- Hi, I'm Mickey.

- And I'm Ryan.

- [Both] And this is "Hiseerie".

(eerie music) - [Mickey] We grew up watching paranormal investigators like Zak Bagans on "Ghost Adventures", Ryan and Shane on "Buzzfeed Unsolved" and "Ghost Files", and Sam and Colby on YouTube.

The semi-casual investigations, people just trying to connect with those who are no longer around or something we just can't understand, and diving deep into true crime cases.

All throughout history, different cultures have believed in the paranormal.

Divine gods, spirits, aliens, shaman, and witchcraft, just to name a few.

Supernatural occurrences are reported all over the world and have become ingrained into pop culture.

Since the beginning of humanity, people have been questioning the bigger picture of existence.

What's really out there?

Aliens, ghosts, Bigfoot?

Well, we wanna try it ourselves in our own backyard.

So come with us and explore the paranormal and macabre side of the great Midwest.

- Tonight we are in Villisca, Iowa exploring the amazing Villisca Ax Murder House.

(eerie music) - On June 9th, 1912, a family of six and two guests would be slain overnight in what would become one of America's most infamous unsolved cases.

- Villisca, Iowa is a small town of just over 2,000 people.

The Moore family was well respected and liked around town.

The father, Josiah, was a businessman and a church member.

- The family consisted of Josiah and Sarah Moore, 43 and 39 respectively, and their four children: Herman, 11, Katherine, 10, Boyd, seven, and Paul, five.

On the night of the murders, the family was hosting two of Katherine's friends, Lena, 12, and Ina, 8, Stillinger.

- The evening of the 12th, the family attended a Children's Day program, which was organized by Sarah Moore at the Presbyterian Church.

They headed to the Moore's family about 9:30.

This was the last time they were seen alive.

- The next morning, a disturbing scene would be discovered when the neighbor, Mary Putman, realized that the family wasn't doing their morning chores yet.

She was worried so she went over, knocked on the door, and when she received no answer, started to yell.

She still received no answer, and so in a panic, she went home, called Josiah's brother, Ross, and let the family's chickens out.

- Ross used a spare key to unlock the door and found the bodies of Lena and Ina Stillinger in the guest bedroom.

He exited the house and told Mary to contact Henry Hank Horton, who was the peace officer of the town.

- Horton went on to discover the rest of the Moore family deceased in their beds.

According to investigative reports, it's believed that the killer walked in through the unlocked front door, went upstairs to the parents' bedroom, struck Josiah once with the blunt end of the ax, and used so much force that it chipped the ceiling.

The killer then flipped the ax, hit Sarah with a sharp end before she even knew what was happening, and then continued on to the children's room.

After the parents were killed, the killer went on to bludgeon each child to death in their beds with the blunt end of the ax.

He then went back to the parents' room and continued to bludgeon them until they were unrecognizable.

- The mysterious killer ended his spree with the Stillinger sisters in the guest bedroom downstairs.

- Everyone was killed in their room and left in the same position except for Lena Stillinger.

She was in the same room that she had been sleeping in, but was the only victim to have defensive wounds on her arms.

She was left on the bed in a suggested position with her clothes removed.

However, no further assault was discovered.

(eerie music) - The murder weapon was Josiah's ax found leaning against a wall next to a four pound slab of bacon that the killer seemed to have taken from the family's ice box.

But this wasn't the only mysterious thing found at the crime scene.

- The investigators also found a plate of uneaten food in the kitchen along with a bloody bowl of water.

It had also been seen that each victim had had their head, and every mirror in the house covered with fabric taken from different dressers and closets throughout the house.

- Depending on the source you check, it is rumored that there were two used cigarette butts found on the attic floor, where the killer is rumored to have waited for the family to sleep, which is actually the room we're in right now.

- So, as is common with crime scenes from this era, it was not handled with the most delicate of care.

As soon as word got out to the community, this house was completely swarmed with onlookers, and Horton was unable to keep them out all by himself.

So, by the time that the National Guard had been deployed to close off the crime scene, the ax had been handled by multiple people.

Any evidence throughout the house had been moved around and shuffled by neighbors, and people had even went to Josiah's bedside and taken fragments of his skull as mementos.

Also, as we learned when we were here, they had a fingerprint expert come out, but it was testified in court that he was so drunk that he wouldn't have known what a fingerprint was at the time he was examining the scene.

