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Heavily Investigated

The Mason House Inn sits on the Des Moines River like it has been quietly collecting the dead since 1846 — and locals say it has. More than 300 spirits are rumored to move through its rooms, and guests swear the inn notices when you arrive. In Room 5, something small tugs at your clothing in the dark; in Room 7, a man named Knapp — murdered here — reportedly hasn't left. Mary Mason Clark is said to pace the third floor still, opinionated about the wallpaper. Stand in a hallway past midnight and the building breathes back.

Built in 1846 by Mormon craftsmen passing through from Nauvoo, Illinois — pausing long enough to raise one of the finest brick hotels on the Des Moines River before continuing west to Salt Lake City. Originally the Ashland House, it was purchased in 1857 by Lewis Mason, whose name stuck whether he liked it or not. It served steamboat travelers, Civil War soldiers as a field hospital, and briefly as an Underground Railroad stop. Three former owners died on the premises. The Today Show called it one of America's most haunted lodgings in 2006. The record is impeccable; the guests, not always.