The haunted Farrar Schoolhouse is located in the small unincorporated community of Farrar, Iowa—just northeast of Des Moines. From the time it opened in 1922 until a district merger in 1958, Farrar served every public school student in its small corner of the world. Kindergartners through high school seniors furthered their education together within the walls of this brick mansion of academia.
The Farrar Schoolhouse continued as an elementary school from 1958 until it closed in 2001. These days, however, the only occupants are the spirits of the past—and the ghost hunters who search for them.
Thought to be one of the most haunted schools in America, the Farrar Schoolhouse draws paranormal investigators from around the world. In 2024, paranormal YouTubers Sam and Colby purchased Farrar, and the school has since hosted tours and private investigations.
After hearing claims about the hauntings at Farrar, we interviewed the building’s manager, Ivy Reddinger, to learn the truth behind the rumors. The following is what Reddinger had to say about Farrar’s alleged paranormal activity and the spirits that may reside within the former schoolhouse.
Interview with Ivy Reddinger, manager of the Haunted Farrar Schoolhouse
Are you from Iowa or did you move here?
I moved here. I’ve lived all over—California, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina for a blank of time— and this is just my new chapter in life, here in Iowa.
Did anything in particular draw you to the Farrar Schoolhouse?
That’s actually what brought me to Iowa. The opportunity to run the school is why I moved.
Do you do investigations yourself?
Yeah, I’ve done investigations for probably about five years now, and I’ve been doing them professionally with people for about two years.
Is there anything you can tell me about Farrar Schoolhouse’s history?
I know the construction started in 1919, and the community brought all of the single-room schoolhouses onto the property so that they could get all of the students going to one space for school—while the school was being constructed. And then, they removed those and put in a playground and stuff like that for the students. Which I thought was really interesting.
They spent a lot of money on this school—it’s really cool. It’s absolutely fascinating to me.
How did you get into paranormal investigation?
I actually started more on the spiritual side. I studied different faiths and religions and spiritualities—like Hinduism, Wicca, Buddhism, different pagan beliefs and faith— and found that there was a huge paranormal knowledge base that they had. And I wanted to learn more about that, and I learned a lot from Michael Eder, who started a company in Savannah, Georgia. That’s actually how I got into doing it professionally was working with him. Now, I can’t get enough.
Have you personally experienced anything at the Farrar Schoolhouse?
I guess the most jarring experience was hearing footsteps. Like, if you’re in the paranormal community, you know what footsteps sound like. And, the difference between an actual person walking up to you and what sounds like it could be a footstep—there’s a difference.
I swear to you, I picked up my equipment in the room that I was in—we were in the boiler room—and I turned towards my coworker who was coming in from the gym, and there was nobody there. I heard her voice. I heard her footsteps. I know what she sounds like—I’ve been working with her for ages now—and it wasn’t her. There was no one there.
Are experiences like those regular occurrences at Farrar Schoolhouse?
I wouldn’t say ‘regular.’ Probably about once or twice a month, I hear a guest telling me a story like that or we’ll catch something on camera. Like one of our other investigators, Anna, had an experience where something actually ran up towards her—something ran up on her while she was picking up equipment in the auditorium. And you can hear the footsteps and the audio on the footage that we caught.
What are some of the craziest things that your guests or staff have experienced at the Farrar Schoolhouse?
Probably shadow figures—hold that thought. [A short pause while Ivy coaxes her dog to go lie down.] She’s my shadow. I love her. Anyway…
There are shadow figures that we see a lot of. Hearing footsteps is another one. Or hearing what sounds like somebody around the corner shuffling sometimes or what sounds like someone trying to open a door. That happens on the third floor sometimes. I’d say shadow figures is our most popular—or most common, I should say.
I heard you mention the third floor. Would you consider that the more haunted area of Farrar School?
In my experience, yes. Now, I can’t speak for everybody. I haven’t been doing investigations here as long as some other investigators have. But from what I personally have experienced, the third floor is the most haunted in the building.
This one is a fun one… Have any of the guests at Farrar Schoolhouse ever chickened out on tours or during investigations?
We usually can get them to calm down and come back to an investigation, but there have been a handful of instances where people will almost have a panic attack in certain spaces. And we take them downstairs to the sitting room or what’s known as the ‘safe room,’ calm down and convince them: ‘You’re doing this for a reason. We’re in this paranormal experience to have these kinds of experiences.” We usually can get them to come back. I’d say probably about five or six times somebody has requested to leave.
I think that’s a sign of a good paranormal experience though, ya know?
I think so. Honestly, it can be freaky, and understanding how anxiety is—I was going to say a bad word…
Which is fine.
Yes, anxiety is a bitch—100 percent. And, knowing that and going into a situation that you know is going to put you on edge—I get it. Some people kind of psych themselves out or they’ll experience something. One woman fainted, and we took her outside, and she caught her breath and decided that she still wanted to come back in and continue investigating. Which I think is amazing.
Doing it for a living or regularly, I know what to expect. But having the—honestly—the courage to put yourself in a situation that you know is going to scare you and then still willingly continue that experience—that’s pretty courageous. Some of these guests are really cool.