It's awesome.

The leading suspects in the case were Andrew Sayer, Frank Jones, Henry Lee Moore, no relation, and Reverend George Kelly.

Andrew Sayer was a drifter who was accused of the murders by the man who hired him the following day.

By all accounts, he had an obsession with the case and would sleep with an ax next to his bed every night.

However, he was dismissed as a suspect in the case because he had been arrested for bankruptcy the night before in Osceola, Iowa.

Osceola is 70 miles from Villisca, so it would be possible in theory, but highly unlikely that he was able to travel that time from when he was released at 11:00 PM that night.

It's even more unlikely considering that he was hired in Creston, Iowa around 6:00 AM on the 10th, which is in the middle of Osceola and Villisca.

So, he would've had to travel from Osceola to Villisca 70 miles in a few hours, and then travel halfway back to Osceola by 6:00 AM.

I think he was just a weirdo.

I don't think he did it.

Henry Lee Moore was a murderer who was convicted in 1917 of killing his mother and grandmother with an ax.

He was suspected of the killing of the Villisca family, as well as 14 others across the Midwest.

He was suspected because of his habit of going to morgues to examine bodies, and his collection of serial killer memorabilia that he had started at eight years old.

- [Ryan] The first ax murder was in Colorado Springs, where Moore was just hired by the railroad.

Then a month later, a family was killed in Monmouth, Illinois.

A week after another family was killed in Ellsworth, Kansas.

Then a week before the Villisca murders in Paola, Kansas, a husband and wife were killed.

- I think Moore is a good suspect, but it's all circumstantial evidence and a lot of the crimes that he was blamed for were also pinned on William Blackie Mansfield, which brings us to our next suspect.

Frank Jones was a senator who also ran a hardware store in the area.

He employed Josiah before he had left to start his own hardware store.

Jones was extremely angry that Josiah had taken over the market according to other townspeople.

- There were open accusations by Detective Wilkerson that Jones had hired Mansfield to take out the Moore family.

- Mansfield wife, infant child, mother-in-law, and father-in-law were all axed to death in their home in Blue Island, Illinois in 1914.

Although he was never convicted of it, many believe he's the perpetrator.

All of these crimes had specific details that aligned a little too well.

In all the cases, the families had been bludgeoned with the blunt end of an ax.

All of them also had been covered by, like their heads had been covered in fabric as well as all reflective services in the house.

Oddly, they also all had chimney lamps with the chimney taken off.

- Mansfield was arrested but released after a short trial.

There was a lack of evidence and a payroll that indicated he was in Illinois.

- It should be noted that three different witnesses came forward to report that Jones had been plotting with other men around town that were strangers who were later identified to be Mansfield and his associates.

It was also suspected that Jones had paid off the jury to get the case dismissed, so.

The last suspect we'll look at is Reverend George Kelly.

The reverend was the traveling preacher throughout the Midwest.

He was known as a peeper and accused several times of asking young women and girls to pose nude for him.

He was also an arsonist and future chaplain for the KKK.

He was diagnosed with schizophrenia later in life and would go on to die in a mental asylum.

The reverend was a suspect because he attended the Children's Day program on June 9th with the Moore family.

He then left Villisca between five and 5:50 AM the following day.

A week later, he sent a bloody shirt to be cleaned at a drug store and began writing obsessive and lengthy letters about the crime to investigators and the family members of the victims.

He was originally ruled out because he was only five foot two and 119 pounds, but would eventually be arrested for the crime five years later.

Although he confessed to the crime, the jury believed it was coerced and so much time had passed that the evidence just wasn't there, leading to a hung jury and a mistrial.

- To this day, this case has never been solved, and it's highly likely that there will always be a mystery here.

(eerie music) We started our night in the living room and we didn't see much, but sometimes that's just how it goes.

- The next room we went into was the guest room where the still your sisters were killed.

After trying a few different techniques and tools, we just still weren't really getting anything except for, you know, a few disconnected words here and there until we started to ask about if it was something to do with technology.

- The Moore family, especially Sarah, gave us the impression that they weren't the biggest fan of our technological tools.

- So, we decided to give a new technique a try.

The pendulum.

(eerie music) All right, so we have a pendulum here.

