Iowa is known for a lot of things.

There is Iowa: the ever-important caucus state. There is Iowa: the wholesome land of hogs and corn.

And at Johnston's Simpson Barn on Oct. 24, there will be Iowa: the place where monsters really do live in the closet.

Paranormal researcher Chad Lewis is visiting the area with the help of the Johnston library foundation to host a "Haunted Tales of Iowa" event. Lewis will provide photos, case histories and eyewitness accounts of spine-tinglers like the Cursed Angel of Council Bluffs and the Hanging Ghost of Davenport.

Such information was first put together when Lewis co-authored the "Road Guide to Haunted Locations" book series, for which the state of Iowa has its own entry.

Lewis' investigative work for Unexplained Research L.L.C. has also led him well beyond the boundaries of the United States in order to track vampires in Transylvania, search for the Loch Ness monster and pursue ghosts in Ireland's castles for more than 14 years.

"We believe Chad Lewis will appeal to a wide audience of young adults and adults," said Johnston librarian Willona Goers. "We especially hope a number of teens will attend since this is a great way to help celebrate Teen Read Week."

Lewis has been investigating the paranormal as a full-time job for three years and said he gets 200 e-mails a week from people with new stories to tell. Add Halloween to the mix, he said, and there is even more interest.

"People who aren't necessarily believers in the paranormal tend to decide to check it out this time of year," said Lewis, 35. "I try to separate fact from fiction and I want people to go to these places to make up their own mind."

Lewis holds a master's degree in applied psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and has been featured on the Discovery Channel's "A Haunting" and ABC's "World's Scariest Places." A native of Eau Claire, Wis., he first cut his teeth on the paranormal due to his boyhood home's close proximity to Elmwood, Wis., and its rash of UFO sightings in the 1970s and '80s.

"I went from looking at why people believe in paranormal events to an interest in what is actually happening," Lewis said. "After 14 years of this I'm left with more questions than answers. But I do believe something is going on out there."