Granger House
One family resided in this stately Iowa home for a century. Could their spirits remain inside?
Ghost Stories of
Granger House
- An apparition has been seen in the carriage house
- Sounds of piano music have been heard
- Objects left in certain rooms have been moved to other rooms by unseen forces
- A ‘Lady in White’ is sometimes spotted staring out through the home’s windows
- Ghostly singing has been heard
- Shadow figures are often spotted around the house
- Cold spots and sudden temperature drops have been noted around the house
- Potential EVPs have been recorded by past investigators
- Eerie vibes have been reported in certain rooms
Familial History of Granger House
In the town of Marion, Iowa, just outside of Cedar Rapids, the population has exploded nearly 60% since 2000, and new development is common around the city.
But the community still does well to keep close to its history. Visitors and new transplants to the city can learn all about Marion’s history at places like the Marion Heritage Center or The Granger House Victorian Museum.
The Granger House was home to generations of one local family, and, today, it is a preserved historical relic showing visitors what life in Marion’s past was like.
Though the Granger family has since left their stately brick home behind, their spirits may still linger through the rooms and occasionally appear to visitors.
Timeline of Granger House's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Granger House through the years
1837
The town of Marion was founded in 1837. Despite being the county seat of newly formed Linn County, the town grew up slowly in its first few years. When Charles Myers first built the red brick home that would one day become synonymous with the Granger family, it was a far cry from the home it is today.
Myers completed the house in 1848 as a simple two-room house with just a single room on each floor. While the space was enough to work with for a small 1800s family, by the time the Grangers moved in, they needed something more.
1876
Earl Granger, a cattle rancher in the area, bought the small home in Marion in 1876 to start a family with his wife, Dora. Dora kept the house in order, and soon gained a name around town as a generous giver, as she often fed and supported transients passing through town.
To support what they hoped would be a large family, Earl made several expansions to Granger House. He added the carriage house in 1879, and soon after built a large expansion to the once two-room home.
1879
While Earl and Dora Granger expanded their house, they also made many attempts to expand their family, but most of their children would meet tragic ends. Two of their young children died just a few days apart from each other in 1879, part of a devastating diphtheria outbreak in the region.
Some years later, another child, Louise, died from complications of a measles infection. While the couple had some children who survived to adulthood, the losses of their young children cast a pall over the family and their home for years.
1908
Earl died in 1908, and Dora kept the house up with the help of her sons, Arthur and Albert, until her death in 1937. After that, Arthur moved into the family house, while Albert lived just a short ways away. The two surviving sons lived quiet lives after that, with Albert passing away in 1969, and Arthur just a few years later in 1973.
By then, nearly a hundred years of Granger family life had taken place in the old brick house. And though the Granger’s time in the house was done, the home itself had a bright future ahead of it.
1976
The historic house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Sometime after that, new ownership redeveloped Granger House into an immersive history museum. Today, visitors can explore exhibits detailing the Granger family’s long history in the house, as well as learn about middle class life in late 1800s Iowa.
And if you’re lucky, you might encounter one of the Granger family members in the house during your tour! Purportedly, several Grangers may still call the house their afterlife home.
Is Granger House Haunted?
Claims of hauntings and eerie encounters have swirled around Granger House for almost as long as it has been open to the public. Shadow figures and apparitions are some of the more common paranormal reports around Granger House.
These figures can be seen at times all through the home, drifting from room-to-room, going about their business like any other day.
While most of these figures are simply shapes, and not identifiable, there is one misty figure in the home that has established its own identity.
The House’s Lady in White
The ‘Lady in White’ at Granger House is well-known for appearing in Granger House’s windows, peering out at passersby and museum visitors. But, of course, whenever anyone goes inside to investigate, the figure in the window has mysteriously vanished.
The house itself isn’t the only place you might spot ghostly apparitions either. In the nearby carriage house, a dark, full-bodied apparition has been spotted lingering there.
Ghostly Voices at Granger
Odd sounds and spooky voices are also regular reports around Granger House today. Disembodied voices and whispers are often heard, and sometimes even recorded by visiting paranormal investigators.
Recorded EVPs are now some of the most commonly collected pieces of supposed evidence of ghostly activity in the house.
Additionally, notes of piano music may be heard wafting through the still air of Granger House at night.
Sometimes, you might be able to hear a young girl’s voice singing to go along with the spectral piano tunes.
Ghosts Redecorate the House
Small objects around Granger House are known to have minds of their own. Or rather, they’re moved by unseen beings with minds of their own. Objects and historic artifacts placed in one room will sometimes be found shifted around the room, or at other times moved to a completely different room.
Might this be the work of the Granger family, constantly rearranging and decorating the house’s exhibits the way they like it, or the way they once remembered it?
Odd Feelings & Eerie Vibes
Unexplained feelings and sensations of being watched are also sometimes reported, often by visiting ghost hunters.
While there’s not much accounting for odd feelings, reports pinpoint the house’s basement, as well as the second-floor children’s room, as hotspots for these eerie and off-putting feelings. Along with that, sudden temperature drops and unexplainable cold spots have also been found throughout the house.
A Family of Phantoms at Granger House
The Granger House today remains a well-preserved museum in Marion. Ownership is well-aware of their ghost stories and the growing lore around the property.
Along with being open for museum tours, Granger House also opens up to private ghost hunts. It’s just as easy as reaching out to them through their website!
So, if a daytime tour isn’t enough to satiate your spooky appetite, you can spend a night exploring the haunted claims and history of Granger House for yourself.
After almost a century of calling the old brick house home, it’s hard to blame the Granger family phantoms for sticking close by. There are a lot of things that can make a house into a home. And at Granger House, home is where the haunting is.
