The Highwayman
Iowa has a colonial past that dates back all the way to the original colonies. There is one famous ghostly legend that is related to Iowa’s colonial history. The story has been told for many years, and consists of a ghostly man looking for someone or something on the road of Interstate 80 in Mitchellville, which is just a few miles northeast of Des Moines. No one knows for sure what this Colonial ghost is looking for.
Sightings of this ghost happen quite often and are usually in the section of the highway between Mitchellville and Des Moines. The ghost of a man dressed in Colonial apparel is seen walking along the road searching for something. However, this ghost is only seen for a short amount of time before vanishing.
One woman told the story of how she was driving back from a basketball game at around 10:30 at night and saw a man dressed in Colonial garb. She flashed her lights at him to get a better look and when she did this he disappeared.
(Source: Belanger, Jeff. Encyclopedia of Haunted Places. 2005.)
