Halloween Creature Feature

It's Spooky Season, and Halloween is fast approaching. Stuck on what to watch? Looking for something new and spooky? Or just need some movie inspiration? Take a look at my list of 31 horror movies, one for every day of October. If you want to weigh in on these movies or have any recommendations of your own, feel free to leave a comment or tag me in a Tweet.

1 - Pumpkinhead

Horror and tragedy often go hand in hand, but Pumpkinhead handles the two incredibly well. A grieving father seeks vengeance after his son is accidentally killed by some teens in a hit-and-run. With the assistance of a witch, he summons a demon to hunt down the people responsible but soon finds himself feeling remorse, as his link to the creature means he experiences the ensuing horror as it takes place. And the only person who can end the carnage is him.

2 - The Evil Dead

If you went to a cabin in the woods with your friends and found a creepy cellar filled with occult goodies and a voice recording that's likely to unleash literal hell on earth, would you:

A. Leave it alone, continue enjoying your break and never speak of it again.

B. Play the recording and mess with the mysterious artefacts.

Unfortunately for Ash and his friends, they chose B, freeing a race of ancient demons known as the Deadites. They probably should have stuck to a nice package holiday, but a film like that wouldn't have led to a series of cult movies, a TV series and multiple games. There's also a reboot, but I recommend starting at the 1981 original.

3 - Hellraiser

A must-watch with the reboot being released on the 4th of October. A Clive Barker classic, this dark and bloody horror is perfect for Spooky Season. Moving into her husband's childhood home with him, Julia soon realises that the worst thing about the house isn't that it's a bit of a fixer-upper; it's haunted by her long-lost lover, her brother-in-law, Frank. Having summoned a group of sadistic demons, he's now escaped them and enlists Julia's help in resurrecting his earthly body with human sacrifices. It's up to Julia's stepdaughter, Kirsty, to stop the duo's murderous rampage. That is if she can survive her family and the demons pursuing them.

4 - Critters

Think Lilo & Stitch...if Stitch was a group of hungry, murderous fuzzballs who have just escaped a maximum security interstellar prison and have landed on earth with no intention of beings friends with anyone. Gore galore in this excellent galactic comedy horror.

5 - The Decent

One of the most claustrophobic movies I've ever seen. A group of friends goes caving, but their trip soon turns into a nightmare as they find themselves trapped deep underground. As if that wasn't bad enough, it turns out that they aren't alone down there. The caves are inhabited by a race of subterranean humanoids, and they're hunting the girls.

6 - The Cabin in the Woods

Remote woodland cabins are never a good idea; horror movie fuel every time. A group of college students retreat to a cabin in the Woods, determined to relax and party, but their good time soon gets ruined as they fall victim to a family of zombies. But that's the least of their problems, as there's more going on here than meets the eye. Quick, clever and a little bit different to your average monster movie.

7 - Tremors

The classic monster movie that launched multiple sequels, a TV series and an as-of-yet unreleased TV series. Earl and Val are tired of their boring lives in their run-down little desert town, so they leave, searching for better things. However, their attempt at starting new lives for themselves is scuppered as they come across the horrifically mangled remains of some other locals and workmen fixing the road outside of town. What they initially take for the work of a serial killer turns out to be the result of something much worse, and Earl, Val and the townsfolk soon find themselves involved in the world's worst game of The Floor Is Lava.

8 - The Ritual

I'm not going to lie, Moder is one of the most well-designed monsters I've seen in a long while. Four guys go on a hike after the tragic death of their friend, but bonding goes out of the window when they take a regrettable shortcut.

9 - Willy's Wonderland

A mysterious, energy drink addicted stranger takes a job as a cleaner in an abandoned amusement center in exchange for repairs to his broken-down car. As if cleaning the place wasn't hard enough, he has to deal with a group of well meaning teens and a gang of killer animatronic critters at the same time. If you're a fan of the FNAF games then you'll love this manic, gory, funny horror movie.

10 - Dog Soldiers

Nobody warns a group of soldiers on a military exercise about what happens if you don't stay off the moors and beware the moon. The other best Werewolf movie in existence. Terrifying monsters, characters you'll want to survive and, eventually, no Spoons.

