Ghostly · Yesterday · 1 hr 2 min

192 Villisca Axe Murder House

Is the Villisca Axe House Haunted? Content advisory: This episode discusses a real mass murder in which six children were killed, plus violence, death, and a 2014 self-harm incident. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (U.S.), any time. On a Sunday night in June 1912, eight people went to sleep in a modest two-story house in Villisca, Iowa, and none of them woke up. More than a century later, the case is still unsolved, the house is still standing, and you can still book a night inside. Kicking off our October series, Haunted Murder Houses, Rebecca follows the children who never stopped playing, while Pat lays out the suspect list: a confession that got taken back, a state senator with a grudge, and a hired man with a payroll alibi. You decide: genuine haunting, or entirely senseless talk? The History In 1912, Villisca was a small railroad town of about 2,000 people with nearly 30 trains stopping every day. On June 9, Josiah and Sarah Moore, their four children (Herman, Katherine, Boyd, and Paul), and two young overnight guests, sisters Lena and Ina Stillinger, came home from the Children’s Day program at the Presbyterian church. Sometime after midnight, someone entered the house with Joe Moore’s own axe and killed all eight. Mirrors and windows were draped, faces were covered, and the killer slipped out before dawn. Townspeople trampled the crime scene, and the suspects followed: state senator Frank Jones, the hired man William “Blackie” Mansfield, and the traveling preacher Rev. George Kelly, who confessed, recanted, and was acquitted in 1917. No one was ever convicted. Restored to its 1912 appearance in the 1990s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, the house is now open for tours and overnight stays. The Hauntings The children who never stopped playing — balls that roll across the kids’ room on their own, and doors that bang shut, according to former owner Darwin Linn. When WHO Radio’s Van and Bonnie spent the night, three balls “just took off all in different directions.” The man with the axe — in 1930, newlywed Bonnie Ritner said she saw a man holding an axe at the foot of her bed. Visitors have reported the same “shadow man” ever since. Lena’s closet — a closet door that banged behind Darwin Linn as he carried guests’ coins downstairs, and a 1999 investigator who called the house “borderline demonic.” Footsteps on the stairs — ordinary overnight guests hearing someone climb the stairs and walk overhead when nobody else was in the house. “But we knew what we heard.” The night things got real — a 2014 overnight that ended in an emergency, and the longtime caretaker who stopped staying the night afterward. Music Credits Music performed by Michael Rivers. “Pat Facts” and “Ghost Story” themes by Mondo. “Time for a Debate” theme by Gail Gallagher — gailgallaghermusic.com Weigh In Got a ghost story? Call or text us. Hear the phone number on the episode. You might hear it on the show. Vote by texting the episode title with YES (believer) or NO (skeptic), plus a haunting score from 1–10. Listener Mail Email info@ghostlypodcast.com or the contact form at GhostlyPodcast.com, or write us at PO Box #264, Geneva, IL 60134. Support the Show Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or join us on Patreon at GhostlyPodcast.com (tiers from $1–$10). Sources History The Ax Murderer Who Got Away — Smithsonian Magazine Villisca axe murders — Wikipedia Josiah B. and Sara Moore House — Wikipedia The Villisca Axe Murders — Iowa Cold Cases Henry Lee Moore — Wikipedia The Man from the Train — Wikipedia Hauntings & Paranormal Reports Villisca Axe Murder House — US Ghost Adventures (official site) Ax Murder House — Sioux City Journal Van and Bonnie Spend the Night at the Villisca Ax Murder House — WHO 13 Team of Ghost Hunters Investigate Infamous Villisca Axe Murder House — KETV My Experience at the Villisca Ax Murder House — JHS Black & White Strange Occurrences Abound at the Villisca Ax Murder House — Roadtrippers Why Did a Ghost Hunter Stab Himself Inside a Famous Axe-Murder House? — VICE The Time a Ghost Hunter Stabbed Himself at My Axe Murder Museum — VICE

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Is the Villisca Axe House Haunted?

Content advisory: This episode discusses a real mass murder in which six children were killed, plus violence, death, and a 2014 self-harm incident. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (U.S.), any time.

On a Sunday night in June 1912, eight people went to sleep in a modest two-story house in Villisca, Iowa, and none of them woke up. More than a century later, the case is still unsolved, the house is still standing, and you can still book a night inside. Kicking off our October series, Haunted Murder Houses, Rebecca follows the children who never stopped playing, while Pat lays out the suspect list: a confession that got taken back, a state senator with a grudge, and a hired man with a payroll alibi. You decide: genuine haunting, or entirely senseless talk?

The History

In 1912, Villisca was a small railroad town of about 2,000 people with nearly 30 trains stopping every day. On June 9, Josiah and Sarah Moore, their four children (Herman, Katherine, Boyd, and Paul), and two young overnight guests, sisters Lena and Ina Stillinger, came home from the Children’s Day program at the Presbyterian church. Sometime after midnight, someone entered the house with Joe Moore’s own axe and killed all eight. Mirrors and windows were draped, faces were covered, and the killer slipped out before dawn. Townspeople trampled the crime scene, and the suspects followed: state senator Frank Jones, the hired man William “Blackie” Mansfield, and the traveling preacher Rev. George Kelly, who confessed, recanted, and was acquitted in 1917. No one was ever convicted. Restored to its 1912 appearance in the 1990s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, the house is now open for tours and overnight stays.

The Hauntings

The children who never stopped playing — balls that roll across the kids’ room on their own, and doors that bang shut, according to former owner Darwin Linn. When WHO Radio’s Van and Bonnie spent the night, three balls “just took off all in different directions.”
The man with the axe — in 1930, newlywed Bonnie Ritner said she saw a man holding an axe at the foot of her bed. Visitors have reported the same “shadow man” ever since.
Lena’s closet — a closet door that banged behind Darwin Linn as he carried guests’ coins downstairs, and a 1999 investigator who called the house “borderline demonic.”
Footsteps on the stairs — ordinary overnight guests hearing someone climb the stairs and walk overhead when nobody else was in the house. “But we knew what we heard.”
The night things got real — a 2014 overnight that ended in an emergency, and the longtime caretaker who stopped staying the night afterward.

Music Credits

Music performed by Michael Rivers.

“Pat Facts” and “Ghost Story” themes by Mondo.

“Time for a Debate” theme by Gail Gallagher — gailgallaghermusic.com

Weigh In

Got a ghost story? Call or text us. Hear the phone number on the episode. You might hear it on the show. Vote by texting the episode title with YES (believer) or NO (skeptic), plus a haunting score from 1–10.