And so our pendulum board looks like this, and what it does is it has the same answers on either side.

So we have "no", "maybe", "try again", "yes", and "unknown", and "rephrase".

So, the idea is that we can take this pendulum.

We have one that's amethyst, which is supposed to be good for clear communication and answers with spirits, and then copper, which is just more in tune with the earth.

But yeah, so what you do, put it around your finger and you spin it in a circle.

And when you do it over the board and you ask a question, it will eventually start going to one way or the other.

It's hard to do.

One way or the other way until you get a clear answer.

Pendulum.

A pendulum is an object, normally a crystal or a ring, that is at the end of a chain or string, and used to communicate using a divination board.

Similar to dowsing rods, Ouija boards, and tarot cards, it's believed to communicate through the user's subconscious being influenced by supernatural elements or intuitive thought to cause minute movements.

Sometimes the pull is so powerful that it moves the hand.

The practice of dowsing, including the use of pendulums, goes back to 2,000 BCE in ancient Egypt and China.

Pendulum like tools were believed to help detect hidden water, energetic imbalances and communicate with the divine and spirit realms.

Is there anyone in the house with us?

- [Ryan] It looks like it's pulled towards yes or maybe.

- [Mickey] That's a yes, I think.

- [Ryan] Oh yeah, that's definitely yes.

- So yes, it says yes there is someone else with us.

Does this person or persons want to talk with us?

Is it rephrase?

- [Ryan] Rephrase.

Unknown.

- Okay, let me ask in a different way.

Do any of, do any of the spirits in the house want to communicate with us?

Oh my God.

Look at the way this just, I didn't even start spinning it again.

- It's like it immediately changed right to yes.

That's crazy.

- Do you have that on camera?

- Oh yeah.

- Okay.

- And I've got your hand in too, so I can see you're not moving your hand.

- Okay.

Well, thank you.

Is there a certain area of the house that we should move to?

See it getting stronger?

- It looks like it pulls this way really hard as soon as you ask.

- Yeah.

Okay.

If I list the rooms in the house, can you tell us which one we should be going to?

- Maybe or yes.

- It's like maybe or yes.

- [Ryan] Yes.

- Okay.

Should we go to the parents' room?

Should we spend some time in there?

Oh, okay.

(chuckling) So we will, we most likely will not be going to the parents' room.

At least spend much time in there.

Is there a reason why we shouldn't go to the parents' room?

- [Ryan] Rephrase or maybe.

I don't know.

- Okay.

Is there a dark energy in the parents' room?

(chuckling) You're communicating really well.

Thank you so much.

Oh, do you see how strong it got?

- Hm-mm.

- It's like, "Your welcome."

Okay.

Okay.

So, then we won't go and spend a lot of time in the parents' room.

We will go to the kids' room.

Should we spend some time in the attic?

Rephrase.

Okay.

Are we welcome to the attic?

- [Ryan] Is it going right to yes?

- Yeah.

Okay.

That's good.

That's nice.

Okay, so we can go up to the attic and it'll be okay.

All right, so we'll spend some time in the attic.

Is there any specific people we should be reaching out to?

Okay.

Thank you for pulling harder, so I know you're responding to a new question.

Should we reach out to someone in the Moore family?

Yes.

Okay.

Should we reach out to Sarah?

Whoa.

All right.

Should we reach out to Josiah?

Oh.

- [Ryan] Oh.

- Does Josiah like to talk to visitors?

Oh, I think it's going to no.

Okay.

Okay.

So we won't reach out to Josiah.

Does he wanna just be left alone to rest in peace?

No.

Maybe he just doesn't like people.

Oh.

Oh my God.

Are we going back to yes?

Oh, he doesn't like people.

Oh, you know what, Josiah, after what happened to your family, I don't blame you.

- [Ryan] Is it because we're strangers?

- Oh wow.

Is he protective of his family?

Whoa.

Do you see how far that's going?

- Hm-mm.

- Oh my gosh.

That's very admirable.

Whoa.

Am I talking to Josiah right now?

- [Ryan] Is this still Sarah?

- I wait, I think it might be switching.

Are we talking to Sarah right now?

Is that why you said we should reach out to Sarah?

Well, thank you for talking to us.

I'm gonna pause just for a second.

Okay?

See, she swung it extra hard to say yes.

