One Dark Night at the Villisca House

By Lloyd A. Green

During the quiet Sunday afternoon of June 9th, 1912, the entire Moore family attended activities at the Presbyterian Church a few miles from home. Mrs. Sarah Moore actively led the Children’s Day Exercises, which extended well into the evening. Families gossiped as the sunlight faded across the countryside, and children innocently played into the evening.

***

Just outside the Moore home, a tall man watched for others as the darkness surrounded him. After stepping onto their property, he pulled the axe out of the overused chopping block and allowed the tool’s weight to feel comfortable in his hand. After walking up the solid wooden front steps, he found the front door open. Once inside, he moved through the kitchen area, explored the parlor room with the upright piano, and leaned into the doorway of the scantily decorated parlor bedroom. Satisfied that he was comfortable with the layout of the first floor, he then returned to the kitchen and found the doorway to the curved stairwell that led to the upper floor.

The landing opened directly to a main bedroom, which the intruder assumed belonged to the two adults in the house. He moved through the connected doorway to his left that led to a short hallway. As he walked through the darkened hallway, he noticed an open room to his left, possibly used for storage. The end of the hallway ahead of him opened to another bedroom that contained two beds and a baby crib. The sizable room could easily hold the couple’s four children.

He turned around and returned to the hallway to inspect the sloped ceiling, attic-like storage area. The coolness of the room comforted him. He found a recessed corner, made himself comfortable, and loosened his grip on his newly found axe, which he laid within arms reach. He quickly pulled out two cigarettes and struck a match to light the first one. He knew it was best to smoke them now because the family might be home soon. He puffed a few rings of smoke towards the back window as he waited.

***

Sunday activities were over, and everyone was beginning to start home.
Lena Stillinger and her younger sister Ina walked down the church steps with their friend, Katherine Moore.

“I’m going to my granny’s house for dinner,” Ina said with a bright smile. The children looked in the direction the two sisters were about to venture.

“Look,” said Ina’s older sister Lena. She pointed to a clearing in the field, which led into the woods. They could easily see that the kerosene lanterns had not been lit, which generally gave light to the darkened path.

“I’m not going down there,” Ina said, moving closer to her sister. “That’s too scary.”

“But we promised Granny we’d be there,” Lena said, sounding reluctant.

Ten-year-old Katherine pulled on both the girl’s arms. “Why don’t the two of you come to my house,” she said happily.

The three girls had caught up with Mr. and Mrs. Moore and their three boys. “It’s alright, isn’t it, Father?” Katherine asked happily.

Josiah turned and smiled at his wife, who nodded in agreement. “I’ll go back in the church and call your people to make certain that it’s okay,” Josiah said. “No need to make anyone worry.”

When he returned to the group, Mr. Moore stated that Lena and Ina’s older sister consented and said she would pass along the message. The group of eight then headed towards home on that cool June night, and the family arrived at about 10:00 pm.

Katherine and the two Stillinger girls chattered as they prepared to sleep in the first-floor parlor bedroom. Mrs. Moore entered the bedroom. “Kathy. Get yourself upstairs with your brothers and not another word.”

Katherine began to object but then thought better about it. “Yes, Mother,” she said politely. She then smiled at her friends and ran out the bedroom doorway.

“You’ve got fresh bedclothes, all the doors are locked, and the pot is under the bed,” Sarah said. “You should be alright for the night. If you need anything else, holler.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Moore,” the two girls graciously said in unison.

Sarah smiled at them and thought how nice it would be to have another girl child. She kissed them both on the cheek, blew out the mirror-framed light on the wall, and then went upstairs to her family.

The building had no electricity, so the light from the kerosene lamps flickered across the walls of the different rooms, but Josiah usually blew them out at bedtime. Sarah purposely left one lamp on the kitchen table, mainly for the sake of the visitors. By 11:00 pm, everyone in the Moore house was deep asleep except for one.

***

The unseen intruder quietly stretched his sore legs. He had waited until midnight before budging from his hiding spot in the attic. He moved out of the room and towards the parent’s bedroom. The wood of the axe felt sweaty, but he would not allow the handle to slip through his fingers in the slightest. He stood at the foot of the bed, determined to follow through with his plan. His closest prey was Josiah, who slept quietly on the nearest side of the bed. The intruder struck him strong and swiftly, with the blunt end of the axe instantly cracking his skull open. As Sarah began to stir, he leaned over and repeated this action with her. Sarah continued to move around, so he repeatedly struck her about her head and face. She finally laid still. As the killer moved towards the doorway, a line of blood slid down the bed sheet next to Josiah and landed in an upturned shoe just under the bed.

