History:
On June 10, 1912, sometime between the hours of 12:00 am and 5:00 am, a string of gruesome murders took place at the J.B. Moore residence in the small town of Villisca, Iowa. This would soon come to be known as the worst mass homicide in Iowa history. The eight victims, all bludgeoned to death, were Josiah B. Moore (age 43), his wife Sara Moore (age 39), their children Herman (age 11), Katherine (age 10), Boyd (age 7), and Paul (age 5), and two guests in the home, Lena Stillinger (age 11) and Ina Stillinger (age 8). The murder weapon was located by police; it was a large axe owned by Josiah Moore. The axe was found in a small bedroom downstairs, propped up against a wall, next to the dead bodies of Lena and Ina Stillinger. There were many suspects in this gruesome murder, but no one was ever charged, and the case remains unsolved to this very day.

The J.B. Moore residence, currently uninhabited, is known as a hotbed of paranormal activity. The current owner has restored the home to the way it looked in 1912 and, for a small fee, rents the house out to anyone who dares to spend the night.

The Villisca Axe Murder House has been investigated by many ghost hunters and paranormal investigative teams from all around the Midwest. Many have spent the night in this house and reported similar experiences. Some of these experiences include the feeling of a heaviness reported around the main stairwell of the house and a strange change in appearance in the upstairs bedrooms at night. Various video and still shots have been taken with orbs and light trails appearing in them, and numerous electronic audio phenomena (EVP) have also been captured in the house.

The real thrill ride of a night spent at the Villisca House begins around 2:00 am. It is at this time of the night when a train passes through the town of Villisca. The whistle of the train is thought to trigger the residual events of the murder that took place on June 10, 1912. It is widely believed that the killer(s) used the masking sound of the locomotive to sneak throughout the house and murder all its inhabitants, one by one. Many investigators have noticed a light fog filling up the master bedroom at the point when the train whistle is first heard. This fog moves from room to room, just as the killer(s) might have. Once the fog dissipates, it is followed by the sound of dripping blood.

The J.B. Moore home was added to the National Historic Register in 1997.

PRISM Paranormal Pre-investigation: November 19, 2004

Case #: VI-1104

On 11/19/04, PRISM Investigator Dan Christianson bravely spent an entire night alone in the Villisca House. Sensations throughout the night include a feeling of pressure on his chest and nausea. He also felt his hands "turn ice cold" as he approached the stairwell to the attic. Below is a photograph taken in the kitchen in front of the stairway leading to the upstairs. Notice the light anomalies on both the stairwell and on the old photo of the house in the left corner of the photo.

During his visit to the attic, he captured what appears to be an outline of a heart in the top left portion of a photo taken in the attic. This heart-shaped anomaly was not visible to the naked eye. It only appeared on the 35mm photograph. A comparison photo, to the right of the original photo, with the heart drawn in, has been added to help show where the heart is noticed in the photograph.

What happened next, is even more incredible ...the current owner of the home, Darwin Linn, showed Dan a photo of two girls who had previously stayed overnight at the Villisca House prior to Dan's stay. In this copy of the photo, taken in the kitchen of the house, what appears to be a heart manifests itself on the chest of one of the young girls. The girl did not have any birthmarks, tan lines, or the like. Once again, we have added a comparison photograph, with the heart drawn in, located to the right of the zoomed-in portion of the original photograph.

Audio Evidence:

(Best listened to through headphones)

Note: Not everyone hears the same things being said while listening to an EVP. Let your own ears be the judge!

EVP: CLASS C

This recording was captured in the kitchen of the house while nobody was there. Dan left the house for approximately 20 minutes, and when he returned to the empty house, he found this strange EVP on the audio tape.

Original audio clip
EVP looped x5 (Noise reduction added)
EVP looped x5 (N.R. added & Slowed down 25%)

This EVP was recorded on a cassette recorder by PRISM investigator Dan Christianson during the 11/19/04 investigation of the Villisca house. In one of the clips, the EVP was slowed down using Adobe Audition. The knocking sound in the background is coming from the cassette recorder.

Photographic Evidence:

(Click on images to enlarge)

Villisca Axe Murder House - Kitchen

A mysterious light anomaly photographed in the kitchen in front of the to the stairway leading to the second floor.

Note: This photo watermark reads '98, but the camera date was set incorrectly. This photo was taken on 11/19/04.

Photo: Dan C. (Olympus 35mm)

Villisca Axe Murder House - Attic

The heart-shaped anomaly in the attic.

Note: This photo watermark reads '98, but the camera date was set incorrectly. This photo was taken on 11/19/04.

Photo: Dan C. (Olympus 35mm)

Villisca Axe Murder House - Kitchen

The heart-shaped anomaly on the young girl.

Photo: Courtesy of Olson-Linn Museum

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