This week on hometown ghost stories.

Des Moines, Iowa may seem quiet, but its history is laced with dark chapters.

In the 1800s, the city was home to brutal, frontier justice, unsolved murders, and a network

of underground tunnels used for smuggling Prohibition-era crime.

From the hauntings of the Drake University Observatory to sightings of the ghost of a nun

and the tragic tale of Ada at the Jordan House Museum, there's no shortage of haunting tales in Des Moines.

Hometown Ghost Stories contains serious and often distressing events and is not intended for all audiences.

Viewer discretion is advised.

November 5th, 1978, Merle Hay Mall. The shirt sagged from her shoulders as her melting arms

dripped to sticky puddles on the floor. It was almost pitch black from the smoke, but Pete

could vaguely make out the shape of the mannequin in front of him as its plastic body warped

from the flames behind it.

It was his 27th year on the Des Moines Fire Department, and this was easily one of the worst

fires he'd been called to.

It must have been half the mall that was up in flames.

His team was making rounds, going in and out of the building, rescuing

shoppers who were trapped in the burning sections. The mall was less than 20 years old,

and was built on the grounds of an old monastery. He'd been called there were a few times before,

but that was just for medical emergencies and things like that. This, however, was on another level. Other

teams have been making rounds and switching out when oxygen tanks ran low, and the chief believed

most of the people trapped inside were likely rescued, so this should be one of the last trips in.

Pete and his team cleared the room, and he gave the okay for the crew to pull back.

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