11 - The Unnamable

Another film based on a story by H. P. Lovecraft by the same name. Two groups of university students head to their town's local haunted house, one to party and the other to find their missing friend. While the house has been rumoured to have been haunted since the 18th century, the two groups soon discover that they're up against something worse than a ghost. A demon had been sealed in the house for decades, but now it's loose and angry.

12 - 13th Child

There aren't that many good movies about the Jersey Devil out there, but I'm sure there are some. This isn't one of them, but it is a fun watch for Spooky Season. People are being murdered, seemingly by an untraceable assailant with superhuman strength. Intrepid District Attorney Murphy sets out to solve what could be the most significant case of her career but soon realises that the killer she's hunting is far from human.

13 - The Thing

If you're worried about what will be found as the ice caps melt, this might not be the movie for you. A research team on a remote Antarctic base find themselves besieged by an unknown creature that can mimic any living thing...or any living person. As tensions run high, they battle fear and paranoia in an attempt to stop the Thing before it can kill them all and escape the base.

14 - Antlers

Teacher Julia takes a particular interest in the well-being of one of her students, Lucas, as she fears the boy is being abused. Her investigation soon takes a horrifying turn because Lucas is guarding a dark and terrible secret, one that's about to get out.

15 - The Mist

A father and son, David and Billy, become trapped in a supermarket when a strange mist takes over the town. To their horror, they and the other people stuck in the building discover that the abnormal weather condition is home to a large variety of hideous creatures, all of which are preying on the helpless humans trapped within the store. As tensions rise and the attacks grow more frequent, some of the humans inside become just as dangerous as the monsters outside, and the real fight for survival begins. A word of warning, the ending of this movie is heartwrenching.

16 - It Follows

And it has no intention of stopping until it's killed you. In this chilling and dreamlike film, Jay finds herself cursed after sleeping with her boyfriend. Chased by a creature that only she can see, which can take on any form it pleases, she and her friends find themselves in a race for time to stop the Thing or at least slow It down.

17 - The Reanimator

Based on the H. P. Lovecraft story Herbert West - Reanimator, this 1985 comedy horror is one of my all-time favourite movies. When medical student Dan puts out an advert for a new flatmate, and the position is taken by new student Herbert West, his life takes a turn for the bizarre and horrifying. Herbert isn't just any ordinary medical student. He's a modern day Doctor Frankenstein obsessed with halting death itself, but the only way to advance scientific theories is to test them out, and their medical school offers plenty of opportunities to do just that. As everything spirals out of control, Dan finds himself dragged along for the ride.

18 - The Fly

More mad science with 1986's The Fly, a reboot of the 1958 film of the same name. Scientist Seth Brundle decides the best way to test his new teleportation tech is on himself, but in the process finds his DNA fused with that of a fly. Although nothing seems wrong initially, Brundle soon finds himself mutating into a grotesque hybrid. Can he save himself, or is he doomed? 

19 - Killer Klowns From Outer Space

We can all agree that clowns are creepy, but what if they were worse? What if clowns were aliens from outer space that had come to earth to feed on the citizens of a small American town? That's the problem our heroes face in this cheesy 1988 horror comedy. Well worth a watch, especially if you intend to play the game based on this movie, due in 2023.

20 - American Werewolf in London

Two college students discover what happens when you ignore people's warnings to stay off the moors and beware the moon. Friends David and Jack are on a walking holiday in England when they're attacked by a Werewolf. Although Jack is killed, David survives, waking up in a hospital in London where he suffers from terrifying hallucinations and dreams. By the time he realises that he's become a werewolf, it's too late, and David is loose in the city. 

21 - Gremlins

You'll never want an exotic pet ever again after watching Gremlins. Billy is gifted an adorable new pet by his Father, a sweet fluff ball named Gizmo, who comes with a simple set of rules to follow when caring for him. Despite this, two of these rules get broken, unleashing a hoard of maniacal Gremlins on the town. Far from being mischievous, these little creeps are out for blood, and it's up to Billy and Gizmo to save the day.