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On to the paranormal investigations themselves… What tools, devices, and methods have produced the best results at Farrar Schoolhouse?
That is a great question. Nobody’s asked me that question. I get a lot of “what do we use,” but not necessarily what produces the best results.
We have a lot of interaction with motion detectors. So, like, the Rem Pod, EMF detectors—we’ve got what we call a “flux,” which is like a triangle that has a motion sensor on each side. It was originally developed as a yes or no response kind of tool. It uses motion to react. Those are probably—no, I wouldn’t even say “probably.” Those tools produce the most results as far as paranormal activity is concerned.
Have you guys captured any good EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) around the place?
I captured one. That’s one of my favorite forms of investigating too—using a voice recorder. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little disappointed personally that I’ve only captured one. A guest has also captured an EVP in the gym. So, it is known to happen—it’s just not as common.
You said your EMF goes off a lot—is that something you guys have tested for? Not in a paranormal way, but have you tested for sources that might be causing that in Farrar Schoolhouse?
Yeah, absolutely. There are some rooms that don’t have any power at all anymore. We follow that to see if there’s a break in a cable somewhere or if there’s a short in a system somewhere—we’ve been able to shut off power in certain locations because of that potential.
The building has been tested for EMF, and—in areas where we get activity—we know there isn’t any risk of false positives.
Over the years, I’m sure there’s been a collective body of experience and evidence. I’m curious, are there any specific entities that have a name or personality in the Farrar Schoolhouse?
Yeah—The Principal is probably the most common. He doesn’t have a name. It was quite a while back, actually—the theory of the school being alive was born. The school itself conjured three separate entities trying to continue running the school—the school itself didn’t want to die. So, it created the Principal, the Librarian, and the Janitor to help keep the school running—help it continue.
A lot of people have interactions with who they believe is the Principal. We’ve gotten names for him here and there. The most popular one, I’d like to say, is Frank. But he doesn’t have a name, and he’s never really confirmed that he has a name. He’s a fascinating character—it’s pretty awesome.
The more people come and investigate and give energy to this particular entity, the stronger it gets. So, I think the amount of people that have interacted with him is because of the amount of energy that we’ve given him.
For clarification: You’re not thinking the school is haunted by, say, ghosts of former students and faculty, but by entities brought to life afterward?
I think it’s a combination of that and what I want to call “travelers.” We’ve had a couple investigations where we’ll speak with an individual that is completely aware that they’ve passed, and we’ll have a whole conversation with them. Then, they’ll say, “It’s time for me to leave,” and we’ll never hear from them again.
My personal theory…I like to call the “lighthouse theory,” where the school itself has become like a beacon in that realm—it draws in spirits from the area and it’s become a hotspot. Because of so much positive energy given to this space, it’s become a lighthouse for the dead.
Is the ‘traveler’ phenomenon something you’ve experienced outside of Farrar Schoolhouse as well? Or is that something you find unique to the school?
When I lived in Savannah, Georgia, I experienced it a lot there as well.
Ah yes, the “most haunted city in America.” It is an interesting place.
I was a little disappointed that my work took me away from Savannah, but I go back frequently.
Have you heard any urban legends about the Farrar Schoolhouse?
The one that is the most striking is that the Meskwaki Indigenous people used to inhabit this area, and there’s a tree on the property that was considered to be sacred by the Meskwaki. We have no idea if the Meskwaki even have any connection with the land around the school, but a lot of people pay respect and give offerings and gifts to the tree just as a way of giving thanks to the sacred tree—and to sacred energies on the property. We haven’t been able to confirm it—it’s just been something that’s gone on for so long that everybody does it now.
I would like to say that it’s real because that tree is really cool, but for some reason, it’s been something that’s been going on forever and ever.
I won’t speak on anything that I don’t personally have evidence for. So if there’s something that goes on at the school or has been said in other shows—I can’t speak to that because it’s not something that I, for a fact, know. I don’t want to mislead anybody. I’d rather not mention something that could be wrong than try and get people to follow a story that isn’t truthful. That being said…
The tree is that urban legend that I have absolutely no evidence for, but it’s something that everybody believes.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about the school or its haunting that we haven’t covered?
The school is just so special. It’s got its own energy. A lot of people when they walk in go, “It feels too good to be haunted,” and some people don’t even think that it’s haunted because of the amount of positive energy that’s in the space. But I can definitely tell you, from experience, that it’s haunted. It’s a really cool location.
While we wrap this up, if you have any shouts-out at all, now is the time…
Honestly, I’d like to shout out Sam and Colby for the opportunity to run their school. I’m incredibly grateful that I have the opportunity to do, probably, the coolest job on the face of the Earth.
If I can add another one: shout out to Mike Eder, the one who got me into the paranormal. A great mentor of mine and I hope he’s doing well in his next adventure in life.
If you want to experience the phenomena Ivy discussed in this interview, you have a chance. The haunted Farrar Schoolhouse hosts tours and private investigations, and all you have to do is book one through their website.
Want to read about more haunted places where you can investigate overnight? Check out 20 places to spend the night in a haunted house!
