Personal Iowa Experiences

Iowa, Cedar Falls, Lawther Hall (Augie and Others)

Update: Personal Experience - I attended UNI & lived in the Lawther Hall "Penthouse" in 1994-95 and have witnessed many strange events while there. Enough to believe in no-uncertain terms that there is something to the haunting stories.

I'm also fairly certain that there is more than one force in this location.

The spirit referred to as Augie has always been described as a playful prankster. One experience in particular occured in the middle of the afternoon.

The "Penthouse" was made up of nine or so dorm rooms on the top floor (excluding the apartments & attic above). One morning it was announced that the power would be shut off to the hall to do some electrical work. We as a group decided that this was the perfect opportunity to skip our early afternoon classes. The plan was: Go to lunch, come back in time for "Days of Our Lives", & then start drinking when the lights go out.

The plan went as scheduled. We made it back to our rooms at 12:15, just fifteen minutes before Days was to start. We'd decided on one room to congregate, grabbed up any alcohol/beer we had available, locked up our rooms & went to the meeting place. The lights cut off right on time as well, however they didn't stay off as long as we'd hoped; half an hour is all. Not a lot of drinking could be done in that time and so we all disbursed back to our individual rooms, rather slowly.

Two minutes later, fifteen+ girls were running from room to room to feel for ourselves what "Augie" had done. In nearly half of the dorm rooms, the radiators had been turned to full heat, making the small rooms a virtual sauna.

The Apartment: Augie wasn't the only story told 'round the "Penthouse". There is a story about a resident & her roommate that lived in the apartment, situated upstairs, just outside of what we affectionately referred to as Augie's Attic. Story goes that in the 1970's these two girls were roomed up in the apartment (wasn't any bigger that a regular dormroom). During Semester finals, one roommate lost control & followed her friend downstairs into the "Penthouse" bathroom, killed her, drug her down the hallway, up the stairs & back into the apartment, where she then hung herself. It's also said that there have since been several attempts to open the empty apartment door which no success. It was even rumored that not even the local locksmiths could get the door open without taking the door off it's hinges. I do know that I remember seeing the door open in 1995 right before the "Augie's Attic Haunted House".

Other things that I've witnessed: footsteps down the hall, footsteps on the stairs leading up to the apartment, dark shadows in the hallway mirror, dark form moving down the hallway, cold spots & breezes when no windows were open, whispers & whistling, hotspots in the walls, the feeling of being pushed or pulled. Not all of these events were the playful pranks that we attributed to "Augie". The dark shadows & footsteps always had a more sinister feel to them. There were occasions of definate uneasiness. Whether "Augie" exists as told in the stories or whether he was something else entirely, I, as well as almost everyone who's lived in the penthouse believed he was real. He may have been a prankster, but he was our prankster & our group looked on him as our protector. He may not have been alone, but he WAS there first & the attic, apartment & Penthouse were his.


Update: Personal Experience - I used to work 3rd shift there, when it was easiest to detect Jeremiah, the ghost. Although I can only say that I've experienced him once. At the time of the event, I didn't even know there was a ghost in the store. It was a very quiet night. I was up front stocking the shelves around the cashiers when I heard the quiet chime of bells. Just up the row there was a center aisle display of small wind chimes and they were ringing softly. I glanced around & didn't see anyone, not associate or customer. At first I dismissed it as the air conditioning had caused them to ring, although I quickly remined myself that the store's AC shuts off at night. I started down the aisle to investigate further and got within a few feet of the display when all of the chimes rang out loudly as if someone had just swiped an arm through the whole of them. I stopped where I was, turned and went immediately to one of the cashiers who had been working there for sometime.

I asked her if she believed in ghosts and she immediately, without even blinking replied, "Oh, you mean Jeremiah?" Well curiousity getting the better of me, I began interogating all the long-term associates. It seems that anyone that's put in any significant time in the store has had an experience in some shape or form.

I wish I could share their stories, but I wouldn't do them justice.



Anna Weise was a young girl growing up in the early 1890s. She lived in Vienna township and worked a family that lived down the road from her, taking care of the children & down housework. It's unsure how the whole thing came about, but the wife got it in her head that her husband and Anna were having an affair. One day it all came to a head. She accused the girl of adultery & sent her home. Anna began walking home, but never made it there. She was later found dead, her throat cut from ear to ear, right to left.

Anna is buried in the Vienna Cemetary just outside of Beaman, IA. She has a tall, spire of a headstone that reads "Vengence is Mine, Saith the Lord". It was believed that at night Anna would reappear and search for her murderer and that on the 100th anniversary, Anna would reveal her murderer.

Vienna Cemetary is a hub of activity around Holloween & the anniversary of Anna's death. Many a high school/college kid has gone there looking for evidence and a good scare. It can be noted that in the late 1980s a group of teens went out there with an old video camera and captured what was believed to be an apparition. While there they also experienced electronic difficulties, dogs howling from every direction, and they were said to have recorded her headstone moving from one location to another. Over the years many people have experienced car failure within the cemetary, eerie lights coming from within the graveyard and always dogs howling.

In the early 1990s the 100 year anniversary of Anna's death approached and with it a kind of hushed excitement that was shared privately among people who believed in the stories. A private saince was performed at the location of Anna's death while in the cemetary a group of high school & college kids gathered to await Anna's return. I was one of those kids. It was the first time in all the years of visiting the cemetary that I did not experience a single event. We waited until after 2am, sitting quietly around her grave. When we'd finally given up, we all stood & said our goodbyes to Anna. I reached into my pocket and took out the only thing I had with me, knelt down beside her headstone and said something sappy like, "Anna this is all I have, but I want to thank you for all the years of enjoyment that you have provided us." I laid my favorite lighter in the center of the stone base, a quarter to each side of the spire, then a dime to the outside of that, and then a nickel and then a penny, except that I only had one penny so I had to borrow one from a friend. No sooner had someone in our group wished Anna peace then the place erupted in howling dogs, something which had been lacking the entire night. We quickly got in our cars and left.

theresa.mcmanus.itq7@statefarm.com