Ruth D. Hein grew up in Van Horne, Iowa, as the middle child in a ghost-free Lutheran parsonage. With an MA from the University of Northern Iowa, she taught high school English and creative writing for 28 years—21 of those in Decorah.

Ruth lived with her husband, Ken, on a small acreage near Worthington, Minnesota, where she collected ghost stories and wrote the historical column for the Worthington Daily Globe for 14 years. She passed away in 2011.