls. But our excitement had dwindled. We were just starting to turn in for the night when we came up with the perfect idea for a late-night activity.

“Hey, didn’t you get that Ouija board a couple of weeks ago?” asked Mia. “Yes, I did! I totally forgot about it until now,” I said. I only bought the board to use as decoration, but I didn’t think there would be any harm in trying it out.

“We should try it out. See if it actually works. Oh hey, I saw this really deserted and spooky cornfield. We should go there. It would make the whole experience so much better,” stated Evelyn.

Mia and I were pretty reluctant about the whole deserted cornfield idea, but Evelyn is a pretty convincing person, so we went. When we reached the field, the look of how the darkness seemed to swallow the corn was kind of chilling. But I didn’t want to ruin the fun, so I stayed quiet. We took the Ouija board to the center of the cornfield. We got everything set up and started to play. We asked basic questions like what the spirit’s name was and if there was actually one there, but nothing really happened. We decided it was pointless to keep trying, so we took our hands off and started to pack up. As we were doing so, we heard a strange wailing sound in the distance, followed by a luminescent creature hurtling towards us. I started bolting out of the corn, with Mia and Evelyn right behind me. When we finally escaped that dreaded field, I stopped in order to catch my breath. I don’t think I’ve ever run that fast before. Evelyn and I exchanged glances. But wait— where in the world was Mia? Evelyn and I started frantically calling out for her, but we got no response. In a panic, we searched for her everywhere we could think of, but there was still no trace of where she had gone. I told Evelyn, “We should go back and get help,” and she agreed. When we got back, there was no one there to help, so we sprinted to the local law enforcement building, which was a block from my house. They were little help at the time, but said they would do their best to find her.

--It’s been exactly a year since Mia’s disappearance, and there’s still not a single trace of where she could be.

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Room 13

By Daniel Liew, Harmony, MN Youth Fiction

(Inspired by a true story told by my mom) Friday night I clocked into my shift. I could tell the hospital was going to be busy that night. I was responsible for two halls– north hall and east hall. North hall was full to the brim, patients in all rooms. East hall was so far–vacant-dark and eerie.

I had problems with east hall, mainly room 13, in the past.

Room 13’s call-light would turn on when no one was in the room. A call-light is a light outside a patient’s room meant to notify the nurse and get their attention. The superstitious turn-on was the most annoying yet strange thing. Every time I noticed the call-light was on, I’d walk over and turn it off. This would happen every shift. I would turn the light off just to have to come back later, to see it on. Keep in mind that the only people meant to be in this hall were me and patients meant for these vacant rooms, which were none. I walked by again and noticed the light in the corner of my eye. The stress of this annoyance was like no other. Patients needing medical attention, needing to be moved, sick patients–I had so much to keep track of, but that wasn’t what I was bothered by. I finished my shift and clocked out, only to return tomorrow to room 13.

Saturday night I clocked into my shift. Four Kwik Trip coffees ought to keep me up. I walked across the dark hall over to room 13, greeted by a turned-on tv. “Alright…,” I said aloud, “You can mess with 13 but leave my other rooms alone; I need them for patients.” I walked away. …Flick… At the same time the call-lights for both room 13 and room 18 lit up. This was new. Room 18 never tweaked out of control like 13. …Flick…

Another one. Room 23 this time. I heard the TVs start turning on from all three rooms. Channels were switching. Sentences starting to form from fragments of words said from separate channels. “…bzzz…pplay…bzzz…with…me…” I called our maintenance department to ask someone to come and take care of it.

“Nothing wrong with these rooms ma’am,” the maintenance man said. “Everything’s normal.” I thought to myself, “of course.” This type of stuff doesn’t bother me. If it’s happening now, then that means that it’s been happening for centuries, and it will for centuries to come. I just wonder if the ghost is someone who passed in room 13, or whether it’s someone entirely different? Food for thought.

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Hide and Seek

By Haylyn Stowe, Decorah, IA Youth Fiction

BEWARE! “Look!”

“Ayla, AYLA! Where are you! I give up. You can “At what, what am I looking at?” come out now!”

“That!”

“I continue to prove my point that you remain Ayla inspected where James was pointing terrible at hide and seek.” Ayla says while she to see what looked like 5 droplets of blood. proceeds to remove herself from being hidden in a Curious, Ayla cautiously walks toward it, James crevice between the couch and TV stand. frantically trailing at her feet. She stops at the Ayla and James were one year apart; though basement door and as soon as she opens it, James was older, Ayla took the protective role.

James was 12, turning 13 in less than 8 hours. While they both stop in awe as if someone clicked the pause button on a TV. Sitting there on the steps Ayla was only 11, her birthday would be in a couple of months. Their parents had gone out to collect was a bloody, ragged doll.

“Okay, how did this get here? James, are some special party favors for the big surprise party you pulling a prank, now’s not the time!” Ayla they were going to host later that night. James had says as she picks it up and is recklessly waving no idea! it in the air.

“Stop making fun of me, not all people are as “Ayla put that down now!” good as you.”

“No, why? I’m gonna take this to school.

“Oh, James, guess what? YOU SUCK!” “That’s besides the point. I’m hungry, you prom- Isn’t it fascinating! I could add it to my antique collection!” ised we’d make brownies. Remember?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna get them in“I said we could make brownies when Mom and volved! And you definitely do not want that in Dad got home, and guess what, they’re not home your collection!” yet!”

“Why not? Wow, I wonder if this is real “Well when are they getting home?” blood!? Do you think it is? Oh, Frank would “I don’t know, do I look like Mom and Dad to go crazy!” Frank was just one of Ayla’s many you?”

James and Ayla continued to hangout, and by the many friends. She was the most popular girl in school, and was looked up to for lots of things. end of the day Mom and Dad were still a no-show.

Everything was going particularly well. Until James For one thing she started the first school club where they collect cool antiques. They then take laid his eyes on something he would soon never them to school and put them on display in the forget.

Social Studies room. Obviously Ayla was the “AYLA, what is this?” club leader and Frank was her right hand man.

“What, what is what?”

They had grown pretty fond of each other and soon became best friends.

What Ayla didn’t know is that he might be the one to save her life.

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The Pumpkin Ghost

By Addison Laura Johnson, Saude, IA Youth Fiction

It was a stormy Halloween night and I heard A loud noise outside my window. While three daring friends Tilly, Sloane, and Victoria were exploring abandoned buildings. At one of the buildings they heard a screech almost like a cackle coming from the basement. So they went to investigate what was happening then they saw a bloody pumpkin ghost with a half eaten corpse on the ground in front of it. They stared at it being as still as possible. They failed to do so then the pumpkin ghost quickly lunged towards them. They darted quickly to drive to graces house. Then Victoria noticed something on the way there. She noticed that there weren’t only three people on the car but four. She screamed as she realized that the pumpkin ghost was in the car with them. It flew through the windshield, and made Tilly crash the car into the middle of the cornfield.

Victoria was ok since she was in the back of the car but Sloane and Tilly weren’t. They had glass impeded in their skin. Victoria couldn’t wake them up but she didn’t know what to do and so she searched the car shaking with fear. When she popped open the trunk she found a candle and matches. So she lit the candle and she torched the cornfield. Then as the fire got bigger it surrounded her and the car as she heard shrieks all around her.

As she saw a hole heard of pumpkin Ghosts flying out of the field. As the fire grew hotter she heard one last shriek as a pumpkin ghost grabbed her and ripped her in half and threw her into the fire while the pumpkin ghosts went to terrorize the town.

