IA IA - Villisca Axe Murders of 1912

We did stay in the house over night. At least until 5 AM. They say about 4 AM (which is when I felt like it was time to go) people have an overwhelming urge to leave. I can't say it was because of fear though. I just had a strong urge to leave. Felt like going home to bed.

My sister-in-law, my step-daughter, my daughter, and I are all very interested in this case and watched the documentary several times. I have had some interesting paranormal experiences over my life time so we decided to see if we could get any information, knowing full well that we would likely not find out a darn thing that anyone else hadn't already expereienced.

My daughter and my niece were the youngest there, ages 14 and 15, and they had the most luck communicating with allegedly the youngest boy. They would ask him if he could make different colors of lights light up on our meter...and he did. This isn't something that can be done manually.

It wasn't creepy so much as it was sad. None of us planned on sleeping. My sis-in-law and I are 3rd shift workers, and her hubby is a 2nd shift worker, so we are used to being up all night.

When I was the girls' ages I would have been terrified to do something like that, but they were eager and even left me without a flashlight to go exploring . (The house has been restored to it's original state...no running water or electricity.) I was worried about after effects but they are 17 and 18 now and no trauma.

My daughter has expressed interest in studying criminology, or forensic science.

Hello.
Ive only recently heard of this particular crime (a few days ago) .Intriguing. Ive ordered the dvd "living with the mystery" and hope its as good as reviewers say.One reviewer wrote it was the best crime documentary he had ever seen....guess I ll find that out when it arrives.From the little I ve read of the case it appears a Serial killer was responsible both for the Villisca murders and several other similar cases around the time frame. Seems the police didnt see the connection,but then again they might have had more information about various issues involved. By the way saw a interview with a guy who has researched the murders for 50 years last night. Its on facebook CSI O maha if nobody has seen it.

Thanks so much for posting all this information. It kept me away from housework for another day LOL.

I think I have DH talked in to going to the house next week as it's only 2 1/2 hours from us. I want to see the movie first so we have it on our queue.

Very interesting articles!

Finally got round to watching the documentary.I wasnt too impressed.Really the content just highlighted the crass stupidity of the general population ,then as now, as regards the accusations against the rival businessman.
It would seem ,beyond reasonable doubt ,just who the culprit was,pretty obvious really.Then of course came the cottage industry business that frequently grows around events such as these.......haunted houses, visitations by the dead victims etc ad nauseum....why do people believe this tripe I ask myself.
Labelled as the "best historic true crime documentary ever" ......well it wasnt. Indeed far from it.

dougie said:

Finally got round to watching the documentary.I wasnt too impressed.Really the content just highlighted the crass stupidity of the general population ,then as now, as regards the accusations against the rival businessman.
It would seem ,beyond reasonable doubt ,just who the culprit was,pretty obvious really.Then of course came the cottage industry business that frequently grows around events such as these.......haunted houses, visitations by the dead victims etc ad nauseum....why do people believe this tripe I ask myself.
Labelled as the "best historic true crime documentary ever" ......well it wasnt. Indeed far from it.

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I wanted to watch this program because of family connections to Villisca during that era but after 60 seconds I changed the channel. When will producers learn that people pay good money for HD televisions because they want the best picture available on a home screen. We pay exorbitant cable or satellite bills because we want high-quality programming. Watching fuzzy images that jump around and flashing lights that make me nauseous and blur the scenes get on my last nerve. The facts of this case if put in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing should make an excellent show. This one (and a lot of other so-called "true crime shows) have been turned into parodies for the last few years. The show was a farce.

ullhair:

I don't remember if I viewed this production on-line or if I just saw a preview but I had a positive take on it from what I saw. The film did have limited play in theaters. There is also a fictional film that was "inspired by" the case.

STANDREID said:

I don't remember if I viewed this production on-line or if I just saw a preview but I had a positive take on it from what I saw. The film did have limited play in theaters. There is also a fictional film that was "inspired by" the case.

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What I saw on tv was a regular program on one of the history and/or crime channels. I can't remember which channel. The program's focus was on the supernatural happenings that now go on in the house with brief mentions of the facts up to and including the murders. There were lots of ethereal lights, flashing lights, grainy shots, etc. The story should have been good enough not to need all the "props" and hocus-pocus.

Just watched Vallisca- living with a mystery.

I enjoyed the documentary but we have decided not to go to the house. I hadn't thought of descendants still living in the town and how that might make them feel.

But many thanks to all that posted info on this atrocity. An interesting read.

BOESP said:

What I saw on tv was a regular program on one of the history and/or crime channels. I can't remember which channel. The program's focus was on the supernatural happenings that now go on in the house with brief mentions of the facts up to and including the murders. There were lots of ethereal lights, flashing lights, grainy shots, etc. The story should have been good enough not to need all the "props" and hocus-pocus.

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Yes I quite agree,once the "hocus pocus" and "things that go bump in the night" begin ......I switch off,or at best ,fall asleep.
There plainly was a story to be told,though I feel the identity 0f the murderer isnt much of a mystery.I would be more impressed perhaps if these documentary /film makers would stop treating the viewers as if they possessed the combined I.Q of an orange,and merely dealt in facts ,cutting out the B.S and getting to the relevant issues in the process.
The last impressive crime documentary I can remember right now was "Death on the staircase" ,though at 7 and a half hours long its a bit of a marathon ..........Oh of course,there was also "capturing the friedmans" ,if that is the correct title.......Be glad to hear of any other docs anybody on the forum can reccommend.
regards

Sorry if this has already been shared but I don't think it has. The foremost authority on the Murders.

