Ep 156: The Ax Murder House in Villisca Part 1
“Everyone in the house is dead.”
– Unknown telephone operator to the mother of murdered daughters Lena and Ina Stillinger, when she was unable to reach the Moore family by phone. Quoted from Troy Taylor’s book, Murdered In Their Beds: History and Hauntings of Villisca and the Midwest Ax Murders. From the Dead Men Do Tell Tales series. Whitechapel Press.
Background:
Where's the one place in the world you'd like to feel the safest? Your bed, right? And in a secure home that surrounds that bed. We also become nostalgic for what we think was a simpler and more wholesome time. The atrocities we've become accustomed to hearing about on our current nightly news, we imagine inconceivable in bygone eras. But the truth is, we've always been vulnerable to the brutality of the waking world, no matter the times or the place. The darkest evil can come to find us wherever we lay our heads. One average family in America's Heartland at the turn of the century would experience this as their peaceful dreams turned into a nightmare. On the evening of June 9, or early morning hours of June 10, 1912, a depraved murderer had entered the home of the Moore family in Villisca, Iowa. He savagely crushed the skulls of Josiah Moore, his wife Sarah, and their four children with an ax as they slept. Also killed in the same fashion were Lena and Ina Stillinger, young sisters who just happened to be spending the night. The memories of this gruesome crime and the spirits who endured it would remain with the house. This horrific act of violence would leave its mark on the town and the Moore home, forever branding it the "Villisca Ax Murder House."
Location:
508 East 2nd Street, Villisca, Iowa. The former home of Josiah and Sarah Moore and their family, now known as the “Villisca Ax Murder House” which is open for tours and investigations.
Reference Links:
villiscaiowa.com – The Official Website for the Villisca Ax Murder House
Virtual 360º Tour of the Villisca House from the official website
The American Hauntings Podcast, hosted by Troy Taylor and Cody Beck, with their series on Villisca
“Murdered in Their Beds” the book on the Villisca case by Troy Taylor from his website
The Coroner’s Inquest from the villiscamovie.com website, from June 11 & 18, 1912
“CSI Iowa w/ guest Dr. Ed Epperly - The Villisca Axe Murders” interview on YouTube
The ghost hunting TV show Kindred Spirits covers the Villisca House
The Man from the Train by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James
Suggested Reading:
Suggested Listening:
The American Hauntings podcast with Troy Taylor with their special series on the Villisca case.
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CREDITS:
Episode 156: The Ax Murder House in Villisca Part One. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel; Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2019 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.