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“A Pokémon Halloween Story”

By Aiden Hemesath Youth Fiction

It was Halloween and Mew was going to the spookiest haunted house in the world. So Mew just went into the house. Mew looked around and got scared of the skeletons and dead cats.

Then the door shut and Mew was alone now. Then Mew heard a noise. It came from the door. Before Mew went over there, he saw a zombie. Mew ran as fast as he could, so fast he could see the zombie. Then Mew was at a dead end in the hallway. Mew was so so scared that he didn’t know what to do now.

Then, Shiny Mew came to save him.

They both ran for a while, then they both saw two more zombies now. Shiny Mew and Mew fell in a hole. Mew and Shiny Mew saw a sign, the sign said 3 miles in the cave. They both walked for a couple minutes and finally got out of the cave and ran home together.

The End.

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The Pirate Killer

By Anya Volkmann, Decorah, IA Youth Fiction

I didn’t mean to kill him… I mean I guess I did. Let me explain.

It was October 30th, and it had just turned two a.m. My friends said we should go to the haunted house at three a.m. We all know two things. One, nothing good happens after midnight, and everything spooky happens at three a.m. Was I going to be the scaredy cat my friends thought I was? No, I was going to the haunted house tonight and no one was going to stop me.

Boy, should I have stayed home that night! But I headed out to my friend’s house and started thinking about returning to that safe house where I could go to sleep and never go to the haunted house. When I got there, we were just hanging around. Layla made sure we all wore our matching pirate costumes. Now we weren’t the safest kids on the block. We all had real, sharp swords. How we got them, don’t ask.

At 2:45 we headed to the haunted house. It was pitch black. Not even the streetlight could show off a little light. Spooky right? At that moment, I could have turned back. When we walked up to the haunted house it had yellow caution tape all around the house Before you walked in, there was a sign that said If you get scared easily, TURN BACK NOW after you enter you can NOT leave. Until you find the exit. Beware. I was just about to leave then and there but then all my friends did was laugh.

“Who are they trying to scare?” Layla said.

“1-year-olds are more like it!” said Mia. “Yeah, I mean who do they think is going to do the haunted house?” I stuttered.

The five of us went in as a group. I was in the middle, thank god. As we went in, nothing happened. But just as I calmed down a clown jumped from right behind us. I was shaking inside but all my friends were laughing.

I tried to fit in and laugh with them. As we walked on I looked for any sign of a jump scare. My friends were videoing their reactions in hopes of getting a cool video of a jump scare for Snapchat. Why didn’t I get my phone out and do the same? Because I was trying my hardest to not scream! After what felt like a thousand more jump scares, we found the exit and were heading out.

But as we were leaving the haunted house Layla wanted a group video.

So we all got our swords out. But there was one jump scare left. Little did I know it was the biggest one yet. Another clown jumped out with a bloody face and hands he looked as if he just killed someone but I killed him…I stabbed him right in the heart. Blood oozed out of him.

Layla screamed. He dropped dead.

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A Deadly Dare

By Avery Peters, Ossian, IA Youth Fiction

Kate couldn’t believe what she was about to do. She found the grave easily, having been told many times where it was. Leah and Gabby had made it very clear that it had to be Jedidiah Starling‘s grave. He was famous in their little town.

For murder.

“Legend has it he killed nine people, using only his black, gloved hands,” Gabby whispered.

“He was never seen without his gloves,” Leah added. “People say that’s why he was so hard to catch. No fingerprints.”

“One night, there was another murder. This time, the police found fingerprints and linked them to Jedidiah. No one knows why he didn’t wear the gloves or what came of them. He was thrown into jail where he died a few years later.”

“All you have to do is dig a hole at his grave.”

“We’ve all done it. It’s kind of our tradition,” Gabby said.

Kate swallowed.

“If you’re too scared, we totally get it,” Leah sneered. “Not everyone has what it takes.”

A week later, Kate still didn’t know if she’d made the right decision. She definitely didn’t want to go poking around anyone’s grave, but the thought of being labeled a loser was worse.

It was a chilly Halloween night, and the ground was hard and cold. Kate struck the earth several times before the dirt gave way. She was about to pull her shovel out, but it wouldn’t budge. Kate flicked on her flashlight and looked down. She gasped. A cadaverous hand was wrapped around the handle, holding tight. Kate stumbled backwards when a second hand burst through the ground. This isn’t happening. She thought. This can’t be happening! Chills went down her spine as the creature emerged further. Its skin was gray and shriveled. Its clothes were torn and faded. It was dead but somehow also alive.

It was this realization that made Kate get up. Made her scream. Made her run as hard as she could, not knowing where. She crashed through the fallen leaves, dodging tombstones as she went.

Kate knew she couldn’t run forever. She could hear footsteps behind her, getting closer.

She would have to hide. She spotted an old shed, near the woods. It seemed so far away, yet she knew it was her only hope; the footsteps behind her would soon catch up.

Kate ran to the shed, slammed the door, and locked it behind her. In a matter of seconds, a loud banging sounded on the door. Frantically, Kate looked for a weapon, but there was nothing. She screamed as the door flew open. She closed her eyes and waited for what she knew would come.

But nothing happened.

She opened her eyes and watched as the creature moved to the corner, uncovered a small cabinet, and took out a pair of gloves. Black gloves.

Slowly Jedidiah slipped them over his hands. Kate shrieked. as he lunged at her.

Those black gloves reaching for her neck were the last things Kate ever saw.

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Once Upon a Time...

By Brinley Johnson, Saude, IA Youth Fiction

Once upon a time in a land called spooky forest there were three girls named Tilly Page and Victoria! And these girls were taking a walk and they came upon a spooky forest and page wanted to go and the other girls didn’t and page said fine. And kept walking and 30 minutes later Tilly heard a whisper in her ear and the whisper said ‘I see you’. And Tilly SCREAMED!!

And the other girls said WHAT? And Tilly said I HEARD SOMETHING SAY I SEE YOU!!! And they said really? YES said Tilly. And they kept walking and then page heard it and Victoria and they screamed and the 3 girls ran! All of a sudden the page passed out!! And only Victoria saw and she screamed.

And Tilly was like what? And then she saw!!

Then they both passed out and when all 3 girls woke up they were in a spooky forest!! And they each were tied up on their own pulls. They were in a triangle! They knew that meant something. All of the sudden they felt a cold breeze against them! They heard a screech that sounded like a little girl in pain. And then the cops drove by and they tried to scream but he didn’t hear them. Then Tilly got untied and she got the other girls. They wanted to investigate ! And they did.

They went far into the dark forest and saw 10 dead body’s!

They ran and ran but eventually they got to a dead end! The king of the spooky forest came out of the trees and said well well what do I have here! And they all screamed and then the cops came and saved the girls. And went to the police station and did a questioning . And then they went back to the spooky forest . And then they went in far and Tilly got murdered!

They went further and Victoria died! Further and further on by one they kept dying! And then only one page was left!!

When she was left the king of the spooky forest came out and…GETS PAGE!! then dragged her! Deep into a spooky forest. She was dragged by the HEAD! And her head fell OFF!!!! The cops came and saw they took the dead body’s the end!! To be continued.

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Home Alone

By Lily Duesbout, Lanesboro, MN Youth Fiction

My friend Kayden and I were in my bedroom at 9:00 P.M. We were the only people home. My mom was working late. We left the lights on, and the doors locked. I opened my bedroom door after I heard a noise in the kitchen. Shocked, we opened the door, and the lights were off when I was certain we had left them on. I turned to share my fear with Kayden. She didn’t believe it until she saw it for herself.

