A Nightmare in Villisca
A Nightmare In Villisca: Investigating the Haunted Axe Murder House (Investigating the Haunted)
By Richard Estep
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
The house today
Photo: Wikipedia
For me this is an extremely interesting location. I’m not sure how I have gone so many years without hearing or knowing about the murders of the Moore family and the Stillinger girls. The fact that they have never been able to figure out who was responsible for this horrific crime is tragic. To me, this seems like a very personal crime. To smash in the faces of 8 sleeping people with the blunt side of an axe is hardcore. The first chapter of this book takes the reader through the evening in question and the alleged process that the killer took when committing the crime. It also looks at the suspects of the time. The thing that sticks in my craw about this case is how the crime scene was handled in the beginning. It seems as though most of the town trudged through the house to get a look at the mess before the scene was actually cordoned off. First of all, shame on them for being so disrespectful to the family. I understand that entertainment was hard found during this time but come on people! Second, if there had not been so much contamination would they have been able to catch the responsible party? Hell the murderer could have returned to the scene during this time and helped the contamination along for all we know. I know that during this time common forensics consisted of fingerprints for the most part but you never know what could have been discovered if the scene had been secured. To this day no one has ever been convicted and held responsible for the death of these eight people.
While some may find including these photos as macabre or disrespectful I am of a completely different mind. I think it’s important that we recognize and acknowledge the dead and one way of doing this is to know what they looked like in life. So I include these photos out of respect, not the other way around.
Photo: US Ghost Adventures
The next three chapters take us through the experiences of “Ghost Adventures”, “The Dead Files”, and “Kindred Spirits”. After that starts Richard’s first visit and investigation into the house. (A side note: this happened during the time of COVID. Any time I hear about that time and read about it I have episodes of PTSD. We all have our thoughts about what happened and I will not share my thoughts here as that is not the point of what I am doing here. I will however say that should I miss something pertinent from the book because I skip over something due to reminders of COVID, forgive me.) Due to all the restrictions this first team is a duo. Just Richard and his friend Sarah. Their two night investigation is an interesting one. More interesting is the phone call that Richard does with Stephen. We know Stephen from some of the other books. I’ve grown very fond of him personally and would love the opportunity to actually meet him in person someday (and Richard of course). He brings up some very interesting things to consider. The other person that does this is an unexpected individual named Dawn who Richard comes in contact with through a mutual acquaintance. The discussion she has with Richard is extremely interesting and really give one some things to think on.
Kitchen
Photo: US Ghost Adventures
Basement
Photo: Yelp.com
Chapter eleven is actually in interview with film-maker Seth Alne who had visited the Villisca house with his brother and had an interesting experience. Then chapter twelve starts Richards second visit to Villisca but this time he brings along Stephen and Erik. Both familiar “faces” from previous books. Things start out very interesting. They conduct an interview with Johnny Houser who is the caretaker of the house and lives right next door. During this visit the team actually sit down and watch the episode of “Ghost Lab” that Brad and Barry Klinge did. Their approach is unique, scientific, and sometimes brutal (if you get Brad going). Their results are fascinating, telling, and somewhat chilling. This is not a long visit, only one night but it yields some interesting results.
Second floor - Moore children’s bedroom
Photo: murderhouse.com
First floor bedroom
Photo: Yelp
Attic
Photo: Yelp.com
Chapter fourteen starts that last visit to the house with a new team of investigators. Sarah from the first visit is back and with her is Catlyn, Charlie, and Jason (who ended up in a Scooby Doo get-up in the Gacy book). I think that this visit is the most poignant of the visits. They get a couple of good hits. This is another short visit but one that ends the investigation with a bang.
Chapter fifteen is Richard’s interview with author Troy Taylor who wrote the book “Murdered in Their Beds”. And then in the last chapter he take some time to wrap up things as best one can in a situation where more questions than answers have been presented.
“What to know on the anniversary of the 1912 Villisca ax murders” by Virginia Barreda for the Des Moines Register - Click pic to read the article
Closing thoughts:
As a true crime enthusiast I find this to be a fascinating conglomeration of theories and research of the tragedy that happened in June of 1912 at a family home in the small railroad town of Villisca Iowa. Personally I agree with those that surmise that the individual was a transient from the train. I also agree that there is a high possibility that there is a connection to the other axe murders that occurred around the country during this same time period. Researchers that have looked at this in more detail, mapping out the murders along the train route may be on to something. For me the logic behind these theories is sound and probable. The suspects of the time just did not come together. The closest was Reverend Kelly and considering what I know about his mental state it does not surprise me that he confessed nor does it surprise me that he was acquitted. I feel that if it had been the Reverend that there would have been more evidence of his guilt, even with all of the contamination. He was unstable and disjointed, not someone who is capable of not getting caught in a big way (quite frankly).
Reverend Kelly with Wife Laura Kelly
Photo: historicmysteries.com
As for the haunting itself…I very much hope that the victims have moved on to their next adventure leaving all this crap behind. The thought form/spirit of the house is, for me, the most fascinating and realistic theory for this particular haunting. This would make this entity an inhuman energy and thus could come across as evil or demonic however, just like a person it seems to change its attitude based on who it’s interacting with. A real “Hill House” so to speak. So very interesting and a theory, very much, worth exploring further. I will never close my mind to possibilities but I will lean toward the most logical explanation (which is not always the debunking bit). I very much recommend taking a bite of this book, it’s a very tasty bit of literary juice.
Drone Arial view
Photo - Yelp.com
