The Haunted Moore House in Villisca, Iowa
The Moore family was highly respected and revered in Villisca, Iowa in their day. As a matter of fact, nearly one century later, these individuals are still considered to be respectable and are still honored. Josiah Moore was the head of the household with his wife, Sarah Moore, at his side. The names of the children were Boyd, Herman, Paul, and Catherine. Members of the local Presbyterian Church, and avidly social among the community, the Moore’s were well known and well liked. Unfortunately, the last time that they would be seen was when they left a Children’s Day Program event that Sarah Moore had organized in the community. Sarah Moore had gathered her family into one unit in order to walk home after the events ended at the church that evening. It is believed that this occurred close to 10pm that evening. The Moore family made arrangements with the Stillinger family for their two young children, Ina and Lena to spend the night. The next morning, the neighbor to the Moore’s, Mary Peckham, noticed that the home was unusually quiet and still. She considered the fact that the family may be ill and went to check on them. Once receiving no response, she assumed that they were ill and went around the home in an effort to assist the family with their chores. Basically, she just let the chickens out and waited on the family to bustle about. Ms. Peckham became quite uneasy and decided to phone Mr. Moore’s brother, Ross. He stated that he would meet her at the home. They both attempted to get someone to come to the door, and even tried to peer inside the windows. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see anything. Eventually, he would get his set of keys out and unlock the home. They began to search through the home, and ran across dead bodies. It was then that the Sheriff of the community was called as a murder had taken place. All of the members of this family, as well as the two young girls who had stayed with the family had been murdered by way of an ax to the head…it was then that the dark cloud of the supernatural hung over the once, lively and happy, home…. Throughout history, a large number of investigations have been done on the home in an effort to communicate and/or identify spirits in the home. The sound of children playing and laughing, faint whispers, sounds such as creeks, and even items moving and falling have all been identified. To date, there are video, photographic, and audio hints that spirits still reside in the Moore House in Villisca, Iowa region. To date, it remains to be considered one of the most haunted places in the United States….
Check out this video about the house.
Daytime tours (seasonal)$10 Evening lamplit tours by reservation only $25 Overnight stays by reservation only $300 for up to 5 guests,$60 for each additional guest. They recommend no more than 10 people do to the size of the house. The information and prices here are listed to give you a general idea of availabilty and cost and were current at the time of this writing. This information is subject to change. Please use the contact information below and call or visit their website before planning a trip to make sure you have the most current information. Location: Villisca,Iowa Telephone: 712-621-4291 Website: http://www.villiscaiowa.com/index.html
Books and Video's on the Villisca Ax Murders and Hauntings:
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