Aug 3, 2026 · 54 min · 12 segments
Amana Colonies are seven small villages on 26,000 acres of land in Iowa. While the look adorable and quaint, is something darker at play here? Join us as Shanna tells us about this community and…
[drum beat] First off, happy birthday, Psycho Penny.
This one is for you and you alone.
Psycho Penny had been waiting for this trip for weeks.
The moment she heard about the haunted legends of the Amana Colonies, she grabbed her notebook, charged every battery she owned, and packed enough ghost-hunting equipment to investigate a haunted castle.
She also grabbed her husband.
Of course-
[laughs]
...
Penny never went anywhere without her trusty EMF detector.
Most people carried lip balm or spare change in their purses, but Penny always carried an EMF detector in her purse right beside her wallet.
Fun fact, that's actually true.
[laughs]
She also decided to pack extra batteries and a tiny flashlight beside it today, just in case a spirit wanted to communicate.
Now, as she drove down the quiet country roads toward Amana, Penny could barely contain her excitement.
Stories of the Ghost Corner, the mysterious lights at Granny Sprague Cemetery, and the eerie legends surrounding Indian Dam played over and over in her mind.
Every shadow looked suspicious.
Every gust of wind seemed like a mes- message from the other side.
She had spent years chasing ghosts across old houses, forgotten cemeteries, and spooky back roads, but something about the Amana Colonies felt different.
Truthfully, most people who knew Psycho Penny would describe her as a little crazy.
She talked to empty rooms, gave nicknames to ghosts she had never met, and once spent three hours investigating what turned out to be a motion-activated Halloween decoration.
That's not actually fact.
Yet.
[laughs] But her friends loved her for it.
Penny's enthusiasm was infectious, and no matter how many false alarms she encountered, she never lost sense of her wonder.
As the historic villages came into view, Penny reached into her purse and pulled out her EMF detector.
[drum beat] First off, happy birthday, Psycho Penny.
This one is for you and you alone.
Psycho Penny had been waiting for this trip for weeks.
The moment she heard about the haunted legends of the Amana Colonies, she grabbed her notebook, charged every battery she owned, and packed enough ghost-hunting equipment to investigate a haunted castle.
She also grabbed her husband.
Of course-
[laughs]
...
Penny never went anywhere without her trusty EMF detector.
Most people carried lip balm or spare change in their purses, but Penny always carried an EMF detector in her purse right beside her wallet.
Fun fact, that's actually true.
[laughs]
She also decided to pack extra batteries and a tiny flashlight beside it today, just in case a spirit wanted to communicate.
Now, as she drove down the quiet country roads toward Amana, Penny could barely contain her excitement.
Stories of the Ghost Corner, the mysterious lights at Granny Sprague Cemetery, and the eerie legends surrounding Indian Dam played over and over in her mind.
Every shadow looked suspicious.
Every gust of wind seemed like a mes- message from the other side.
She had spent years chasing ghosts across old houses, forgotten cemeteries, and spooky back roads, but something about the Amana Colonies felt different.
Truthfully, most people who knew Psycho Penny would describe her as a little crazy.
She talked to empty rooms, gave nicknames to ghosts she had never met, and once spent three hours investigating what turned out to be a motion-activated Halloween decoration.
That's not actually fact.
Yet.
[laughs] But her friends loved her for it.
Penny's enthusiasm was infectious, and no matter how many false alarms she encountered, she never lost sense of her wonder.
As the historic villages came into view, Penny reached into her purse and pulled out her EMF detector.
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