Luckily, there’s a light switch for the kitchen and living room outside my bedroom. We peered into the living room worried we might see someone or something that shouldn’t be there. We stretched our heads out my door to look, and we decided it was safe enough to step out the door and turn on the lights for the kitchen and living room which would light up most of my house. We turned the lights on, the exact opposite of what we thought would’ve happened. We believed the light would bring us comfort, but we were stunned by what we saw.

The lights flashed on, it was like we saw a ghost. We looked at each other with terrified stares, white as paper. We were too stunned to speak. I worked up the courage and asked my friend, “Did you leave the cabinets open?” in case she had looked for something, knowing I was with her the whole time.

She responded with, “I was going to ask you if you were messing with me!”

We shut the door without asking anymore questions and called my mom.

My mom asked us “Are the doors locked?”

We responded, “Yes.” She also asked “Did Charlie (my German Shepherd, who is an outside dog) bark? He would’ve alarmed you if someone was there.”

We also replied “No” She told us, she “I’m on my way home, and you’ll be fine until I get back.”

We hung up and decided to search for a little bit more comfort. My friend stayed since she was very freaked out while I searched the nooks and crannies in my house. I checked the bathroom and then checked the living room and kitchen.

As I proceeded through the kitchen into the dining room, I looked up and watched the handle to our laundry room turn and fly open, so I got freaked out and turned to run back to my room. I heard a door slam behind me. I flew around again to look, and saw the same door I had just watched unlatch and open had just slammed shut with no one around it.

I ran back to my room and told my friend what happened. We then heard a noise come from outside, and my dog started barking aggressively.

We decided to call my mom, she declined the call, which made us more worried. But to our surprise, she pulled in the driveway, and finally we were able to take a deep breath.

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Casie the Scary Ghost

By Emery Mann, Calmar, IA Youth Fiction

Once upon a time in a dark forest there lived ghosts. Some were friendly and some were not. There was a ghost named Casie, and Casie wanted to scare people, like her brothers. Every time she tried, she just couldn’t .Casie was sad. She didn’t know what to do.

There was a scare contest and Casie wanted to join. Her brothers insisted Casie not go, but Casie was stubborn. Casie said,” I don’t care. I’m going.”

So the day of the scare contest, over the loudspeakers they announced, “Casie’s please come to the stage.”

She got scared before the judges and floated off stage. Casie felt ashamed, but she was also sad.

She decided to ask her brothers for tips. They gave her all the tips they knew like: have fun, don’t be to scary, and it’s fine if you don’t win.

She waited for an entire year to enter again and won second place. She went home and hid. They had a celebration and she felt scary and awesome. Everyone walked in and Casie scared them.

They all started laughing. They ate delicious food. Casie had also invited her friends to have a sleepover that night. Casie was super excited and happy.

They decided to go out for a walk. It was midnight.That was their favorite time to go on night walks. It’s also the time when the werewolves come out. They were ghosts’ worst enemy, at least Casie and her friends’ worst enemy. Casie and her friends had an idea they were going to scare the werewolves. All three of Casie’s friends and Casie won at least one scare contest.

They watched the werewolves come out in the middle of the forest, and right before they howled they went in for the scare.

“Waaoh”,said all the werewolves at once.

It was so fun all the ghostly girls floating and giggling. They had the best night ever. They had so much fun that night then they went home and had a spa night, but it wasn’t over.

The werewolves wouldn’t go without putting up a fight, but ghosts have really good hearing. So they heard every step of the werewolves plan. Ghosts were very sneaky. They fought back when the werewolves attacked. They had fun! They went back to the woods and continued to have their spa night. They watched a scary movie and they couldn’t sleep.

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The Teenage Fear

By Hannah Bullerman, Ossian, IA Youth Fiction

One night two girls named Vanessa and Alexis, who were about thirteen years old, were going to the county fair together. They got ready and headed out.

When they got to the fair, they headed straight for the ferris wheel.

After that, they went on a bunch of other rides. Then they got hungry, so they went to get two hotdogs and lemonade. While sitting at a picnic table, they noticed a man staring at them. They freaked out!

They started running. They didn’t know where they were going.

All of a sudden they were surrounded by a forest. They decided to go north. The girls ran for about one mile until they came across a house.

The house was graffitied on the outside and full of cobwebs. “Should we stay here for the night?” Vanessa said. “ I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” said Alexis. So they went into the house and looked around. It was empty. They sat on the couch and talked. “This will work for tonight,” said Alexis.

“Yea,this is fine.”

CREEK! The door to the kitchen slowly opened. Then all the sudden the lights start flashing on and off. They ran into the bathroom and closed the door. Vanessa found blood stains in the sink and on the shower curtain. It also smelled like smoke in there. So instead of staying there they ran into the bedroom. And what do you know, there’s blood stains on the bed and on the pillows! There were blood streaks on the wall.

“It’s better than the bathroom,” Alexis said.

They sat on the bed and talked again until they heard footsteps coming from above them. Alexis shut and locked the door. All the sudden they felt breathing on their ankles. They also heard a howl coming from outside.

They crept out slowly to see what was going on. Vanessa stepped on a loose piece of flooring and it flipped halfway over. It hit her in the nose and blood splattered everywhere! Alexis raced to get some paper towels. She grabbed them. Out of nowhere, the first towel says, “Someone’s watching you!”

She didn’t care what it said. She cared about Vanessa. Vanessa got cleaned up and they sat on the old kitchen chairs. They were on their phones when all the sudden a mouse scurried by their feet. AAAAHHHH! They both screamed and ran out the door. They were greeted by a note that said don’t go home. They looked up and found the man that was at the county fair staring at them. Now he was here face to face with the two girls. To this day, those two girls have never been found.

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I’m Sorry

By Kallie Troester, Waukon, IA Youth Fiction

“Harry, hurry up,” yelled Cari. Ding Dong.

“I’m here,” said Harry, coming down the stairs.

Cari opened the door where she found a tiny girl and a lean, old woman.

“Mrs. Gandarl, I presume.”

“Yes. You must be Mr. and Mrs. Arten,” Mrs. Gandarl spoke sternly.

Then, gesturing to the small girl beside her she said, “This is Alex.”

“Hello Alex. Welcome to our mansion, your new home,” Harry asserted, gently.

When Alex didn’t answer Mrs. Gandarl spoke. “I have to go now. Watch your back, you never know what children are capable of.” This put an uneasy feeling in Cari’s stomach as she watched Mrs. Gandarl walk away and disappear into the cab.

“Well, should I show you to your new room?” asked Cari, shaking off the uneasy feeling. Alex nodded, but again she didn’t speak.

“Today six year old Addison Hyll was reported missing by her parents.

She was last seen playing outside in front of her house in a red dress. Investigators…”

“I can’t bear to watch the news anymore. It seems like there’s always a child that goes missing these days,” Cari cried to the silence.

She had a sudden feeling like she was being watched. This matched the feeling that she got from Mrs. Gandarl’s comment. She turned around to find Alex standing in the doorway of the living room, and jumped. “Ahh..Alex, you frightened me.” Alex didn’t comment, she just turned and walked down the stairs to the basement.

Cari still couldn’t shake off that strange feeling. She set herself to making lunch. It was just an easy lunch of sandwiches for her and Alex, since Harry was at work, so it didn’t take long to make.

