Villisca Ax Murder House

We booked an overnight stay at the Villisca Axe Murder House with a group of coworker friends, which was super odd to begin with. But with all its ups and downs, we had a ton of fun overall.We were to meet our guide at the museum in town, but arrived a little early and had a bit of time to look around at the exhibits. The museum had a lot of items from the period when the murders took place - things like old Coke and Pepsi bottles, but none of which were used in any of the murders so we just took a passing glance. We came upon a bucket of old shingle scraps from the original murder house (free for the taking) so that was an interesting piece of the history. We did not take any of these shingle chips, lest we bring something more than memories home with us.Once we met our guide, she was to take us around the area and to the cemetery where the victims are buried, and then to the Axe Murder House where we would spend the night. Since we had a big group and she drove a small Sedan, she just said to follow her in our car and she would point out her window at a few things along the way and then tell us what the pointed-at things meant when we arrived at the cemetery. However, she also had a cigarette she ashed out the window so we weren't sure what was pointing and what was ashing. Just to be clear, I'm not complaining about this - it was hilarious.Our guide imparted to us that she had heard weed-whacking sounds at the cemetery earlier that week, but when she looked around, there was no weed-whacking landscaper to be seen. Needless to say, we were on the lookout for this phantom weed whacker the rest of the experience.We arrived at the main event, and got a quick tour of the barn, cellar, and the house. Inside the house there were a few historical pieces from the Moore family (the victims) such as some clothing laid out on the beds and photos on the walls.Once we were on our own, we ventured into the cellar first. After looking around a bit, a mouse or maybe a stick touched my friend's foot and she screamed, which caused us all to scream. When we found out it was just a mouse/stick, we told her to save her screams for actual ghosts or supernatural sightings.We next went to check out the barn a little closer, and saw that there were some semi-unflattering paintings of the victim's on the wall, along with a previous visitor's warning: "Sh*t went down!" We strolled around the rest of the grounds, which included an outhouse, a little gazebo style pair of benches, and a few other outbuildings. One thing to note here is that this house is not in the middle of nowhere out in a cornfield where you feel isolated and instantly eery - it's in the middle of a neighborhood with neighbors' yards all around, including playsets and bicycles, etc. If you can ignore those, the grounds do feel a little creepy as you walk through them.After our little stroll of the surrounding area, we headed into the house. We sort of just waited around for nightfall and chatted a bit about what we thought we might see once it got dark. We had Casey's Pizza and wine coolers, so we were having a good time while we waited, don't worry.Once night fell, we did walk around the house a little more (with flashlights) to see if any spooky things happened now that it was dark. We did hear a slight tapping/humming noise, but when we went to investigate, it ended up being the old window air conditioner. At this point, we thought we may need to delve deeper to get these spirits to haunt us. Luckily, one of my coworkers brought a crystal which we used to ask the spirits questions (yes or no questions). We decided the crystal swinging one way meant yes and the other way being no. I feel that was kind of arbitrary since we made up the rules of the answering format, but we did get it swinging a little bit to get some possible answers out of those dang ghosts. My other coworker brought an EVP reader and we asked the spirits a few questions (but we didn't get to hear the recordings until the next week, and there were a few little spooky things there, if you increased the volume a ton and could hear a muffled voice kind of saying a few of our names).A handful in our group were getting tired and did not want to sleep in the house, so they headed to their van at this point to hit the hay. The true ghost hunters (me and a few others) stayed up the rest of the night so we didn't miss anything spooky that may pop up. We didn't see anything creepy beyond a wasp's nest in the attic and a suspicious doll we found in one of the bedrooms. The morning came, and even though we didn't have any specific haunting experiences, we did have a ton of fun and did freak each other out a few times, so it was all in all a pretty good time. I would recommend this experience if you have a good group to go with, and a light spirit to not take it too seriously and expect to see Ghostbusters-like apparitions (who knows, maybe YOU will!)

A fun experience! The tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We rented the EMF detector and thought it was worth it for the extra fee. We liked the the gift shop and found prices to be fair.

Johnny was an incredibly awesome guide who told us the story, answered all our questions while debunking rumors and misinformation. Please give Johnny a raise!

5 stars for the true story.Please know the story of the house before visiting. The girl, who gets 1 star on her storytelling skills, rushed through it in less than 2 minutes. She did a good job on taking the money though. 4 stars for the up keep of the house.We did an overnight, September 7-8. 5 people stayed. The inside was a good temperature. There is an A/C unit on each floor. Our overnight was very stormy and lots of rain. We did find out there are a couple of leaks in the kitchen. I do think they need to dust a little more too. 5 stars on our overnight experience. No ghosts or bad feelings happened. We went in with open hearts and good intentions. Our EMF meters were going crazy at the beginning but when it was bedtime we were able to get a night sleep. We might of caught some EVP but those are under review. The house does have its own parking area and is being monitored with cameras. There are no bathrooms or electrical outlets inside house but the barn does. The town is not very big but there is a Casey's and TJ's cafe to grab food. If you are lucky the barn cat will greet you with open paws. Always 5 stars on cats.

I went there with my sister and cousins. We didn't a tour but we did get a rundown of the home and how the investigation went, then we were let loose which was more convenient for us. It was a nice experience however there was another group who were a bit rowdy but hey each there own, overall it was great and highly recommend if you're a firm believer in the spiritual world (photo isn't mine credit to owner)

Fascinating experience and a historical adventure. Really interesting! I did some research before visiting the house and it made it all the more interesting.

We recently did the Villisca Axe Murder House private cemetery tour. Guided by Johnny and Emily, we couldn't have asked for more engaging hosts. Our two tour guides were very nice people, and we instantly connected with their respect for this location. We could tell that they love their jobs!! They shared so much history with us. Not only about the cemetery and the house itself, but also about the town's history, the land, the victims, the suspects and their personal observations and experiences. Even with all their knowledge, they were both eager and excited to learn more. How cool is that? This tour was exactly what we were looking for!! They welcomed questions and were encouraging. This tour (and our tour guides) rounded out the information that we had already learned prior to visiting. After the cemetery tour, which we did on June 12, 2024 (112 years to the date of the burial), we spent the night in the house. Prior to entering the location we prepared and protected ourselves. We felt that this protective barrier allowed us to experience the house and we were fully present in the moment. We were able to release our fear, and embrace our curiousity. While there, we did experience physical contact, children laughing, cat balls lighting up, emf contact, visualizations, and spirit box confirmation. We walked through the house respecting its history and legacy. When we left the house, we knew that this was the experience we were meant to have.

Well...a wild experience to say the least. My three friends and I had our first paranormal investigation here and we did not turn out empty handed. Very REAL experiences here that entailed direct communication through spirit box and EMF reacting devices. Great first experience, would absolutely recommend. Thank you!

I had a great time. My friend didn't make it longer than 10 min before she got overwhelmed with the spirit energy. The tour guide did a great job. She was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. She was willing to answer any questions asked, and encouraged people to check out any area they wanted to. Would be willing to do this again.

Emily was so welcoming and informative! We definitely plan on coming back for an overnight visit. I love that this place doesn't limit your interactions with the house itself as long as you're respectful!!