Okay.

Okay, I'm fairly confident to say that we are speaking to Sarah.

So, thank you for welcoming us in your family's home.

Are, is it okay if we read to your kids upstairs in their room?

If we share, like, a bedtime story with them.

Oh.

Okay.

Do you still take care of your kids?

Mother's job is never done, right?

Yeah.

Do you see how crazy this thing is going?

Yeah, I'm sure it's hard, especially because you kind of had to take in two, your daughter's two friends.

Yeah.

It's hard.

Do you wanna ask anything?

- [Ryan] You kind of covered all a lot of it.

Sarah, is there anything to fear in this house?

- Do I to restart it and then do that one.

Oh, nevermind.

It's like, yes, but like more sporadic and shy.

- [Ryan] Is it the person who hurt you?

- Do you know who this person is?

- [Ryan] Is it a person?

- Yes.

- Is it a man?

(distance creaking) - Was that you?

Sorry, that was kind of a foolish question 'cause you're here with us.

If she goes back to yes, to say it was a foolish question.

That is so funny.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sarah.

It's very awesome.

Is that the dark energy?

Is that the person that we should be fearful of?

Oh, okay.

- [Ryan] And the flashlight went off.

- Sorry, it went on so bright.

So that noise that we just heard, that was the person that you fear?

Okay.

Does he hurt you?

Okay, I'm gonna stop for a second and then restart that.

Okay.

But was that you?

Okay.

So we do have a, so it's me, Ryan, you have a cameraman with us this time and that light just flashed.

So I'm guessing it's whoever's flashing that light, but we just heard some creaks and footsteps.

I don't know.

- The first time sounded like footsteps the second time just.

- Yeah.

- Sounded like a floor creek.

- Hm-mm.

So we just wanted to double check, make sure that, that.

Well, I wanted make sure it wasn't something to worry about, but then it was, that was proven to be inaccurate.

So, I don't know.

Okay.

Sarah.

- Thank you.

- Do you try to protect and help protect the guests that come here to see your house and talk to your family?

Oh, that's very kind of you.

You're very motherly.

Well, on the spirit box earlier in the other room, we were having a really hard time getting anything clearly, but it sounded to me like it said protector when we were asking who's there, was that you?

I thought I was just mishearing it.

- Well, I thought I heard Sarah a few times over the spirit box.

- [Mickey] Were you trying?

- [Ryan] There it goes.

- [Mickey] Yeah.

I know that thing can be pretty hard, especially when there's other radio stations around.

Yeah.

- Is Josiah the only one that doesn't want to speak with us tonight?

- Do the kids like to be talked to?

Yeah.

Do you think they like the attention?

Yeah.

Are you unsure if Josiah doesn't wanna talk to us because you don't know the dark entities feelings about it?

Yeah.

That's fair.

You don't wanna speak for others.

Do you, is it like fun and nice for you to communicate with people?

Like, do you enjoy this?

Like, do you like that people come and talk?

Yes.

Do you like it when people come and talk with technology?

No way.

Oh.

There we go.

Okay.

That was cool.

Thank you.

What are the chances that it would do that on the same set of questions?

Yeah, you really don't like technology.

Hm-mm.

Well, when we're talking with you, we'll try to keep it on this thing, okay?

I respect your wishes.

I respect this.

It's very, okay, thank you.

Well, I'm gonna stop this for now and I'm gonna debrief with my team and we might talk to you later, okay?

Okay.

Thank you.

We learnt to go to the kids' room, play with them, read with them, they'll enjoy it.

- [Ryan] Hm-mm.

- That's good.

Don't talk to Josiah.

He wants to be left alone 'cause he doesn't like strangers and he wants to protect his family, which is very understandable and admiral.

And that Sarah likes to communicate to guests but not with technology.

And that there is something negative in the house.

We originally had planned for this to be one episode, but after going through the footage and talking about our experience, it just didn't feel like 26 minutes really gave our experience justice.

- Come back for part two on our Villisca investigation.

(eerie music) - Thank you for watching this episode of "Hiseerie".

If you enjoy and wanna see more, like, behind the scenes content and full uncut sessions, be sure to check out our Patreon at patreon.com/hiseerie.

- If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, and subscribe below.

(eerie music) (funky music) (birds chirping) (music and birds continue)