22 - The Mummy

The 1999 classic, not the 2017 flop. Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan dreams of discovering great archaeological treasures, especially in the lost city of Hamunaptra. In an attempt to find the city she enlists the help of her brother Jonathan and a charming rogue, Rick O'Connell, who knows the city's location. The trio compete with other archaeologists seeking treasure and accidentally set free a cursed Egyptian priest, Imhotep, who was mummified alive. Now the race to find treasure becomes a race to save not only the world from the vengeful Imhotep, but also Evelyn because Imhotep is convinced she's his lost love reincarnated. This much-loved monster movie is iconic and perfect for any moviegoer.

23 - Ravenous 

The most subtle kind of monster is the one that appears human. A bloody, dark comedy with an insane soundtrack, Ravenous is an enjoyable introduction to Wendigo mythology. Sent to work at Fort Spencer, Captain John Boyd is soon involved in a mission to rescue a lost party of settlers when a lone survivor finds their fort. It becomes apparent that the party has been cannibalised, and the one responsible has lured them there for his next meal. Before he knows it, Boyd's promotion turns into a nightmarish game of cat and mouse between him and the sinister killer Colquhoun.

24 - Fright Night

An excellent horror comedy and the perfect Halloween monster movie. Teenager Charley loves horror, but things get a bit too real when he discovers his charismatic new neighbour is a vampire. Although people are clearly dying, nobody believes Carlie when he tries to tell them what's happening, so he decides to slay the beast himself, enlisting the help of his friends and washed-up horror host Peter Vincent to do so.

25 - Night of the Demon

Released in 1957, this is the oldest film on this list, but I highly recommend it. Based on the M.R James story Casting the Runes, it follows Doctor Holden as he arrives in England to attend a convention and finds himself investigating the mysterious death of a colleague and possibly cursed by the cult that may have been involved with it. Even if you haven't heard of this film before, you might still be familiar with it thanks to the Kate Bush song Hounds of Love, which opens with a sample from the movie; "It's in the trees! IT'S COMING!"

26  - Frankenstein Theory

A team of documentary makers discover that Frankenstein is based on a true story, thanks to one of them possibly being his only descendant. The crew set off to Canada to investigate some possible sightings of what could be the infamous monster, but in their attempt to separate fact from fiction, they end up biting off more than they can chew. A fun-found footage movie; a little low budget, but enjoyable.

27 - Lost Boys

Sometimes people fall in with the wrong crowd, but Michael takes it a bit too far when he finds himself in too deep with a group of bikers, who also happen to be vampires. Luckily for him, while he was messing around with the creatures of the night, his little brother Sam was making friends with the local vampire hunters. A mix of dark comedy and thrilling horror, it's hard to find a more perfect vampire film than this.

28 - Night Breed

Have you always sided with the monsters instead of the humans? Then this film from the mind of Clive Barker is for you. Dark and strangely beautiful. While a brutal serial killer haunts the city where he lives, Aaron Boone is haunted by dreams of a mysterious place known as Midian and feels strangely drawn to the place. Because of these dreams he's been seeing a psychiatrist, Doctor Decker, who's the one responsible for the killings, but pins the blame on Boone, persuading him that he's the one responsible. Rather than hand himself in to the police, Boone goes on a quest to find Midian, believing that it's the only place he can find the answers and peace he seeks. Meanwhile, he's pursued not only by the police and his loyal girlfriend but by Decker, who isn't finished with him yet.

29 - The Return of the Living Dead

A clumsy duo of employees in a medical supply company accidentally crack open a barrel full of chemicals, releasing dangerous gas into the air. This gas gets mixed into the rain outside, soaking into the local cemetery and resulting in the bodies returning to life, searching for delicious brains.

30 - Ginger Snaps

Being a teen is hard, especially if you're the odd one out at school, but things get more complicated for sisters Ginger and Brigitte when, on their way to prank a school bully one night, they are attacked by an unknown creature. Ginger is bitten by the beast, and as she begins to go through some weird changes that can't be blamed on puberty, it becomes clear that her attacker was a Werewolf. The race is on for Brigette to save her sister before the upcoming full moon, but can she do it and does Ginger really want to be saved?

