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The HAUNTED(?) Squirrel Cage Jail Historical Society tour guides routinely tell visitors nobody has called the Squirrel Cage Jail home since 1969. Some folks may disagree with that wording: "no BODY" may call it home, but as for spirits, that's a different matter.
The spirit may actually date back to the jail's origin. A former jail tour guide claimed she believed the ghost to be that of J.M. Carter, the man who oversaw the building's construction. Mr. Carter was the first resident of the top floor apartment and, according to her theory, has never left, continuing to watch over the one-of-a-kind building to this day. There have also been reports of a full body apparition on the fourth floor identified as Otto Gufath, also a former jailer. Museum staff add whatever spirit is present, it is friendly; despite an occasional door that opens by itself, strange lights, or peculiar noises, no one has ever felt frightened or in any danger. There has been some evidence of a female spirit as well. A few years ago a woman working on a project in the building after hours had been experiencing peculiar sensations. She walked through the building and was shocked to see a little girl with a very mournful expression dressed entirely in gray... inside a cell whose bars were locked with no way in or out. Occasionally, visitors have reported feeling that something was tugging at them, reported a great feeling of sadness in some of the cells, or simply felt that there was a presence there beyond those visible. The feelings or being watched of followed have been most frequently noted on the third and fourth floors. In most literature ghosts are
associated with grizzly or at least multiple deaths. In its 123 years only four
deaths are If the deaths aren’t enough to justify a haunting, some point to the fact that the building is on the site of the old St. Paul's Episcopal Church morgue. Additionally, though actual prisoner deaths were few, the cold, damp, dark, tiny pie-shaped cells were likely a very depressing place to spend time. That in itself may be worthy of a ghost or two. But all of this is speculation. Is there any science to support any paranormal activity within our Jail? Several modern investigative teams are trying to do just that. In the summer of 2005, the Paranormal Research and Investigative Studies Midwest (PRISM) group brought sophisticated test gear and cameras to the Jail and spent the night. They captured on film a cabinet door opening by itself three times. Several electromagnetic spikes were recorded on special meters and infrared thermometers noted abnormal temperature fluctuations. More importantly, the team was able to correlate these readings with orbs (tiny balls of light) recorded on video.
There remain skeptics. Following the PRISM session, two Historical Society museum guides decided to spend all night in the Squirrel Cage themselves. The night proved a disappointment -- they neither heard nor saw anything out of the ordinary. Professional investigators explain this discrepancy by noting many indicators of potential paranormal activity are subtle and could easily escape the attention of someone not trained to notice them. Also, some people are more sensitive to paranormal activity than others. These are the folk most likely to pick up on unusual feelings or see things like full body apparitions. So, it may be the two teenage male HSPC guides who spent the night simply weren't tuned in enough to have any memorable encounters. The Jail isn't the only building in Council Bluffs that is a potential haunt for ghosts. Librarians have reported a strange
light near the top of the second floor stairway of the old Council Bluffs
Library. Stories of ghosts have also circulated about the General Dodge House, Bersheim House, and the old City Hall which has since been demolished. If you would like to learn more about the paranormal investigations that have taken place at the Historic Pottawattamie County Squirrel Cage Jail, you can visit the web sites of those groups: Paranormal Research and Investigative Studies
Midwest (PRISM) Carroll Area Paranormal Team (CAPT) ORBS - Omaha Research Beyond the Supernatural www.OrbsOmaha.com Paranormal Workshop South Central Iowa Paranormal
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The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, Iowa was founded in 1934 and is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to kindling and keeping alive an active interest in state and local history. Contributions and inquiries should be directed to the Society at P.O. Box 2, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51502-0002. For additional information, phone 712-323-2509 or e-mail us here. This site is optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer, and not all features may work with certain other browsers. Please let us know about site issues you encounter. Copyright ©
The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, Iowa
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The
feelings of goings on at the jail that are other than mortal dates back to well
before the 123-year-old structure's use as a museum. Bill Foster, who worked as
the jailer in 1950's, opted not to use the fourth floor as his apartment,
"because of the strange goings-on up there." He reported hearing people walking
around on a floor that had nobody on it, a sensation sufficiently concerning to
motivate him to bunk on the second level prisoner floor instead. 
known to have occurred in the Squirrel Cage Jail. One prisoner died of a heart
attack, one in a three-story fall when trying to carve his name on the ceiling,
and one prisoner hanged himself in his cell. The fourth death followed an
accident in which an officer shot himself in the confusion of fortifying the
facility from an angry mob threatening to storm the jail during the Farmer's
Holiday Strike of 1932. 
In
2008, the Carroll Area Paranormal Team (CAPT) investigated the jail, conducting
EVP and video tests. The group members, all specialists with trained eyes toward
signs of potential paranormal activity, noted unexplained light upon occasion in
the infirmary and unusual sounds. Their investigation was preliminary but they
felt there was sufficient evidence to suggest the jail is haunted and they plan
a followup visit. 
Patrons had also occasionally reported feeling cold spots in the catalogue room.
Interestingly there have been no such reports since the building became the
Union Pacific Museum, nor any at the new Council Bluffs Library.