“Alex, lunch is ready,” yelled Cari. Alex didn’t come to the kitchen, so after a few minutes Cari decided to go get her. She walked down the stairs and the further she got down them the more uneasy she felt. She arrived in front of Alex’s room to find that it was just a little open. She heard a voice speaking in a language she had never heard before inside. She opened the door a little more to find Alex talking to, what appeared to be, the wall.

“Alex?” Alex spun around and she was holding a knife covered in blood.

Below her on the floor laid a body that looked quite similar to the picture of the Hyll girl on the television. Her eyes were stark white and wide open. Cari ran up the stairs and out of the house to her car. She couldn’t get the car to start. Alex had followed, but slowly, and she stopped in the doorway to the house. She didn’t have the knife anymore, so Cari decided to try to reason with her. “Alex, what did you do?”

Alex answered in a small, irritating voice. “I’m sorry. It always happens and I’m always sorry. They made me do it.”

“Who made you do it?” asked Cari.

“The ghosts.”

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The Wrong Potion

By Kenadee Wenthold, Ossian, IA Youth Fiction

Once upon a time there was a girl named Alyssa Bane and she lived in Spooksville. She lived with her mom, dad, younger sister Bailey and her older brother Frank.

Every night on Halloween there was a full moon. When Alyssa went to bed she could hear the howl of a Halloween werewolf and the boos of Halloween ghosts.

The next day Frank didn’t feel very good because he had eaten too much candy, and he couldn’t get rid of his really bad tummy ache. Alyssa ran to get mom and dad, but when she got downstairs mom and dad were already driving away in the car.

Alyssa thought and thought and thought until she thought of the witch down the street. ”WANDA!” screamed Alyssa when she ran down the street.

“What is it sweetheart?” said Wanda. ” I need your help now.”

Wanda and Alyssa ran back down the street to Alyssa’s house. “Up here! Follow me to Frank’s room, quick!” said Alyssa.

Wanda followed Alyssa up to Frank’s room. Frank was sleeping and it looked like he wasn’t having a good time. He was squirming around on his bed. Alyssa sang quietly to Frank to calm him down. Frank awoke and when he saw Wanda he screamed. Alyssa told Frank that Wanda the witch was her friend. He calmed down when he heard Alyssa’s voice. Wanda ran back to get the potion to make Frank feel better. One thing Wanda doesn’t know is that a goblin came and switched around the labels. Wanda grabbed the quick cure for sickness potion. The potion was the magic to turn into Frankenstein. Wanda ran back to Alyssa’s house and gave the potion to Alyssa. Alyssa told Frank to open his mouth and drink the potion.

The next morning Alyssa woke up early so she could eat, because she’d only eaten breakfast yesterday. Frank came down with a big blanket over his head for some reason. ”Frank, are you okay,” asked Alyssa.

Frank groaned. Frank took the blanket off and he was GREEN. “Mom, dad F-F-Frank t-tturned into FRANKENSTEIN!” Alyssa’s mom and dad found Alyssa behind the couch crying because she was so scared.

Mom and dad screamed and mom passed out. Alyssa thought quickly what to do. She told dad that she had to go to a medicine shop to get some medicine for Frank (Frankenstein).

When she got outside she saw Wanda’s pet cat named Luna. “Ah-ha!” shouted Alyssa. She ran to Wanda’s with Luna in her hands. When she got there Wanda was making a potion with somebody else all wrapped up in a chair.

“Oh, hi Alyssa. What are you up to?” asked Wanda.

“Who’s that?” asked Alyssa.

Wanda said, “This is Golly, my patient the goblin.”

“I think he changed the potion wrappers, because my brother is now Frankenstein!”

“What?” Wanda shook the bottles and said, “Here, take this one!” “ Thanks for the potion Wanda.”

In the morning Frank was normal again.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

A Missing Piece

By Lillian Powell, Preston, MN Youth Fiction

Hi, my name is Mary, and I live in Driftless Hillsboro, Wisconsin. I’m an only child. I live next to my best friend Eli. Eli is my best friend. Our moms’ have been best friends forever. Eli’s mom’s name is Wendy. Eli’s dad, Josh, was murdered: we don’t know who murdered him. Eli and I want to figure out who murdered Josh.

Eli and I planned to meet at his father’s grave. His uncle Bob usually sits there about 9 P.M. with a case of beer. We got to Josh’s grave, we saw uncle Bob trailing down the path.

Finally, we approached the grave. Uncle Bob looked up. “Hi kiddos, I didn’t know you guys planned to be here.” Eli said, “Can you tell us anything about who murdered my father?” Bob said, “Why do you think I come here every Friday?” Bob didn’t want to talk much with us. We headed back home.

Eli texted me the next morning saying he finally asked Wendy who murdered his dad, she told him, “Nobody knows.” I couldn’t find my dad anywhere or get a hold of him, he hadn’t been home since yesterday evening. I had looked for him all night. Eli was looking with me now. We hear my father screaming and two women chattering. We got closer and found out our “moms” murdered my father. My mom was calling Wendy “Wanda”, and Wendy was calling my mom “Carla,” which wasn’t her name either. As they walked away we walked closer and found both of our parents thrown into a heap in the woods behind our houses. Our “moms” were serial killers; we had no idea who they really were. We had to leave town fast before they could come after us!

We ran into my house first, and they were already waiting for us.

They had grabbed us forcefully and threw us in the basement of Eli’s house. Eli remembered he had an old landline telephone in the dark corner. We called the cops, Wanda and Carla were getting ready to do to us what they had done to our parents. Right as they were grabbing us, the cops grabbed them and took them away.

A few weeks later, we heard that Wanda and Carla escaped the prison. Eli and I decided to go back to where we had followed Wanda and Carla when we found our parents lying lifeless. Wanda and Carla were lying lifeless in the same place. We heard Uncle Bob approaching us. He told us he had caught them and did what they deserved.

Hours after, Eli, Uncle Bob, and I were on our way to get out of that town. They later found out Uncle Bob had murdered Carla and Wanda, After they had found out what happened Uncle Bob was worried he was in trouble. Instead, they named him the “Hillsboro hero!” No, we aren’t telling you guys where we live. We are now finally safe.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

The House of Horrors

By Luke Hellickson, Preston, MN Youth Fiction

Bill and three friends are going to the Monster Bash in Harmony, Minnesota. Bill is really scared, but his friends aren’t. Bill’s mom drops them off, and the line is really long. Bill gets even more scared when the line shrinks; he knows he’ll have to face his fears inside. Their group is next, and Bill’s shaking. His friends scare him even more and laugh at him.

The group enters the first room, and Bill takes a few steps. He gets scared by a clown and screams his lungs off! The next room is a maze.

The boys think it would be a good idea to separate, but little does Bill know, the others come up with a plan to really scare Bill.

As they separate, Bill and his friend Jeff get lost. They can’t hear their other friends’ voices anymore, so they get even more scared. They hear running noises from behind them. They finally find the exit, and Bill’s friends, hiding by the exit, jump out to scare Bill. He drops to the ground and starts crying.

Once Bill stops crying, his friends kinda feel bad, so they decide to be nicer towards Bill. They walk back into the haunted house rooms, and someone chases Jeff with a chainsaw; he gets really scared. Before they enter the next room, they have to sign a waiver because this room is incredibly dangerous. Once Bill and Jeff hear that, their fear accelerates.

But their other friends convince them it’ll be fun.

