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Small Washington venue caters to customization
And it may be haunted, according to majority of guests
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WASHINGTON — Victorian View was the home of Sandy and Jerry Bacon for about six months after they bought it in 2021. When a lengthy commute to one’s new job led them to move away, they kept the property as a short-term rental on Airbnb and Vrbo, before opening it up as an event venue.
It’s taken off since then, growing popular as a wedding venue, and a location for all manner of family reunions, baby showers, grad parties, retirement celebrations and — most recently — ghost hunts. The 130-year-old home is pristinely maintained for its age, with a scenic garden area so large it once contained a second, neighboring home.
Co-owner Sandy Bacon said she was proud to offer the option for newlyweds with modest guest lists, around 120 people or less.
“The fact that we can accommodate different sizes and different groups and all that is very important to us,” she said.
Still used as a short-term rental for overnight guests between events, Bacon said the inclusion of bedrooms, baths and a kitchen made the space ideal for weddings. Renters often pay a flat fee to book the venue out for a whole weekend at a time, giving them not only a place to say their vows, but a place to eat, sleep, do makeup, and house their bridesmaids and groomsmen.
It also gives guests the chance to customize their important day. Soon-to-be-weds bring their own tents, food, supplies, music, and anything else they might need for the occasion. Bacon said she’d had some couples keep things simple, while many go all-out.
“It’s kind of amazing how they’ll configure it,” she said. “The different spaces out there, and the amount of room that’s out there in the gardens is pretty nice … they can customize it, and they can do what they want to do with it, instead of having a normal, run-of-the-mill wedding.”
For an unusual twist not shared by many other venues, Victorian View is also allegedly haunted.
The supposed paranormal activity isn’t experienced by every visitor — this reporter didn’t encounter any unexpected phenomena during a one-hour interview and photo session at the house — but about 70% of guests tell Bacon they’ve encountered something during their stay.
When the Bacon family lived in the home, she said her kids reported doors opening and closing on their own at night, and voices whispering their names from the hallway. The mother didn’t believe the ghost stories until she started hearing similar reports from overnight rental guests.
In the last few years, event goers have independently called the owners with stories about footsteps from rooms nobody was in, lights turning on or off on their own, and even conversations with people they’d later learn weren’t in the room at the time.
The owners eventually had to remove the doorbell, because it kept activating at night, and the spot has become popular for the Riverside Area Paranormal Investigators. Several unrelated guests have described seeing the same figure during their overnight stays, according to Bacon.
“About 90% of them describe a gentleman, and he’s got a very specific look to him, I don’t tell the different ones what he looks like, but there’s a specific look to him,” she said. “But every one of them tells me what he looks like. And it’s like, ‘Yeah, OK, you’ve seen the same guy.’”
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
