John Brassard Jr. is a local author, historian, and storyteller who loves to tell spooky tales.

He will bring a variety of spine-tinglers to Davenport in two events over the next four days, at Davenport’s Putnam Museum & Science Center and the German-American Heritage Center & Museum.

“I’m honored to be asked to speak there and bring attention to the wonderful work they do for educating the public on our amazing local history,” Brassard said recently.

The first event will be at the Putnam, 1717 W. 12th St., called “Footsteps in the Attic,” on Thursday, Oct. 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. They are allegedly true stories of the haunted Quad Cities and you can find out what might be making the footsteps in the attic.

It’s part of a new free lecture series at the Putnam, called “History on Tap.” First, at 6 p.m. there will be a cash bar with snacks on the second-floor Lardner Balcony (with its great view of the river valley) and then Brassard’s talk at 7 p.m.

His second talk will be at the German-American Heritage Center (2nd and Gaines streets, Davenport), called “Voices in the Walls: Murder, Legends, and Hauntings of the QC,” on Sunday, Oct. 22nd, starting at 2 pm.

“I’ll be talking about different ghost stories, legends, and one of the most gruesome murders to have ever taken place in the Quad Cities that you’ve probably never heard of,” Brassard said. That event is free for GAHC members and $5 for non-members, reservations available HERE.

Known as the “Kitchen Table Historian,” Brassard has written three books on local history: 2021’s “Eerie Quad Cites” (with Mike McCarty), 2018’s “Murder and Mayhem in Scott County, Iowa,” and 2011’s “Scott County Cemeteries” (with his father, John Brassard Sr.).

Brassard’s true-crime podcast is called “Strane and Dreadful Things.”

He also runs a podcast about true crime and the unexplained called Strange and Dreadful Things, which covers stories from all over, but primarily in the Midwest. Several of these stories are from the area, including the most recent one on a 1914 murder of an unfaithful Davenport wife, Marie Whynack.

John Brassard Jr. of Long Grove specializes in local history, true crime and creepy tales.

“Although I’ve been speaking around the state since 2018, I’ve been hosting ghost story events for the past two years,” Brassard said recently. “Starting in 2021, I did Uninvited Guests: Haunted Mansions of the QC. Two of the shows were held at the Renwick Mansion and the William Bettendorf Mansion (now Iowa Masonic), and those included a tour of the houses when we were done.”

For more information, visit his website HERE.