They walk into the room. Immediately, a swinging blade falls from the ceiling! It ends up killing Brad. At this point, Bill realizes this is very serious. The boys run to get out of there as fast as possible. Their friend Meyer trips on a chair, but the rest keep on running. They hear Meyer screaming behind them, but they continue running. They reach the end of the hall and start slamming on the door hoping to break it.

As they’re pounding, an alligator drops from the ceiling behind them.

The alligator creeps closer, lunging towards Jeff, and clamps onto his leg and doesn’t let go. Jeff screams and starts bleeding out. In shock, Bill runs the other way; he locates a secret turn. He runs around it and sees a gap in the floor. He stops at it and realizes he can’t even see the bottom, but it’s only about a 6-foot jump across. He thinks he can jump it. He gets a running start. Right before he jumps, he slips and is hanging on to the side wall by one hand, his feet dangling in the abyss. He screams for help, and he hears someone coming. It’s Meyer! Bill thinks he’s saved.

Meyer says, “Remember when you left me to die?” and steps on Bill’s hand. Bill falls for what feels like minutes. He sees the bottom and knows he’s going to die. But then he wakes up from his dream in a bed full of sweat.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Friends

By Samantha Troester, Waukon, IA Youth Fiction

“Come on guys,” said Cosmo. “Whoa this place looks amazing,” said Chris. “Carrie, you coming?” asked Cassie. “I don’t know guys, this place gives me the creeps,” replied Carrie. “Fine be chicken,” said Cosmo. “Come on guys, last one is a rotten egg.” Chris shouted. The three of them went running off leaving Carrie in the dust. “They will be fine right? I’m just being paranoid,” Carrie thought. “Well, I guess I should get going, my homework won’t finish itself,” Carrie said.

“Look at all these medical supplies,” said Chris. “Whoa nineteen thirty-seven, they really let this place go.” Said Cassie. “Hello,” said an eerie voice. They walked on but Cosmos stopped. “What did you guys say?” asked Cosmo. “Boy we already told you, stop watching those horror documentaries, they make you hear voices,” said Cassie. “Yeah you’re probably right,” said Cosmo. Cosmo let them get a head a bit before he started to walk again.

“They aren’t really your friends you know?” said the voice. “Huh who’s there?” Cosmo said, frightened.

“They are just using you,” said the eerie voice. What no, they have been my friends since kindergarten.” The eerie voice laughed a little and said, “You don’t believe, just listen.” A portal appeared in front of Cosmo. “Cosmo is crazy, am I wrong?” asked Cassie. “No you’re right,” replied Chris. They both laughed a bit as the portal faded. “See!” said the eerie voice. “I told you they aren’t really your friends, now let me in,” said the voice.

Cosmo was petrified as a tall skinny black creature jumped out from behind the curtain. The monster’s eyes were plain white and he was so skinny you could see its rib cage through its skin. It lunged straight at Cosmo. Cosmo tried fighting back but didn’t prevail. His eyes turned jet black and he started levitating. The possessed Cosmo seared around to find a scalpel. A horrifying grin appeared on Cosmo’s face as he started to float towards Cassie and Chris.

“Cosmo there you are, we were just” … Cassie was saying until she noticed that his eyes were pitch black. “Well, hello dear friends,” said Cosmo.

“Who are you and what have you done to Cosmo?” Chris said, trembling. “Oh he’s here,” said Cosmo. Cosmo raised the scalpel and jabbed it right into Cassie’s chest. Ultimately ending her life. Cosmo did the same to Chris. After these deaths the entity leaves Cosmo’s body. Cosmo looked around and saw his friends laying there, lifeless. The entity gave him the scalpel and said, “you do the honors.”

“No I – I don’t want to die. Y-y-you can’t make me.” Cosmo said, trembling. “ Very well then,” said the monster. The monster possessed Cosmos’ arm and made him stab himself. After the deed was done he took Cosmos’ blood, went to the wall and made three slashes saying “three down one more to go!”

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

Scarecrow

By Sofia Hageman, Decorah Youth Fiction

Henry Wallace awoke at midnight in a cold sweat on October first. He was always calmed by the sight of his corn field, so he shuffled to the window. But instead of uniform rows of corn, he saw a corn maze that led to the abandoned building in the middle. It happened again and again, every night. Henry also observed that at precisely four a.m. the corn field would melt back into rows.

A ring of mushrooms, known as a fairy ring, causes bad luck. In the middle of the corn field, a perfect circle of mushrooms appeared in the morning the day after Henry discovered the maze. Henry stepped in and thought he heard whispers, something that sounded like scarecrows, but he wasn’t a superstitious man, so he didn’t think anything of it. Henry was always a businessman, so he saw the corn maze as a way to make money at his Halloween party. In his invitation he wrote, “There is a corn maze race from 12-4 a.m. Participation costs $20. The prize is $200 and the first to get to the building in the corn maze wins!” On Halloween, twenty-five people paid to race. Henry had placed scarecrows in the maze as decoration and waited for the people to arrive.

Scarecrows. Just like Henry heard when he stepped in the fairy ring.

At midnight, all participants were ready. The starting gun went off, and they ran into the night. They were all laughing and having fun when they started, but they didn’t know that this could be the last night of their life.

The first person to encounter a scarecrow was Josie Anderson. Josie came to a dead end with an abandoned well and a scarecrow smiling devilishly. She turned around and was killed by the possessed scarecrow. The bewitched scarecrow dragged her body to the well and tossed her in where her blood turned the water red.

At about three in the morning, dead bodies littered the ground and it seemed like the corn was drinking the blood that was oozing on the ground. The scarecrows were picking clothes off of the bodies and adorning themselves with their new fashion finds. At four in the morning the corn maze disappeared, morphing back into uniform rows.

At six in the morning, Henry wondered why no one had come out of the maze and claimed the prize. He felt unsettled; after all, he had no idea what would happen if you stayed in the maze after it vanished.

At ten, the newspaper reported all 25 people missing.

That night after the race, Henry swore he could hear shuffling outside. The footsteps got closer and closer until they seemed like they were right outside his door.

The old doorbell rang, and when Henry answered it, he was staring up at a scarecrow with an emotionless pumpkin head smile. When he saw blood on the scarecrow’s garden tool hands, Henry Wallace welcomed the coming darkness.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

The Scariest Sound of All

By Siri Corson, Preston Youth Nonfiction

In peaceful evening I resigned Into my chambers for the time Where sleep should cause my eyes to close, But with a horrid scream I rose.

1

st

Place

My mind unease, my heart aflutter; All I could do was start to mutter, “The whole town now must be awake!”

Then, in my terror, I did quake.

A howl plucked from in the deep where horrid creatures seem to creep.

It’s sound a painful memory.

A solemn song, a mourning plea.

With ringing silence all around, I poised my ear to hear the sound.

That sound which turned the peace to terror and pierced through eardrum, wall, and air.

My eyes began to dilate.

My heart began to palpitate.

I urged my body yet to run My end is near, my time has come.

With a chime and light of screen, a message popped up bright and green.

“I heard a low, sharp screaming…”

I read no more; I knew the meaning.

Crashing, crunching through the woods Now on its way to where I stood.

A heathen in the pit of dusk That smelled to me, a horrid musk.

I admit, though with regret The buzz made me jump for a sec.

“The wait for sound will hurt my head– I’m going to go and search instead.”

Faster, quicker, oh, the dread!

It made its way unto the edge Where streetlight scared the dark away And light had won in sprawling splay.

