The Midnight Axe: Villisca and the Shadow of the Train

In this episode of Histories of Horror, Sai and AL step back into 1912 to examine the chilling case of the Villisca Axe Murders, where six members of the Moore family and two overnight guests were found bludgeoned in their beds in small-town Iowa.The conversation dissects the haunting atmosphere of the Moore residence, the baffling lack of forced entry, and the extensive list of eccentric suspects—ranging from a traveling preacher to a local state senator—that kept the investigation in a state of chaos for years. Sai & AL reflect on the limitations of early 20th-century forensics, the enduring mystery of the killer’s identity, and why this century-old crime remains one of the most infamous cold cases in American history.