The 1912 House/ Clear Lake Iowa

by Leslie
(Mason City, Iowa 50401)

Although this house is now a residence, in 1987 -1988 it was a fine gourmet dining establishment; I was hired at The "12" House and worked as a server there for about 1 year. During my training interview something had bumped my chair; I turned to see who but saw no one and turned back to continue with the girl who was training me; again, I was shoved, harder. I turned as before and turned back as again no one was there. This time I asked, "did you see that?" my trainer stated very calmly, "Yes, we have a ghost in the House".

During my employ at The "12 House", my associates and I shared our ghost stories and many other happenings were experienced. There is a small bedroom upstairs just off the servant stairway, that was a private dining room at that time; I remember entering this room late one night, to clear my table, after my party had left. In an instant, after walking into this area, I knew I was not alone and had been followed there by our ghost. The air in the room suddenly turned frigid, enough so that my breath was easily visible. Our busboy entered at that moment, I said to him, "Now do you believe me?"... "I told you she likes me".

Upon seeing my words coming out of my mouth in white wisps, I and feeling too the severe drop in temperature within, the busboy turned and ran down the service stairs, leaving me far behind to fend for myself! I too raced down the stairway, the bus boy was excitedly reporting this experience to the other servers in the kitchen area, which connects to the upstairs room via this stairwell.

The house was built, as indicated by the name, in 1912.

Mr. Larson was a cattle man and very wealthy, his wife Blanch used to bake cookies, the neighborhood thought well of them both. Blanch was known as having been such a nice lady. Always sharing what she baked with the children in her neighborhood.

One evening the same girl who had trained me and I went out to eat at The 12 House, after we had both previously left our employ there. While we were in the powder room, just off the main dining area, I was in the restroom area and Teri was at the sink. Suddenly there was a POP! Every light bulb in the room blew out! We screamed as we were now, in total darkness. We found each other, then the door knob, and raced out of the darkness; expecting to find all the lights out in the rest of the house, as well. To our surprise, everything was just as it had been in the dining room.

A gentleman sat at the table, adjacent from us, and asked what had happened? He then explained that he had been the responding officer on the call at The 12 House in the 1960's. He told us the story of the nice lady who baked cookies and of the twist that followed.

Blanch Larson suffered from Alzheimer's and as the disease took her mind she became jealous of her husband, to the point that he was driven to bludgeon her one evening with a baseball bat in the powder room bashing her head in his rage on top of the sink. The retired police officer stated that Mrs. Larson was beaten so badly she was unrecognizable.

There are many other incidences of poltergeist activity inside the walls of The 1912 House, moreover, I do not know how the current people who reside there can do so. I felt Blanch's evilness; I am receptive to spirits, I always have been. This is mean spirited, she loves her home and does not care for company. I do not assume she has any intention of leaving 4th Street.

Interestingly, after I learned the entire story of this haunting, I researched the Clear Lake newspapers and archives for anything on the murder; there is nothing. I found no charges or reports. I know the officer's account happened just as he said as Blanch made herself known to me from the first day til the last...

...but then money, power and prestige are negotiable.