Out the door, but closer now I heard a stir throughout the town Of Preston in the county seat.

Our brambles thick, our valley deep.

Two sets of eyes in green and gold Observed me in the autumn cold.

The valley hills that I adore Now seemed to drown me evermore.

Heads poked out of window frames To check if they had gone insane.

The lights all flicked on one by one Here in the town without the sun.

A twinkling sea of lights peered down– The small eyes meshing with the town.

The town that held me in its arms.

Now will it keep me safe from harm?

Like bugs retreating from a tide, The people now had gone inside.

Leaving me alone, deserted Beside the woods, and what I heard is:

I held my breath and closed my eyes then came to see and breathed a sigh.

To learn that the scariest sound of all Was just a fox’s mating call.

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

2

nd

Place

Based On True Events…

By Abby Shaw, Decorah Youth Nonfiction

20 years ago, my grandparents encountered something very unusual on a cool summer night. Grandma and Grandpa sat on their couch, watching a TV show. Chime, Chime, Chime. The grandfather clock had just struck 10:00. Looking over at the clock Grandma said, “We should get to bed.” Grandpa agreed.

They both got up from the couch and brushed their teeth. Once Grandma and Grandpa got into their bed they fell asleep within minutes.

It was about 1:00 in the morning when a bright light shone through the window. Grandpa awoke and squinted into the bright light.

When the light cleared, he saw a tall figure staring down at him. It was a fluorescent green male figure with big black eyes that stared down at him intently but also with curiosity.

“Ahuahua!” Grandpa choked out, waking up Grandma. She saw a figure too. But it wasn’t the same. It was a female version of the one Grandpa saw and had a friendly feeling to it.

Then, in a matter of seconds, the figures were both gone. One disappeared out the window, and the other into thin air.

They both thought that they were dreaming. Finally Grandpa asked, “Did you see that?” “Yes. I did,” Grandma replied in shock.

They never saw them again. Where did they go? Why were they there? Were they aliens?

The End?

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Driftless 2023 | Driftless Journal | Driftless Multimedia

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new ion of the for dedicat wn Decorah turned out downto ing cereHundreds Commons in ribbon-cutt ch starteim Vesterh Sept. 30. The whi of work ts | ay, ion urd Roo inat Sat ng the culm the Stro terheim. mony was April 2019 with Grow Ves in n ed back paign to is Johnso and Chr ure Cam celBold Fut ’s Ruth Schultz ” at the eim sen takk ing. “tus lt cutt Vesterh rtfe ribbond a hea Thursday, ication andOctober 12, 2023 extende of the ded ebration

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Election Guide Vol. 158, Issue 41

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2023 Election “Two Stories About the Gold Buckskin explored Whi ncher” perform Decorah Nov. ballot detailed by ward

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Candidates respond.

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ances this weekend

Based on your city government knowledge and the status of our city currently, what are your top priorities for Decor ah and why?

How do you plan to involve Decorah residents in your decision-making proces s?

What qualification s possess that disting do you uish you and would contrib ute to the council a different point of view?

Jody Meyer

Brent Parker

“Two Stories About the Gold Buckskin Whinch er” is a musical about a mag-City ward Decorah ical object, the gold With the regular city buckand school board elecwhich depicts tions coming up and skin whincher,map, and absentee balloting underthe the most way, this election guide big changes that happenrecent uphas been compiled dates to each ward to ensure the voters of the in the lives of the people county are fully aware after the 2021 reof their choices on the ballot who find it because in Decorah. Voting is ofand 2020 districting a right that should be its magical powers.

Andrew and Alli (Kephart) Tjossem returned for Luexercised regularly in The census. electing duly-sworn represen show will be perform ther Homecoming with their sons Henrik and Iver.

Steve Zittergruen tatives. Election candied date information for Thursday-Saturday, Emily Neal They live in Eagan, Minn. the Decorah City Council, Oct. Park and Recreation 19, 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. and Decorah Commun ity listen to concerns School Board are listed and Sunday, Oct. 22 below. at 2 and, with an open mind, p.m. at the New Minowa study The regular election will be held Tuesday, the issues. Through discernment and prayer, Nov. 7, with polls opening Players Theatre at I will come up with a fair 906 and just decision. at 7 a.m., and closing at 8 p.m.

South Mill Street in I feel well-qualified Decorah. Tickets can to be on the council be purchased at Oneota Absentee voting began with

By Denise Lana nowand hopes to fiat ll www.ne the seat now open after online wminowaplayers.ludus.c Community Food Co-op Wednesday, Oct. 18, my background of working with and for by features om. mail Johnson’s departure.

Randy Schissel was the public TOPand (l-r) Elizabeth Jirak, in-person at the Winnesh through my vocation A scene titled “musica and career as a soil iek County conserva l soup eater” Auditor’s Weber, Clara Garcia-P Charlott ion in The 2023 Decorah election for city coun- elected in 2021 to RIGHTrepresent Ward 1,Louis but afe Offi icat Yu. ce, tionist rats, in the ded Yannale with courthou All The Luther Norse the USDA. My job required smiles a scene from xi De La Garza and The the was hetta se, in Decorah. ing Flag cil, school board, and parks and recreation ter Abby the map redistricting, he fell into in Ward window for voting by the NMP children’s Rocksvo arks dur theeparade ld, Lorenzo firm Snø show (l-r): Louis Weber, mail is Oct. 18-23, and me to listen to farmers’ wants and then remthroughout flying Fernand The hitectur develop in person at the auditor’s is just around the corner! Wards in the city 5. photos BecausebyheRoz has Weis) two years remaininge,inCharlotte Yu and Campbell Tripp. a conservation plan that e opening tion al arc panies. office is Oct. 18-Nov. alongloca Water Street (Driftless Multimedia rna and met their needs and prol com Chair, gav ed interoute io. s 6. pat of Polling stee were redistricted just after the 2021 election, his term, Schissel will continue to serve on tected m locations own ped and conserve are established by ward n tea Drive during rd of Tru igned by ren and ctioCollege landscathe . and my life experien d the natural resources. I feel are as follows: eim Boa and the new ward map is depicted above. the council as Ward 5 representative. Ward des a constru surrounding a Comcelebration ces have given me many , Vesterh lity was the e homecoming weekend festiviIM, with Decorah of oppor- The faci ased BN • Ward 1: Winneshiek h Schultz rly an acr dworking during City Council will be seeking new ward rep- 2 has no candidate on the ballot, and no curtunities and hopefull land the the City Co. Courthouse Annex LEFT- Rut Decorah. MIDDLE ported by Iowa-b e levels and nea avianties woolast week. detail the 3 with this commun y much wisdom in dealing • Ward 2: Winneshiek resentatives for Wards 1 and 4 as well as fill- rent representative. Ward 3 representative sup thre chase from d in red ndin bmitted Co. Courthouse Annex ity.” downtown in Norway) and as marke trict plans to pur ary school. (su across the traditional Sca 4 • Ward 3: First Lutheran ing an At Large opening. Candidates for Kirsten Olson will serve two more years, as ts The are spreads Dis trated element (with roo Church, 604 W t facility is) School demons Broadway Street city council include Jody Meyer and Brent will Ross Hadley, the second At-Large repWARD 1: Brent Parker munity Roz We posed new -Martin square foo by pro 00a sum tos 7,6 Luther College President Jenifer K. for Fos edia pho

By DeniseonLana • Ward 4 and 5: Good Parker for Ward 1 representative, Steve Zit- resentative the council.

