Short Horror Stories

The Villisca axe murders

This is my great-grandmother’s story. She passed away in 2005, at the ripe old age of 103. This story is family folklore…but unlike most family folklores, which have been exaggerated with time, this one is 100% true. (I created a throwaway in case some internet sleuth finds out my family name, I’d rather not have it tied to my main account.)

This story takes place in the year 1912 in a little Iowa farming community named Villisca. One summer day, my great-grandmother was asked if she would like to stay overnight at her friend’s house with two other girls. When my great-grandmother asked her parents if she could attend the sleepover, she was told that she couldn’t, as there was too much housework that needed to be done, but that she could go over the next day after her morning chores had been completed.
The next morning, my great-grandmother’s friend, her siblings, her parents, and the two guests who were staying overnight were found murdered.

Police discovered that all 8 people had been bludgeoned to death. The murder weapon, an axe, was left in the house. The murder has never been solved.

To this day, my family’s unofficial motto is, “saved by chores.” And yes, this story is used in my family to scare children into completing their housework.

-thoughtcatalog.com