On a cold morning in March 1874, a farmer named Benjamin Schneider approached the home

of his neighbor, Carl Stelzenry, to pick up some potato seeds that Carl had promised

to save for him. It was a short walk from Benjamin's farm to Carl's, both men owned

land along Saxtown Road, just outside the small community of Milstad, Illinois. When Benjamin

walked into the yard, he found the farm strangely quiet. He could hear his boots crunching

on the frost-covered grass, a bird called in the distance. Otherwise, all was silent.

He knew the family should be updoing chores by now, but the cattle and the horses in

the lot didn't seem to have been watered and fed, and the Stelzenryde house was dark.

He knocked sharply on the front door, but there was no answer. He called out and looked

in the window, but it was too dark to see inside. Carl had asked him to stop by that

morning, so it seemed odd the entire family would have left so early. Finally, Benjamin

turned the knob and found the door unlocked. He pushed the door open and stepped inside,

and then he saw the first body on the floor, lying in a pool of blood.

Welcome to American Hauntings, the podcast dedicated to the history, Hauntings, and the

dark side of American history. And welcome to the waning days of our latest season, Woods

and Fields, Dark and Wicked, which is hosted and produced by Cody Beck and written and performed

by Troy Taylor. That's me. This has been a strange and twisted season so far, but it's

just about to get even stranger and much bloodier, as we begin delving into the murders

that stain America's forests, farms, and fields. In the introductions for each episode

this season, I've mentioned I've been working on this season for most of my life, and I've

been asked what I mean by that. And why I'm so fascinated with the dark tales from

Out Yonder, as the farmers used to say. So that seems like a good time to tell that story.

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