The chilling, unsolved murders of a family and six children have cast a long shadow over a small Iowa town for over a century. Now, their gravesite has become a focal point for paranormal enthusiasts.
On June 10, 1912, what began as a typical family sleepover at the Moore residence in the tight-knit town of Villisca erupted into a night of horror.
The victims included Josiah Moore, his wife Sarah, their four children—Herman, 11; Katherine, 10; Boyd, 7; and Paul, 5—and two young guests, Lena, 11, and Ina Stillinger, 8.
While they slept, an unknown assailant wielded Josiah’s axe with terrifying brutality, leaving their skulls shattered and their faces beyond recognition.
The killer, likely lurking in the barn before the attack, struck after midnight. Entering through an unlocked door, the intruder obscured mirrors and windows, covered the victims with sheets, and positioned one girl’s body in a disturbing manner before disappearing without a trace.
Despite exhaustive investigations, searches with bloodhounds, and high-profile trials involving suspects such as a senator and a reverend, no one was ever convicted, leaving the murderer’s identity and motives shrouded in mystery.
Over a century later, the restored house draws paranormal hunters claiming they’ve heard voices of children, opening doors, and beds creaking.
Some who’ve lived at the site years later have even said they’ve been possessed by spirits who caused them to stab themselves.
The house where the Moore family and two other were murdered still stands today and has been restored to its 1912 conditions
None of the children, four from the Moore family and two from the Stillinger family, survived the mysterious killing spree
The slayings began after a visit to the Presbyterian church, with the Moore family and their two guests returning home around 10pm.
Debate still rages over whether their murderer was already within the house, or hiding outside in a hay barn.
Richard Estep, author of the book Nightmare in Villisca, told the Daily Mail: ‘Even now, more than a century later, the Villisca murders continue to haunt us. The killer was never identified, let alone brought to justice.’
‘The Moore and Stillinger girls were brutally murdered in cold blood, in the place where they ought to have been most safe – their beds. No wonder that after-echoes of the atrocity still linger in the house today.’
Records of the gruesome incident suggest that the killer took Josiah Moore’s own axe and murdered him and his wife first, swinging the blunt weapon with such force its head grazed the ceiling of the house.
Each of the six children were then battered to death with the flat of the axe head.
Investigators believed that almost all the victims had been asleep when they died, aside from Lena Stillinger, who may have fought back.
The murderer removed the victim’s underwear and moved her body into a position which some investigators suggested that the killer defiled the corpse after the slayings.
Some have suggested that the family’s gruesome end may be linked to other murders
Josiah Moore’s own axe is believed to have been the murder weapon
The Moore family’s neighbor, Mary Peckham, worried when Josiah and his family were not awake as usual early the next morning.
She knocked on their door, but there was no answer.
It was only when Josiah’s brother arrived with a key that the full horror was discovered.
Despite searches throughout the area, the killer was never found.
The mystery deepened as it appeared that the killer had entered without any sign of forced entry.
Suspicions settled on various individuals, with one theory accusing Iowa State Senator Frank Jones of paying a convicted criminal to murder the family.
Josiah had previously worked with Jones and allegedly had an affair with the senator’s wife, but the senator was never found guilty of the conspiracy.
Another theory revolved around Reverend George Kelly, who lived 40 miles away and had previously been tried for soliciting underage girls.
However, Kelly was tried and acquitted of the crimes and no one else was ever convicted of the murders.
Since then, the unsolved killing spree has lived on in the public’s imagination, driven by the eerie occurrences still taking place inside the house over the decades.
Some have claimed that supernatural events have taken place inside the Moore house, such as possessions and the sounds of ghosts
Lena Stillinger (Pictured) may have woken up and attempted to fight back
Paranormal investigators have repeatedly visited the house and reported that a closet door opens and closes by itself, as seen on the show Ghost Adventures.
A woman named Linda who once lived in the house claimed that her father was taken over by ‘some kind of invisible force’ while sharpening a knife and stabbed himself.
Others have claimed they heard voices of little girls saying the name ‘Kelly.’
Others have suffered nausea, headaches, and fatigue while inside the infamous building.
In 2014, a 37-year-old man mysteriously stabbed himself in the house just after midnight on the same day the original murders were carried out.
Although the mystery surrounding the slayings continues, a 2017 book, The Man from the Train, suggested that the Villisca killings may have been part of a much larger series of murders, carried out by a single serial killer.
However, that theory has never been proven either, and the Iowa killer remains unnamed.