31 - Trick r Treat

A delightfully ghoulish collection of tales, interwoven into a true Halloween classic, with monsters abound. Some of those monsters, however, are more human than others. Beautifully shot and brilliantly acted, this film is a true love letter to Halloween and quickly developed a cult following. Fans have been after more for ages and got good news recently when director Mike Dougherty announced that he's involved in active development with Legendary Entertainment on a sequel. I can't wait to see what that will be like, and I'm sure you'll be looking forward to it after watching this.

Types of Hauntings: a Who's Who of Spooks.

Premonition, by Henryk Weyssenhoff, approximately 1893.
Image is in the Public Domain.

The world is an extraordinary place; there are many strange things out there, both genuine and fake. If you're experiencing or investigating a haunting, or are just curious, it's nice to know exactly what you're dealing with, as no two hauntings are ever the same. So let's take a look at the types of hauntings that can be found out there.

Intelligent

The name says it all, intelligent hauntings are intelligent and, even if you haven't experienced one for yourself, you'll be familiar with this type of haunting as it pops up all the time in movies and shows. These spirits retained their intelligence and personality in death, making them interesting to interact with during investigations. However, interesting doesn't equal easy. These spooks are smart, they might share misleading information or just choose not to interact with you at all. But if you can get one to interact with you, then it's worth experimenting a bit with different equipment or by trying to get them to move things, make noises or show themselves. It's also worth noting that although they're aware of what's going on around them, the spirit might not even know that they're dead. The ones that are aware might not want to leave or may have some unfinished business to attend to before they do.

Residual

A Residual haunting can't be interacted with in the same way as an intelligent haunting, as the spirit isn't aware of anything and can only be witnessed. When a negative event occurs, it can leave an imprint of what happened on the energies of the environment around it, like a short recording or a stain. This snapshot in time will then replay itself repeatedly or, occasionally, on the anniversary of the traumatic event that caused it. Sometimes these types of haunting are visible, other times they manifest in the form of sounds and smells. One example of this type of haunting is the Battle of Culloden Moor. This historical battle was a massacre, which took place on the 16th of April 1746 and is said to repeat itself every year on that date, with witnesses having heard the sounds of battle echoing over the otherwise silent moorland. And that's only the residual part of the haunting. Since so many people were killed there, there are also instances of intelligent hauntings occurring in this area.

Inhuman

It would be easy to jump to conclusions and assume that this type of hauntings means demonic activity, but that's not always the case. Just because a spirit is inhuman, it doesn't mean it's demonic in nature. Inhuman hauntings can include animal spirits, shadow people, elementals and other spirits that have never existed in a human form. These spirits are often part of an intelligent haunting and, as a result, differ in temperament and personality. The downside is that sometimes this type of haunting can be unpleasant, more so than a hostile intelligent haunting, leading to their demonic reputation. An excellent example of an unpleasant inhuman haunting would be the one that occurred at Berkeley Square. A much more friendly instance of this type of ghost would be Gef the talking Mongoose.

Poltergeist

Everyone will be familiar with this iconic, noisy spirit. Experts are torn on what Poltergeists actually are, with some believing them to be a type of spirit. In contrast, others consider them a form of energy inadvertently caused by a troubled household member. Think of it as a type of stress-related psychic activity. Some Poltergeists seem happy just to make a ruckus, but most will attach themselves to and actively target a member of the household they are haunting. 

Poltergeist activity often starts slowly, building up to a crescendo before suddenly stopping. The sudden lack of action doesn't always mean that the haunting is over. Sometimes it restarts at a later date. Activity often includes loud noises, disembodied voices, objects appearing from thin air, and objects being moved or flung around. Unfortunately, in some cases, the things being thrown around are the people being haunted. Examples of Poltergeist activity include the Enfield Poltergeist, the haunting of Borley Rectory and the Mackenzie Poltergeist.

The Library of Combermere Abbey, taken by Sybell Corbet, 1891.
Image is in the Public Domain

What are your theories on hauntings? Are you a believer, or do you think it's all rubbish? Heard any good ghost stories lately and just want to share them with other readers and me? Leave a comment below or tag me in a Tweet!

The Revenge of Zona Shue

Normally when a murder victim helps to convict their killer, they do so via forensics. Zona Shue went one step further when she allegedly returned from beyond the grave as a ghost and provided evidence that helped convict her murderous husband. This is the story of the tragic young bride who would become known as the Greenbrier Ghost.

