31 Days of Halloween Day #16
We know Amityville and the horrors that happened and the real-life attachment. Did it happen before too? Check this one out.
The Ax Murder House (of Iowa)
The Villisca ax murders — one of the most heinous crimes in the state's history — took place overnight on June 9, 1912. It remains unsolved despite years of investigations, multiple grand jury hearings, a slander lawsuit, and a murder trial. (All seen as dead ends)
Here's what to know about the 111-year-old cold case:
The bodies of Josiah and Sarah Moore, their four children and two visiting girls were found in the Moore home in Villisca, a Montgomery County town located about 100 miles southwest of Des Moines. Josiah was a prominent businessman and well-known church worker in town
The children were identified as: Herman Moore, 11; Katherine Moore,10; Boyd Moore, 7; and Paul Moore, 5. Lena Stillinger, 12, and Ina Stillinger, 8, who were visiting the family, were the daughters of J.T. Stillinger, a wealthy farmer living southeast of Villisca.
According to reporting from the Tribune, the victims were killed, and skulls crushed with an ax the killer, or killers, found in the family's backyard, while they slept sometime around 1230am or before 1am. The family had spent the evening at a program at the local Church and returned home around 10 p.m.
Neighboors stated they never heard anything, but shortly before 1 am, felt a heavy presence in the area.
The family was discovered in the morning after Josiah Moore didn't answer a call from his clerk. Neighbors became concerned that the Moores were not up doing their typical morning routines, prompting neighbors to call some of their relatives.
One person even tried in vain to open the doors and windows of the home before calling the town marshal, who broke down the door when he arrived.
The slain family members were found in different bedrooms throughout the house.
There was a murdered member and parts in every room of the house. Every room!
The killer had added two "bizarre" touches to the murder scene, according to Iowa Cold Cases: Investigators found a 4-pound piece of slab bacon leaning against the wall next to the ax. The murderer also had searched dresser drawers for pieces of clothing to cover the mirrors in the house and the glass in the entry doors. Officials found a plate of uneaten food and a bowl of bloody water in the kitchen.
Nothing else was disturbed in the residence, according to Iowa Tribune archives.
No one has been caught, no one has ever come forward, and no further information is known at all.
Intrigued?
Well guess what. You can book a stay at the Axe Murder House! For $428 USD a night!
But it's a bloody mess to get a reservation!
Interesting update: Guests and visitors always report strange paranormal experiences, such as visions of a man with an axe roaming the halls or the faint screams of children. Chills in the air and the smell of iron. Many say the whole home is just eerie and haunted feeling.
In November of 2014, the hauntings took a darker turn. Robert Steven Laursen Jr., 37, of Rhinelander, Wisconsin was on a regular recreational paranormal visit with friends when true horror-struck
His companions found him stabbed in the chest—an apparently self-inflicted wound—called 9-1-1, and Laursen was brought to a nearby.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Laursen suffered the self-inflicted injury at about 12:45 a.m., which is around the same time the 1912 axe murders in the house began.
Laursen recovered from his injuries but has never spoken publicly about what occurred that day.
For Martha Linn, the current owner of the home, the incident was very upsetting. "It's publicity, but it's not exactly the kind of publicity you desire to have. I don't want people thinking that when they come to the Villisca Axe Murder House something's going to happen that's going to make them do something like that.”
As of 2023, The house remains open for tourist visits and overnight stays today
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Tams Blackwood
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