Darlene Decorah “One of my top priorities ss Multim Cline Shepherd RIGHTWard drove down Water Street with n iftle is accordin responsi Lutheran Joh (Dr g to) ble to Church, 701 Iowa Avenue Strand. City Manfiscal de. tergruen for Ward 4 representative, and EmThe 2023 Regular City and School Elecpho management. I believe r t of the have been expandin More insi Board of Regents member Willie in ensuring that our agerpolls area nea Travis Goedken will area wes Those with election The tax ily Neal for At Large. tion willDecorah be held Tuesday, Nov. 7, with another work events, informat g through City Council questions can call 563- dollars are spent wisely and that we Davismckennie (’84 alum) behind with ion booths, 382-5085 and School and and softball Strand and city staff maintain a Zittergruen, who was elected in 2021 to held openafrom 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Absentee voting Weis balanced budget. We special baseball speak to a represen meeting ito outreach opportun Monday,

By Roz live in a time when the wheel. tative from thing ities and oth- the Auditor’ the current north side of Cla everyrepresent Ward 5, now falls into Ward 4 due Oct by mail Wednesday, 18research throughState Revolving Fund er ways.

16, atbegins 5 p.m., is getting more expensiv s office. The online munity the to discuss Oct. the loan options for She shared how the County Winneshiek to e, and it is crucial orah Com Board fields on e. the project. to the map redistricting. Ward 4 representa- city’s Monday, Oct. 23. in the Auditor’s Office Wastewa maintain the financial lle ter Absentee The Dec committee planned to Treatmenvoting SD) t health of our city and Vanopen borne Driv John Hje Dyke presented a tentacontinue forms, polling locations page has voter maps, support the trict (DC Plant ber ed tive Steve Luse’s term is ending and he will Winneshiek County Auditor’s Offi ce, (WWTP Dis clos ). mem ool usservices a , and more visit winneSch and programs that our Board time frame for the project, connecting to the community in shiekcounty.iowa a good disc s met in y resinot be seeking re-election, but due to city 8 Steve a.m. to 4Van p.m.,Dyke, in the Courthouse,tive Decorah, dents rely on. .gov/departments/auditor/ 2024 by increasing its of Director ion early Monda project “We’ve had n going on elecpresence tion-information.

- said, rules, when two or more council members manager begins Oct. throughing Nov. 6. with design starting December at Luther Our infrastructure is with18engineer it has bee reviewing special sess . 2, to discuss pos firm the backbone of our College and working sion and August 2024, then bidafter com, Oct reside in the same ward, that ward automat- Strand WatchAssociat for candidate profiles in through the Public munity. I am dedicate k es, detailed for a new for 16 years … in tandem with the morning d to improving our ding the project in sites, I thin city’s Sus- Each city candida acquisition local ically has to go on the next election’s ballot. weaknes Opinion’s election guide. infrastructure, which September tainabili ses upcoming multiple in the 40-yearte was asked the thing sible land school. old and October ty Commission. includes roads, utilities multiple, same ly the best the To questions: 2024 and com- read ry Hence, Zittergruen is on the ballot for Ward WWTP, underlining that and public facilities. elementa rly an hour of dis- this is absolute for the This most full not report pletion ard only visit, www. enhances the of the project by end plants usually last 1. Based on your city 4 representative. quality of life for our of decorahia.org.

Members of the Luther College Black Alumni AssociaAfter nea ed session, board to do moving forw around 30 2026. No government knowled residents but also attracts ge businesses decisions were made, clos and the status of our Kirk Johnson, one of two current At Large years and stressing to the tion and Black Student Union made their way on the paand investments that and unancity currently, what are cussion in rict.” a school and the benefit our lomore information,counincluding voting project will be discusse your cal economy reconvened purchase dist top priorities for Decorah be just it was representatives, is completing his four-year cilFor beyond rade route. d Property sale . Small businesses are time over- further a members and why? , “it will “It won’t discussion the lifeblood locations, sample toballots and more, at future meetings. approved haul 2. How do you plan rsburg said term and is not seeking re-election. the city’s WWTP. properimously to involve Decorah resi- of our community. I will work to create The council held ven space,” Pete space.” scan this code to concity-owned a public dents in your decision a busiTau Delta Gamma sorority was represented Neal was elected in 2019 as Ward 2 rep Among ness-friendly environm g handwo at the his QR ns concerns were an ent John be a community -making process? avin hearing to receive commun plan for ent, support local entreDecDecorah Human Rights ,Parade. the curr conversatio ber/we fi nect to the Winneshiek of nue for aging ity said 3. t What Luther Homecoming but fell into Ward 1 after the map redistrictpreneurs aeration rg had Ave qualifi ool and promote initiative system that con- Commi cations do you possess oing ty wes input regarding the sale Rural Petersbu th Studio Brown s that stimulate entary Sch that diss are ong County ression report of city- tinguish you and would 26Roz linens on photos Weis) Melissa (Driftless ing. With her four-year term ending, Neal sists of partsAuditor’s le Multimedia sts’by no longerwebsite Cline Elem for a proposed new with city official owned property comprise contribute to the council economic growth. A thriving local economy and and tab Iowa Arti The council held its garding upcoming used elections.

00 d of a different point of view? proclothing is seeking reelection for city council, buthard vides jobs, enhances to replace, the NE regular property near old blowers, a semi-mo $1,975,0 school. the vibrancy of our commuing the the high school nthly meeting after ry flawed sludge heat orah dur 29-Oct. 1. nity and keeps our tax ol Peterselementa softball diamond and exchanger the special base strong. ber Brian enter Scho Sept. e8 r corner mem meeting WARD and of pag rd Tou antiquate adjourne 1: I to will Jody on Boa d control system. maintain an active online d. Claiborne and Meyer ion Melissa Koch, Heivly Streets. continued presence e the mot Strand also addresse “Some of the issues burg mad tract with the City d the idea the Decorah chairperson of The property is being I see facing the constitu- use social media and other digital platform and purchased ents of Decorah con of installing solar osed Human Rights by s to keep residents informed are growth of the city, into the power and Commis the prop Decorah Schools for and for engaged affordab .

These sion, le $1.9 housing, public safety a battery storagethe platBy Roz Weis orah-North Winneshiek interim After the merger of North reciprocity agreement was a 30 students each year. case, with an average of 30 presented the million forms will also allow of Decorah system and taxes. The city at the commission’s for online discussions and includes both prop- have will WWTP,agreeand a hard time growing school board (which was orga- Winneshiek, some parents opt- major talking point in the mergWhen the reciprocity students continuing to travel to annual report, erties which would allow if affordable housing feedback. I will listen to what you as the as well as all the utilities the emphasizing cannot be provided. citizen plantthen-Mament was approved, Decorah Community School nized during the merger talks ed for their children to attend er negotiations.