Once in the children’s bedroom, he bludgeoned Herman, Katherine, and Boyd, asleep in their two beds, and then Paul, sleeping in the crib. As he furiously swung the axe upward, the sharpened side struck the ceiling, leaving numerous gouge marks there. He did this multiple times until the faces of the children were unrecognizable.

After walking through the hallway, the killer returned to Josiah and Sarah’s bedroom. He proceeded to chop multiple times at Josiah’s face. The assailant so severely bludgeoned the father that his eyes appeared to be missing. While performing this act, the killer unknowingly knocked over the now blood-filled shoe, which spilled across the floor and onto his own shoes.

The killer quietly walked down the curved stairwell towards the first-floor bedroom. When he was previously seated in his hiding place, he could hear other voices coming from that bedroom. The killer still had work to do.

Twelve-year-old Lena lay half awake in her bed. She swore that she had heard creaking boards as if someone was walking around in the upstairs section of the house, but it sounded so distant. Her eight-year-old sister was on her left side, breathing heavily, which meant she was fast asleep. It was clear that someone was coming down the steps from upstairs. Perhaps Mrs. Moore remembered something in the kitchen.

With only the moonlight shining through the window near her headboard, Lena saw the dark figure of a man standing in the doorway. Was she dreaming, she thought to herself. He held something in his hand, but Lena could not determine what it was. The man rushed at her as she moved her right leg off the bed to touch the floor. Now she could clearly see an axe in his hand.

Her need to instinctively protect her sister made her move her body over to cover her. As the killer swung the axe, she held her arm up to her face and cried out as the blade deeply sliced her arm to the bone. Before she could struggle further, the assailant hit her with the axe in her face. The last memory before she blacked out was of the sharp edge tool passing her head and striking out at her sister. His anger was so fierce that he kept wielding the instrument of death until he nearly cut both girls’ heads from their bodies.

After his attack was complete, the killer noticed for the first time that the older girl’s bedclothes had slid up around her hips. As she lay there with one foot on the floor, he could see that she wore no undergarments, so her private area was completely exposed. He dropped the bloody axe at the end of the bed, stared for a short while, and then left the room in disgust. He had not wanted to fight with anyone. He simply wanted to finish his mission. He found a coat hanging in the bedroom’s closet and used it to cover the faces of the girls. He then made certain to cover the dresser mirror.

There was silence throughout the house. He could not leave until he finished. He first washed his hands in a pan of water that he found on the kitchen table. He returned upstairs and covered the faces of the parents and children with whatever clothing he could find. The sight of his work sickened him, but this was something that he had to do. The killer also had to cover the mirror in each bedroom. Josiah seemed to be a similar body size, so the killer changed from his bloody clothing, but he decided to take his ruined shirt and pants with him to discard them elsewhere.

Some first-floor windows had curtains, so he drew them closed, but for those that did not, he found clothing and covered them so that no one could see in the house in the morning. He got some stored food, made a plate, and sat at the table. His stomach growled as he prepared to eat, but the smell of the bloodied pan of water turned his stomach. He did not want to vomit and left the uneaten food he had prepared.

Lastly, he made sure that the doors and windows were locked and left the house through the front door, firmly locking it with the key he had found. He made his way into the darkness, towards the railroad tracks. A train was approaching, not far in the distance, and he would be on it one way or another. The killer never looked back at the house. There was no need. He had finished what he had come there for.

***

A neighbor and Josiah’s brother found them that morning. When the doctor finally arrived, he said the killer beat them with an axe’s blunt and sharp end beyond recognition. The assailant hit some of the poor souls 25-30xs. The murders, not surprisingly, caused a national sensation, and while many suspects were questioned and even tried – all were later acquitted. This mass murder remains unsolved to this day. Only the ghosts of the home know the truth about what actually happened on the moonlit night of June 9th and the morning of June 10th in 1912 in Villisca, Iowa. Is there any wonder why unhappy spirits would haunt the old Moore house?

The End

See the video version! Watch on YouTube
One Dark Night at the Villisca House
https://youtu.be/j_fNytfvFhs
(Members Only)

This video is not for the faint of heart, so be prepared to be creeped out!

Also, check out the haunted history and paranormal activity in the house at:
Inside the Chilling Mystery of the Villisca Ax House.
https://youtu.be/wZuaVshiJQY
(Members Only)