Villisca Axe Murder House Visit

I'm always surprised at the vast number of people who know nothing about the Villisca Axe Murder House. Growing up in the Midwest, it was something you just knew about. Growing up as a rubbernecker, it was somewhere I wanted to visit. I don't care about hauntings or that crap, I just liked the idea that eight people were bludgeoned to death in their beds...six being children. Oh, you didn't know that? Well, see for yourself: http://www.villiscaiowa.com/.

Now, as any normal person would want, and by normal I mean me, Villisca is open for overnight rentals. So, I did what any die hard gore fan would do, and I had a birthday party! It just so happened that we drove past a particularly famous art location...find out where after the jump!

 

Anyway, on a lighter note, you may recognize this house as that which is pictured in the background of American Gothic by Grant Wood.  We just so happened to stumble upon it on our trip to Villisca.They have a marker showing where to stand to create the same backdrop as the painting.

Anyway, back to Villisca, after arriving most of my photographers spirit vanished. I'm not a believer in the paranormal, but the house was completely claustrophobic and I couldn't stop thinking about what the bodies looked like. The family murdered in the house were buried under a mass grave marker, pictured below. Two sisters from church were staying the night that night, and they were buried separately, also pictures below.

Villisca seemed to be a major farming community, and as such trains passed through about every 20 minutes. It seemed to be the only link to the outside world once inside the house. We spent most of the night in the living room listening to the noises of the house. Occasionally my friend Justine and I would break away from the group for good old fashioned exploring. Both of us being cynics, we spent some amount of time looking for smoke and mirrors. Even though it was July, it was an unusually freezing night. While most of our group went to sleep in the barn built on the property or their cars,Justine and I were left by ourselves outside, near freezing. Against my better judgement, I went with her inside the house and we spent the wee hours of the morning in warmth...and terror.

There were these really bizarre dark dots/swishes under the wallpaper. Any ideas on what they are?

What I found particularly surprising about the house was that when the birds started chirping outside, and the light started cracking through the front door, it took on a completely different character. It seemed almost cozy, and whether from sleep deprivation, or from its honest charm I was almost seduced into sleep. I never DID see these ghosts. Some in the group claimed things. But I don't believe one way or the other. What I do believe is that the Villisca house has a haunting charm that will stay with me forever.