Episode 26 - The Villisca Axe Murder House
Explicit content warning
12/21/21 • 96 min
6 Listeners
In the early morning hours of June 10, 1912, Josiah and Sarah Moore, along with their four children and two house guests were brutally murdered in their beds in the small mid-western town of Villisca, Iowa. During the weeks that followed, life in this small town saw a dramatic change. Residents of this sleepy hamlet reinforced locks, openly carried weapons and huddled together while sleeping. Newspaper reporters and private detectives flooded the streets. Accusations, rumors and suspicion ran rampant among friends and families. Bloodhounds were brought in. Law enforcement agencies from neighboring counties and states joined forces. Hundreds of interviews filled thousands of pages, but the murders remain unsolved to this day. The question we examine here is how atrocities like this echo through the years. Is this famously haunted homestead one of so many locations where the very fabric that binds us together as human beings has been torn asunder? Is this why visitors report so many instances of anxiety and despair?
Is there a way for any of us to ever truly know?
Campfire: Tales of the Strange and Unsettling is created for adult audiences only. The content and discussion in this show will necessarily engage with various accounts that include violence, anxiety, fear, and occasional body horror. Much of it will be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage with. We will flag especially graphic or intense content so as to never put you in an uninformed or unprepared position. We will do our best to make this a space where we can engage bravely, empathetically, and thoughtfully with difficult content every week.
This week’s episode includes the following sensitive content:
Extreme Graphic Violence
Violence Against Children
Body Horror
Sexual Assault
Molestation
Pedophilia
Extreme Mental Illness Including:
Dissociative Disorder
Suicidal Ideation
Schizophrenia
Psychopathy
Sociopathy
Join the conversation on social media at
www.campfirepodcastnetwork.com
Instagram:
instagram.com/campfire.tales.podcast
GoodPods:
https://goodpods.app.link/T0qvGnXnplb
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/campfiretotsau
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/campfire.tales.podcast
Special Thanks:
Gregg Martin for music contributions! Go follow him on Instagram at Instagram.com/reverentmusic
Additional Music: "Crime Scene (Alternate Foreboding Version) - The Man Who Loved Flowers Suite" - Ghost Stories Incorporated
Elias Armao for graphic design! Go follow him on Instagram at instagram.com/doggedlinedesignsupply
In the early morning hours of June 10, 1912, Josiah and Sarah Moore, along with their four children and two house guests were brutally murdered in their beds in the small mid-western town of Villisca, Iowa. During the weeks that followed, life in this small town saw a dramatic change. Residents of this sleepy hamlet reinforced locks, openly carried weapons and huddled together while sleeping. Newspaper reporters and private detectives flooded the streets. Accusations, rumors and suspicion ran rampant among friends and families. Bloodhounds were brought in. Law enforcement agencies from neighboring counties and states joined forces. Hundreds of interviews filled thousands of pages, but the murders remain unsolved to this day. The question we examine here is how atrocities like this echo through the years. Is this famously haunted homestead one of so many locations where the very fabric that binds us together as human beings has been torn asunder? Is this why visitors report so many instances of anxiety and despair?
Is there a way for any of us to ever truly know?
Campfire: Tales of the Strange and Unsettling is created for adult audiences only. The content and discussion in this show will necessarily engage with various accounts that include violence, anxiety, fear, and occasional body horror. Much of it will be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage with. We will flag especially graphic or intense content so as to never put you in an uninformed or unprepared position. We will do our best to make this a space where we can engage bravely, empathetically, and thoughtfully with difficult content every week.
