We couldn't have asked for a better fall day to take our spooky stories out on the Spokane River. Nearly 100 people joined us on the water, with witches, warlocks, and plenty of creative costumes paddling along for the afternoon.
If you missed the float, don't worry. You can still follow our trail of spooky river stories and dig into the real history and science hiding beneath them.
We started with Spokane Tribe and Coeur d'Alene Tribe stories about the creation of the Spokane River, Coyote’s formation of Spokane Falls, and the salmon that once traveled upstream. From there, our stories followed the ways humans have changed the river, from the source of the name of Hangman Creek and its ongoing water quality problems to the dams that transformed the river and the 1915 collapse of the Division Street Bridge.
We also talked about the pollution we've left behind, especially PCBs. These toxic chemicals persist in river sediments, accumulate in fish, and continue to enter the Spokane River today. You can learn more about PCBs here.
You can’t talk monsters and toxics without talking about Godzilla. The original 1954 Godzilla was born from the real horror of nuclear weapons testing, but the monster became a broader symbol of pollution, ecological destruction, and what happens when humans create forces we can't fully control. We connected that story back to the monster from the Spokane Tribe's river creation story: what if that monster is still here, and what would happen if it woke up after all the pollution we've put into this river?
We ended with one of the scariest stories of all: the Spokane River running dry. For the second year in a row, parts of the river lost surface flow for weeks. We don't yet know exactly why, and we're working to understand what is happening.
Check out the photo album from the event below.
