The art of storytelling might be dead. Still, in the city of Chicago, the art of telling stories about the dead seems to be quite alive. In the basement of a nightclub called Excalibur, spooky tales are the substance of the show titled Supernatural Chicago. The show began on Friday the 13th, 2003. Since then, it has run each Friday evening, year-round, with additional shows leading up to Halloween. On one typical night, the audience gathered in the uncertainty of a candlelit basement and took their seats as an unsure, unacquainted group. Silently, a man descended the winding stairs, his face…

Branson, Missouri Fun house music plays, a water faucet floats in mid air and robots made of car parts compose a world of wonder at the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum in Branson, Missouri. Robert Leroy Ripley’s fabulous collection of oddities and artifacts from all over the world greets visitors who come to this out-of-the-ordinary museum. Ripley began traveling at age 24, and one short trip turned into a lifelong passion of learning about other cultures. Ripley returned home from each trip with new artifacts for his massive collection. At age 28, Ripley wrote his first collection of fac…

Council Bluffs, Iowa From the outside, the museum looks like an average brick building. There is only one peculiarity — bars over the windows. Built during the 19th century in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the Squirrel Cage Jail housed local criminals in addition to the jailer’s family. Today, the jail is preserved as a museum.   HISTORY AND EXPLANATION OF THE JAIL In 1884, Cottonwood Jail burned down and the county was forced to house prisoners in a single room in the courthouse basement. The “Squirrel Cage,” as locals know it, is a rotary or “lazy-Susan” style jailhouse, built in 1885. The rot…

In December of 1803, Meriwether Lewis set up camp on the River Dubois in Illinois with many of the men who would later make up the Corps of Discovery. During their stay at Camp River Dubois, the Corps trained to survive the conditions of the wilderness, hired more men for the journey and gathered supplies. Without the months of preparation at the camp, their campaign would not have been a success. The men’s stories during their time at River Dubois are preserved through the care of the volunteers and manager at Camp River Dubois Lewis and Clark Museum. Museum Manager Brad Winn works to prese…

Downtown St. Louis is monotonous. Grids of office buildings circle other office buildings. A handful of stadiums and high-class hotels inhabit the blocks unoccupied by businesses. The city is gray, except for two green blocks, appropriately named Citygarden. The garden sits on what used to be two lots of vacant land between Eighth and Tenth and Market and Chestnut Streets. Twenty-four sculptures from world-renowned artists, including Donald Baechler, Niki de Saint Phalle and George Rickey, are scattered throughout the park and surrounded by plants native to Missouri. The northeast corner of …

Urbandale, Iowa The smells of sweet homemade apple pie, harsh print shop ink and woodsy, smoky campfires greet guests as they take a walking tour through Iowa’s history. Living History Farms is a 500-acre outdoor museum in Urbandale, Iowa. Visitors progress through four time periods in Iowa’s history, including a 1700 Ioway Indian tribe site, an 1850 pioneer farm, a 1900 farm and an 1875 town. Former Iowa State University professor William Murray created the living museum in 1970 after two unsuccessful runs for Iowa governor. Jennie Derr, marketing and public relations director, said Murray…