CSI Iowa w/ guest Dr. Ed Epperly - The Villisca Axe Murders - YouTube

Wisconsin man critically injured at Villisca Ax Murder House (omaha.com)

A 37-year-old Wisconsin man was critically injured early Friday when he stabbed himself in the chest during a "recreational paranormal’’ visit to the Villisca Ax Murder House in southwest Iowa.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Steven Laursen Jr. of Rhinelander suffered the self-inflicted injury about 12:45 a.m. at the former home of Josiah B. and Sara Moore, who were bludgeoned to death by an ax murderer while they slept in their beds in June 1912. Six children were also slain.
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"It’s kind of shocking to wake up and hear that someone has nearly died at your tourist attraction,’’ the home’s owner, Martha Linn, 77, said.
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more at link above

Just came across this case today, posted about it on the murdered cousins in Iowa case...http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...8-and-Lyric-Cook-10-Evansdale-13-July-2012-36

Dare I say that the first thing that came to mind, was that the perp was familiar with death rites in Judaism, because of the candle lit and the mirrors covered ..
The slab of pork beside the axe, seemed to be a message of some type, imo.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/281594/jewish/Preparing-the-House-of-Mourning.htm

Daily Mail, with pictures, video, additional links:

Ghost hunter stabs himself in the chest 'for no reason' while staying overnight
at ax murder house where six children and two adults were killed in 1912

Paranormal investigation at ‘Villisca Ax Murder House’ leads man to stab himself (NY Daily News)
⁍ Robert Laursen, 37, was conducting a search at the Iowa house when he stabbed himself in the chest early Friday morning.

Sounds like he should have checked into a mental ward instead of a tourist attraction.

Subscribing!

I learned about this case from a Ghost Adventures episode three or four years ago. I've been consumed with it ever since. I really don't know who was responsible for the murders, but I do definitely lean towards the serial killer angle.

Lena has always bothered me, and some part of me thinks that she could be the key to unlocking this whole mystery--but I really don't know how or why I think that, it's just my gut instinct. Maybe it's just knowing that she's the only one who woke up and tried to fight back. Another thing that's always seemed strange to me is the covered mirrors, but I heard somewhere that perhaps the killer simply spooked himself when he saw his blood-splattered reflection illuminated only by the light of a kerosene lantern and covered them up so it wouldn't happen again. That makes an odd sort of sense to me.

Of course, then there's the victims being covered--that's my main issue with the serial killer theory. Generally, the faces/bodies being covered is associated with familiarity, the killer knowing the victims and not wanting to face what he did to them. But could it be argued that he covered them for the same theorized reason he covered the mirrors--he got a bit spooked? It seems strange to imagine that someone who could butcher so many people with an ax could be spooked by the bodies or his reflection, but I don't think it's entirely out of the question. I'm just thinking out loud though.

If you haven't seen this, I think it's worth a watch. These guys made this documentary for two reasons--one, to shed light on the case (especially the serial killer theory) and two, as promotion for a horror film inspired by the case. I found it to be a really good watch with information I didn't know before. (The interviews are absolutely excellent as well.)

[video=vimeo;71165268]https://vimeo.com/71165268[/video]

Unusually particular about the lighting of candles, opening and closing of doors, covering of faces and mirrors, yet the slaughter was recklessly brutal, imo.

rbbm.

" he took an oil lamp from a dresser, removed the chimney and placed it out of the way under a chair, bent the wick in two to minimize the flame, lit the lamp, and turned it down so low it cast only the faintest glimmer in the sleeping house."


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>snip

"What happened next marked the Villisca killings as truly peculiar and still sends shivers down the spine a century after the fact. The ax man went back upstairs and systematically reduced the heads of all six Moores to bloody pulp, striking Joe alone an estimated 30 times and leaving the faces of all six members of the family unrecognizable. He then drew up the bedclothes to cover Joe and Sarah’s shattered heads, placed a gauze undershirt over Herman’s face and a dress over Katherine’s, covered Boyd and Paul as well, and finally administered the same terrible postmortem punishment to the girls downstairs before touring the house and ritually hanging cloths over every mirror and piece of glass in it. At some point the killer also took a two-pound slab of uncooked bacon from the icebox, wrapped it in a towel, and left it on the floor of the downstairs bedroom close to a short piece of key chain that did not, apparently, belong to the Moores. He seems to have stayed inside the house for quite some time, filling a bowl with water and–some later reports said–washing his bloody hands in it. Some time before 5 a.m., he abandoned the lamp at the top of the stairs and left as silently as he had come, locking the doors behind him. Taking the house keys, the murderer vanished as the Sunday sun rose red in the sky."

Would like to freshen up the villisca, Iowa cold case of the Moore family/stillinger sisters, ed epperly about to release a new book this year, I have been interested in this case since Mr.Linn renovated the house back to the way it was in 1912, would like to blog theories.

Busenbark said:

Would like to freshen up the villisca, Iowa cold case of the Moore family/stillinger sisters, ed epperly about to release a new book this year, I have been interested in this case since Mr.Linn renovated the house back to the way it was in 1912, would like to blog theories.

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Welcome to Ws.Busenbark, thanks for the new information!

There are two schools of thought as far as 'who done it, 1. Serial killer, that had been roaming around neighboring states, killing at random or 2. Murder of anger & revenge, by f.f. Jones (who did not swing the ax, but paid someone to do his bidding.but hard to fathom why kill the whole family & two visiting stillinger girls, when he could have just took out j.b Moore. After reading stories after stories, there are some characters that were not looked at: the man who run the poolhall and the man working for Mr. stillinger.