This week’s episode includes the following sensitive content:
Extreme Graphic Violence
Violence Against Children
Body Horror
Sexual Assault
Molestation
Pedophilia
Extreme Mental Illness Including:
Dissociative Disorder
Suicidal Ideation
Schizophrenia
Psychopathy
Sociopathy
Join the conversation on social media at
www.campfirepodcastnetwork.com
Instagram:
instagram.com/campfire.tales.podcast
GoodPods:
https://goodpods.app.link/T0qvGnXnplb
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/campfiretotsau
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/campfire.tales.podcast
Special Thanks:
Gregg Martin for music contributions! Go follow him on Instagram at Instagram.com/reverentmusic
Additional Music: "Crime Scene (Alternate Foreboding Version) - The Man Who Loved Flowers Suite" - Ghost Stories Incorporated
Elias Armao for graphic design! Go follow him on Instagram at instagram.com/doggedlinedesignsupply
Previous Episode
Episode 25 - The Mysterious Disappearance of Granger Taylor
5 RecommendationsIn November of 1980, local eccentric and mechanical genius Granger Taylor vanished during the most intense storm in the history of Vancouver Island. This is not the typical missing persons case. After a long and storied history of increasingly impressive engineering projects and historical restorations, Granger became obsessed with the idea of traveling the universe with extraterrestrials. Get ready for a ride into the unknown with one of the coolest guys we’ve ever discussed.
42 MONTHS TO TRAVEL THE UNIVERSE!
Campfire: Tales of the Strange and Unsettling is created for adult audiences only. The content and discussion in this show will necessarily engage with various accounts that include violence, anxiety, fear, and occasional body horror. Much of it will be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage with. I’m We will flag especially graphic or intense content so as to never put you in an uninformed or unprepared position. We will do our best to make this a space where we can engage bravely, empathetically, and thoughtfully with difficult content every week.
This week’s episode includes the following sensitive content:
Explosions
Discussion of:
Mental Health Issues
Self Harm
Suicide
Join the conversation on social media at
www.campfirepodcastnetwork.com
Instagram:
instagram.com/campfire.tales.podcast
GoodPods:
https://goodpods.app.link/T0qvGnXnplb
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/campfiretotsau
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/campfire.tales.podcast
Special Thanks:
Gregg Martin for music contributions! Go follow him on Instagram at instagram.com/reverentmusic
Additional Music: "In The Corner" - Ghost Stories Incorporated
Elias Armao for graphic design! Go follow him on Instagram at instagram.com/doggedlinedesignsupply
Next Episode
Episode 27 - The Van Meter Visitor
6 RecommendationsThis week, we find ourselves once again in the beautiful state of Iowa. In the autumn of 1903, a series of close encounters with a bizarre flying humanoid would forever change the lives of a few of the most prominent figures in the town of Van Meter. Unclassified giant subterranean bat? Antediluvian pterosaur? Ultraterrestrial visitor? Did this nocturnal nuisance fly up from the inner earth? We’re going to talk through it all!
THIS IS NOT A UFO!
Campfire: Tales of the Strange and Unsettling is created for adult audiences only. The content and discussion in this show will necessarily engage with various accounts that include violence, anxiety, fear, and occasional body horror. Much of it will be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage with. We will flag especially graphic or intense content so as to never put you in an uninformed or unprepared position. We will do our best to make this a space where we can engage bravely, empathetically, and thoughtfully with difficult content every week.
This week’s episode includes the following sensitive content:
Audio reenactment of the following:
Gunfire
Explosions
Join the conversation on social media at
www.campfirepodcastnetwork.com
Instagram:
instagram.com/campfire.tales.podcast
GoodPods:
https://goodpods.app.link/T0qvGnXnplb
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/campfiretotsau
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/campfire.tales.podcast
Check it out!
Van Meter Visitor Festival
https://m.facebook.com/vanmetervisitorfestival/
Bigfoot Society Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/bigfootsociety
Special Thanks:
Gregg Martin for music contributions! Go follow him on Instagram at Instagram.com/reverentmusic or https://reverentmusic.bandcamp.com/releases
"Labyrinth of Lost Dreams" by Darren Curtis
Elias Armao for graphic design! Go follow him on Instagram at instagram.com/doggedlinedesignsupply
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