Local author and Augustana alum Minda Powers-Douglas started up the tour-organizing group QC Haunts & History back in 2019. The main tour she’s been doing every year since then is called Gangsters & Ghosts, which primarily details Rock Island’s past with notorious mob boss John Looney. This Halloween season, she’s introducing an expansion of sorts, adding more variety to the tours already existing and offering new ones never before experienced.
The construction going on in downtown Rock Island has altered the usual tour routes, as they all begin in front of El Patron Mexican Restaurant and Bar at Second Avenue and 19th Street. In spite of the obstacles, this year’s tours are still accessible. Powers-Douglas vivifies them with her “ghost guarantee.” With that, whenever Looney’s name is mentioned, a psychic medium who comes along for the tour explains that his henchmen will communicate with them to ask why their boss is being talked about.
“I thought that we needed tours, and I knew we had something interesting that different places didn't have,” Powers-Douglas said. “If a person doesn't believe in ghosts, they're still going to have a lot of fun, because they're still hearing about ghost stories, folklore, different urban legends. They're all woven into the history of a location, and that makes it fascinating.”
Besides Gangsters & Ghosts, a kid-friendly tour will be held toward the end of October, and it’s recommended for those ages seven and up. It typically runs for a shorter length of time and is less spooky in nature.
QC Haunts & History will be a part of the “Back from the Dead” event hosted by the Rock Island Downtown Alliance. Mini ghost tours will happen on both October 12th and 13th, and attendees will even get to take free trolley rides from one haunted spot to another across the downtown area.
One of the newer offerings presented by QC Haunts & History will take tour-goers out to the village of East Davenport for its Soldiers & Spirits tour. It will feature and describe tales dating back to the American Civil War and the days of Camp McClellan, a former Union Army camp once located in the village. Like the Rock Island–based tours, tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at www.qchaunts.com.
Beyond the thrill of the tours, QC Haunts & History will be hosting the Eerie Emporium event in the Uncommon Room at Bent River Brewing’s Rock Island location. It’s a Halloween-themed vendor market featuring everything spooky. Open to all ages, visitors can expect to shop the works of local artists and various products offered by the small businesses scheduled to attend; they also will be able to participate in costume and tattoo contests. Photo ops and tarot readings will be available.
The event begins at noon on October 13th, and more information can be found on QC Haunts & History’s website. Tours of all kinds will be conducted as late into the month as October 27th.