Do you have a spooky Quad-Cities story to share?
Time is running out for you to enter your original scary story in the 2016 Ghost Tales contest sponsored by the Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation and The Dispatch/The Rock Island Argus. The deadline for entering is Monday, Sept. 12.
The winning story will be read at the foundation's Ghost Tales program at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, on the grounds of the Colonel Davenport House on Arsenal Island. Other area storytellers also will be featured at the event.
The winning entry also will be published in the Dispatch/Argus before the event.
Those attending the family-friendly Ghost Tales program should bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. Complimentary guided tours of the house will be offered beginning at 5:30 p.m. Refreshments will be sold.
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Admission is $6, $4 for seniors 65 and older, and free for children 12 and younger and for active military members. Proceeds will help preserve the historic Colonel Davenport House, which was built in 1833.
Attendees age 16 and older must show a U.S. photo ID because the island is a working military facility. Visitors should enter through the Moline gate. For more information, visit davenporthouse.org.
Ghost Tales contest entries will be judged by Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation board members.
The contest rules are:
— An entry must be the original work of the author.
— Each entry must relate in some way to early Quad-Cities area history.
— Each entry must be 1,000 words or less.
— Each entry must be suitable for a family audience.
— Each entry must include the author's name, age, address and daytime phone number.
— Entries must be emailed by Monday, Sept. 12, to coloneldavenport1833@hotmail.com or mailed before Sept. 12 to Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation, Attn: Ghost Tales Contest, P.O. Box 4603, Rock Island, IL 61204-4603
— The winning story will be published in the Dispatch/Argus. Employees of Moline Dispatch Publishing Co. and their families are not eligible to enter.