Minnesota for school at a cost the recent hate that run have to say and actively to store energy We also have to justify gathered through the propertie seek your opinion. I our listen to the from the arrays. of approximatelycrime will s. tax base in order to attract Board (DCSB) members were between Decorah and North Mabel-Canton, due to proximDCSD Superintendent Tim bel-Canton Superintendent $7,635andperthe community’s city employees as well. people/businesses to Working in in the aftermath. Koch our community. informed at the regular monthly Winn) approved a five-year ity to their homes, consistency Cronin informed board mem- Gary Kuphal stated The he believed student per year insupport state aid. municipal government, overall WWTP project City Council I have seen firsthand is expounded on If elected, I plan on local meeting Monday night that the reciprocity agreement with Ma- and community. The matter was bers Monday night that in 2018, the number of estimate studentsd who The million, financial impact of the how the conto cost $4.9 having an open dialog nections with all my constitue five-year reciprocity agreement bel-Canton School District, al- discussed at length in 2018. it was expected that 14-15 stu- wanted to attend Mabel-Can- reciprocity agreement was with then the community Candidates respond continued on page nts through face-to-f 7 contact, phone with the Mabel-Canton School lowing North Winneshiek area The interim board at that time dents would attend Mabel-Can- ton would decline. He believed discussed. Cronin said that with conversations and email. ace I will District is scheduled to expire students to attend Mabel-Can- was made up of representatives ton and utilize the reciprocity there would be a “natural School board continued on page 5 crete and soon. ton, about two miles from the from both Decorah and North plan. Instead, that number has break” from the move to Matrail be con crete.

In fall 2018, the Dec- Iowa border in Minnesota.

Winn Boards. The inter-state grown and has averaged about bel-Canton. ThatBy has not been part of the continued on page 5 alt or con Zach Jensen asph as ks Con in, as far as an engineer a the rest ies, Wic ise Lan . We where the

By Den ee compan Companies, and cattle crossings need to get this on Middle Calmar Road interim county engineer the dock- are,” but ting Thr Shift may et for sometim ’s of- to handle the without a county onthly mee n, submitstruction, i-m ctio be e getting in sem fi the county’s ncil ce stru future, engineer in worse, but without a and HR is- accept and of At its City Cou g Skyline Con because this has gone place, her only conversa “keep having those sues, as well as file WinnMed’s anlowest bid county engineer, that Decorah the possibility nual on and other option, tions.” , with the regardin trend may on and Sky Monday, audited financial report. the superviof perhaps hiring a on, and I think you The St. Benedict eighth grade family (Rachel Weis, Carissa lic hearing the city’s ted bids 1.50 coming from likely only continue.

“I will. That’s why I’m new HR all sors suggested, award held a pub for • Discussions on the here,” professional can attest to that. I’ve is to continue Schluter $113,11 class will present the musical Peel, Carlton Nordschow, Luvoted to and bids Resident Karen Schluter lease as a county embeen out talking with said.

Recreation line. The council line. the plans of the old jail by the ad- there 20 years, officials, includployee.

“The Enchantment of Beauty cas Weigle and their dog, Ray .

Historical ler Park dressed the Winnesh and last I knew, ing to Sky iek Coun- it was on reaching out to Iowa 2023 Mil rovement Project Society, Freeport property contract • A public hearing and the Beast” (Pioneer Dra- Hayek) one last time. Beauty a five-year plan, and State Other busines ty Board of Supervis the the /IRP was request and hiring Senator Mike Klimesh ors with I’ve been s Trail Imp is historically scheduled for the vacation . ma Productions). Performances (Gracie Tangen), the widow’s waiting for that fivea county enher ongoing complain the • Supervisor Kelsay ues the of gineer were tabled.

“One thing you can do ts on the year plan.

Miller Park Decorah, and reported Happy Hollow eted Stu Street iss installation at will be held Wednesday, Oct. youngest daughter, goes in her I want action.” is talk that he and in condition of the road Road on Nov. 6 Fenn gre to our state senator, improving Supervisor Ver- at during the first park The supervisors’ new Stop sign Broadway Street “Our hands have been h and Dan farm north of Dec ses on 10:30 a.m. and see mace met 18, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., at Car- place to spare her mother’s ora supervis the focu sound of ors’ Deb Oct. ect tied ugh ir artwith County Attor16 meeting. what he can do to proj thro TOPsystem will be installed for years,” replied Supervis intersection ago Street was disn glass sts at the help out,” ney Andy • The supervisors rie Lee School auditorium in life. With the help of the casthat runs “As you know, I’m the s e Grass at nal blow her ors neb Tour gue unaniVan n Pin Supervis Blu the trail ctio Der the e Win dio sed week to ctio Maten girl or fun ts Steve of Vice-Chair Mark Vick, to mously approved Oct. 23. The superviand Kelsay said. discuss Marlen and Decorah. showca tle’s occupants (Aiden Whalen, that complains about connec ent constru d of a motion to sors “and “Talk to Mike.” the county’s human park and the Mid- the money Scheffert th of Decorah.

Avenue. orah. Fun featured. ABOVE- enjoying the will meet for its regular re- offer county positions cussed. Rec consiste thisnor adapted classicthe fable, Maggie Gavle, Molly KeuhPleasant is going to be tough n dle Calmar Road, - Jeanine In ge sources (HR) issues; e would the intersection to Car- meeting at and I will to come Drive and “I think more people work was Foster have bee years. MIDDLE ers Excahan the bulk ston Baumler swalks to during Cop- ner, Anders Wicklund, Dawson 9:30 a.m. Monday, es (Bennett by.” ments mad selfish piec prince eneed of which are probably continue until 20 ly and Garrett Wise. d Sav out the cros e visible Improve currently handled to,” added Supervis and Hol r for more than someof old pav Oct. 23, and the annex wn pottery bumping Schluter asked the mor elry at See ors Chair by the • A public hearing was removal thing is done,” Schluter building board if Dan Langrec swheel-thro is)pola) refuses to provide rest and Irons, Dominic Christopher and aper jew with as- make pedestrians county attorney’s ofdio Tou sched- will be closed cros include his g g/p Stu said. of “I the acin akin k. there was any way they could repl uled for the Baumler the remainder of ing off one know the situation that /printm Roz We shelter for a disguised wizard Brock Bullerman), Beauty is fice. During the rezoning the week excavation as well as mak ment and Supervisor Shirley painting e shows edia photos by you’re help repair as the approximateVermace group discusse meeting, the request for Oct. 30 at 10 concrete, (Jay Jensen). He curses him for able to help the Beast learn how ir/ the “bad spots, Doug Col a.m. phalt or suggested Schluter contact walk repa d the possibility RIGHT- r. (Driftless Multim ly-$35,000 sound • The supervisors his selfish ways. The prince is to love and show compassion. cil system is ading, side er culverts, the of paying an unani- installed. and regr outside vendor mously Studio Tou ty Coun 6 then destined to be a “beast” The team behind the perfor, storm sew came forth Ci approved a motion repaving on page to (Bennett Coppola - Act I/Jalen mances includes: director/proing. No one ineer Jerecontinued and seed Eng City rst Klees Act II) until he learns ducer Paula Jewell; co-director fi k. ed the to spea recommend compassion and love for others. Indigo Fish; music director Sarah my Bril Years later, a poor widow (Eden Kowitz; art director Sherri HolNorthup) takes the beast’s for- land; dance director Jess Tangen; bidden rose. Though the beast videographer Judy Franzen; and Front row (l-r): Jay Jensen, Carissa Peel, Rachel Weis, Anders Wicklund-subbing in for Aiden Whalen, Bennett Coppola, sentences her to death, he al- tech crew Andy Carlon, Ari Al- Gracelynn Tangen, Maggie Gavle and Molly Kuehner. Back row: Dominic Christopher, Dawson Irons, Eden Northup, Brock Bullerman, Jalen Klees, Carlton Nordschow and Lucas Weigle. Not pictured: Ray Hayek and Aiden Whalen.(submitted photo) lows her to go back and see her bert and Becca Kane.

Norse pride on display

Council discusses age d Wastewater Treatment Plant, lan d sale and more

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