Read the full-length deep-dive article about the Villisca Axe Murder House in the Weird Darkness blog at https://weirddarkness.com/villisca

In 1912, someone crept through an unlocked door in small-town Iowa with an oil lamp and an axe, leaving eight bodies and a mystery that still haunts the house where they died.

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IN THIS EPISODE: Social media over-sharers are a common complaint. Facebook is a medium where people spill their guts, sometimes without enough discretion. While detailed status updates about breakups can be annoying, killers who confessed on social media give new meaning to the term "TMI." It's hard to believe, but some people use Facebook as a platform to announce the heinous crimes they’ve committed. (Online Crime Confessions) *** While some people confess on social media to the murders they’ve committed, in some cases it is social media that caused people to commit murder or be killed. We’ll look at a few of those cases. (Dead Because of Social Media) *** What if you could talk to God? Not through prayer, but through thought? Where you would be able to converse directly, and receive direct answers. One group of scientists believed it was possible and set out to do just that. (A Direct Line To God) *** Author and researcher Raymond Fowler tackles the tricky and trippy subject of time slips, and ripples in time. (Raymond Fowler And The Ever Changing Nature of Time) *** A young girl is continually beckoned to take a boat ride – but the one doing the beckoning is not of this world. (The Ghost In The Boat) *** On June 10, 1912, all eight people inside the Moore family's house in Villisca, Iowa — including two adults and six children — were murdered by an axe-wielding assailant. It’s a mystery over a century old that still has no answers. (The Horror and Haunting In Villisca)
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Lead-In
00:01:18.081 = Show Open
00:03:44.308 = The Horror and Haunting in Villisca
00:14:19.284 = Online Crime Confessions
00:27:40.686 = Dead Because of Social Media
00:46:55.685 = The Ghost In The Boat
00:51:04.528 = Raymond Fowler And The Ever Changing Nature of Time
00:58:29.767 = A Direct Line to God
01:03:58.070 = Show Close
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
BOOK: “Time Slip Connexions – We Are Holograms” by Raymond E. Fowler: https://amzn.to/3KOgRTS
BOOK: “UFOs – The Ultimate Abduction, We Are Property” by Raymond E. Fowler: https://amzn.to/3P8PhTC
BOOK: “Haunted Holidays – Twelve Months of Kentucky Ghosts” by Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie Brown: https://amzn.to/3KTj1S3
“The Horror And Haunting In Villisca” by Katie Serena for All That’s Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/y9ape54y; from AmysCrypt.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4s9a732u; and Karly and Tera from HomespunHaints.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p96j5sb
“The Ghost In The Boat” posted at Strange Company: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p84yr35
“Online Crime Confessions” by Patricia Platt for Unspeakable Crimes: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5t3m9k6r; and JF Sargent for Ranker’s Lifestyle: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckftb29
“Dead Because of Social Media” by Whitney Milam for Ranker: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/n7vpa28t
“Raymond Fowler And The Ever Changing Nature of Time” posted at SpectralVision.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4x2wuwkk
“A Direct Line to God” posted at The Scare Chamber: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/w98jzsvb
=====(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: August 28, 2023
NOTE: Some of this content may have been created with assistance from AI tools, but it has been reviewed, edited, narrated, produced, and approved by Darren Marlar, creator and host of Weird Darkness — who, despite popular conspiracy theories, is NOT an AI voice.
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/HorrorAndHauntingInVillisca
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