Road Trip Into The Unkown: Tradegy In Villisca.

For the most part paranormal researchers and investigators agree that the haunting of a location is precipitated by many factors. For example a human’s spirit can be left behind to roam their former stomping grounds if they committed the final act of desperation, Suicide. I personally believe the haunting ocurrs because the person who offed themselves may have had certain religious beliefs that caused them to believe that such a desperate act would cause them to burn in eternal hellfire and this fear causes them to remain in the realm of the living. The other most common circumstance is murder. Down through the history of paranormal research there have been many reported cases of a spirit being trapped until the person who committed the ultimate crime is brought to justice. The records indicate that when and if the criminal is brought to justice the haunting subsequently comes to an end as well. But what if the murderer is never apprehended and punished for their crime does that mean that the spirit is trapped at a location forever forced to wander the home although the crime happened decades if not a century earlier? Research would suggest unfortunately yes and there is a home in Villisica, Iowa that would suggest this is a sad fact.

In 1912, Villisca, Iowa was just like any normal midwestern town of it’s time. Peaceful hardworking folks, the real salt of the earth type eeked out an existence loving God and country however on the morning of June 10 all that would drastically change. The brutal murder of a local family and two houseguests as they peacefully slept in their beds would not only shock and dismay the state of Iowa but the entire United States and many would think if it could happen in a small town like Villisca where folks still left their homes unlocked at night, then it could happen anywhere. No one was safe.

On the morning of June 10, a neighbor of the Josiah Moore family was awakened from a deep slumber by the sounds of the Moore family horses neighing and kicking the barn doors. The neighbor, an elderly woman, thought it strange that after listening to the ruckus for fifteen minutes that a member of the Moore family did not emerge from the house and either calm or scold the unruly equines. I’m sure the neighbor thought enough was enough as she threw on some clothes and rushed over to the Moore home to see if anyone, it didn’t matter who, was going to bring an end to the racket.

At first the neighbor stuck her head through the open door and called out for anyone who may hear her voice, certainly someone would at least answer her call although no one did nothing about the horses, that would just be plain rude. When no one answered she walked into the home and began to inspect the first floor for signs of life. Nothing not a soul the home was as quiet as a prayer service. However all that would change when she climbed the stairs and peeked into the rooms.

The neighbor in a fit of terror ran from the home and immeditaely called the Sheriff’s office to report what she had seen. The neighbor reported to the Sheriff that some unknown assailant had brutally hacked the Josiah Moore family to death as they slept in their beds. Josiah Moore, Mrs Moore, their four children and two houseguests lay forever still in their beds in a house that was a true house of horrors.

The Villisca Axe Murder Case as it has come to be known is truly a mystery of the worst kind. The murderer was never captured and forced to answer for his brutal crime. There were a few suspects, a business rival of Josiah Moore, an insane drifter with religious delusions even a few cops were rounded up for questioning but all were released all had iron clad alibis and could answer for their whereabouts on the night a homicidal madman grabbed an axe and methodically went from room to room killing the eight people who slept soundly believing that when the sun rose the next day they would continue their lives. Sadly that was not the case.

Although the murder of these eight folks is sad and tragic what we are concerned with on this stop of our road trip is what still might remain at the Villisca home and if the rumors are true that the house is perhaps one of the most haunted homes in the United States if not the world. The home sat empty for many years until 1930, when a young newly married couple bought the house believing this was the place where they would plant their roots and eventually raise a little family of their own. They were sadly mistaken.

A few weeks after they moved in the Mrs. began to hear strange noises that sounded like breathing and a heavy person walking up the stairs as she slept at night. She dismissed the noises believing that an old house such as this made noises, it was just part of the old house settling. That was until she was awakened one night to the sound of a gut wrenching scream and when her eyes popped open she could see the solid shape of a man standing at the end of her bed weilding an axe. As the woman let out a scream the image faded away back into the shadows. When she reported the sighting to her husband he at first did not believe her, in fact, he believed his new bride was going mad and needed help that was until he began to witness the strange activity his wife had witnessed. Needless to say they left and never returned.

Sometimes folks report that their home shows signs of paranormal activity after a remodel. The ghost, probably lays dormant for many years until he or she sees that their home is being changed in ways they do not like, this would appear to be the case with the Villisca Axe Murder House. In 1994, the owners of the home began a major renovation that would change many of the physical features of the home and it would seem that this remodel would stir an unexplained energy that would scare the pants off all those involved.

The activity in the home started innocently enough: Workers tools would be moved from one location to another, cold chills would be felt throughtout the house even on days when it was hot, and strange noises that sounded like someone walking around would be heard in the night. Then things began to be kicked up a notch. The residents would hear what sounded like anguished screams ring through the house in the middle of the night and the family began to witness wispy forms that oftentimes took on the form of a little girl, a woman and a grown man. Could these be the spirits of Josiah Moore, his wife and one of the children attempting to make contact with the living? Perhaps.

Over the last ten years, many paranormal groups have been given access to the home to determine whether or not there is any truth to the hauntings of the house in Villisca and many have come away with interesting results. Numerous EVPs have been recorded that sound as if a woman is screaming and several others sound as if children are whispering just under the voice of the investigator. Several photos showing orbs and other anomolies have been taken perhaps proving that this home where a brutal murder once took place almost a century ago still holds some memory of of the once happy Moore family that met with such an unhappy end.

Rick E. Hale

t_seeker@hotmail.com