Zona and Erasmus Stribbling Shue, 1896, image in Public Domain

Elva Zona Heaster was born and raised in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Known to her friends and family as Zona, we know very little of her life before her murder as precious little has been recorded. What is known is that, in 1896, Zona met a man by the name of Erasmus "Edward" Stribbling Shue, known to those who made his acquaintance as Trout. The two fell in love. It was a good old fashioned whirlwind romance. Suitably swept off her feet, Zona married Trout not long after. This seemingly happy marriage was short-lived. Less than three months later Zona was dead.

It was January 1897, and Trout was working as a blacksmith. Apparently trade was good because although he claimed his wife was unwell, he was too busy to go home and check on her himself. He still found time to visit the local errand boy's home and hired 11-year-old Anderson Jones to check on Zona. What the poor boy found probably left him with some serious PTSD. Zona was home, but she was a little worse than unwell. Her body lay face down on the floor at the bottom of the stairs; her legs together, one arm tucked under her, the other stretched out, her head twisted to the side at an unnatural angle. An oddly neat corpse, but still a terrible sight for one so young to witness. Anderson fled the scene, running all the way back to Trout to tell him what had happened before running to tell his mother, who called for the local doctor.

Doctor George Knapp took around an hour to reach the Shue's home. This delay allowed Trout to get there before him. Upon his arrival he discovered that the grieving husband had been busy. He had carried Zona's body upstares, wasting no time in washing and dressing her for her funeral in a high collared dress and veil, preventing the doctor from getting a good look at her face and neck. Trout was wailing like a banshee, cradling his wife's upper body and head. Doctor Knapp did notice what looked like bruising on the girl's neck, but any attempt made to get a better look at her only seemed to distress Trout even more, so he gave up. Knapp would initially put Zona's death down to an Everlasting Faint, an old fashioned and rather whimsical way of saying she'd had a heart attack. For reasons unknown he would later change the cause of death to Childbirth. There's no evidence that she was pregnant, but Knapp had been treating her for "Female Trouble." This doesn't mean she was pregnant, because in those days "Female Trouble" could be anything from a headache to cramps.

If Doctor Knapp thought Trout's behaviour was a bit extreme, it only got worse. By cart, Zona's body was moved to her parents' house for an open casket wake before her funeral, a final chance for her friends and loved ones to say goodbye. Trout refused to leave her side, specifically the upper half of her, even on the journey there. The high collared dress and veil were now accompanied by a huge scarf, which Trout refused to remove, telling anyone who would listen that it had been her favourite. At the wake itself, he covered much of Zona's head with a pillow on one side and wadded up bedsheet on the other, apparently to make her more comfortable. If this wasn't odd enough, his mood seemed to constantly swing from pantomime level grief to barely restrained excitement. People were meant to be able to view the body and say their final farewells, but Trout patrolled the coffin-like a guard dog, not letting people get too close and virtually chasing them away when they did. It was all quite bizarre to those who witnessed it, and people were already becoming quite suspicious.

Mary Jane Heaster,
image in Public Domain

Enter Mary Jane Heaster, Zona's mother. 

Mary Jane wasn't just heartbroken. She was filled with rage. She'd never liked Trout and had objected to the marriage from day one. She refused to accept the verdict of a natural death, seeing how suspicious the whole situation was. Everything Trout had done was off, from his behaviour at the funeral to how he'd treated Zona's body. Preparing the body for burial wasn't the husband's job; it was traditionally done by the women in the family or community where they lived. It wouldn't have been done before the doctor had had a chance to check the body over. There was also the chance that Mary Jane was aware that Trout had been married twice before, with the first wife divorcing him for being abusive and the second one having died under mysterious circumstances after Trout "accidentally" dropped a stone on her head while doing some DIY. Suspicions alone weren't enough to get Trout arrested, and it looked like he was going to get away with murder, quite literally.

Mary Jane would soon experience something that convinced her that her instincts were correct. Between the wake and the funeral, she managed to get close enough to the coffin to see her only daughter and removed the sheet at her head. It wasn't at all clean. It smelt very unpleasant and had odd stains, a strange thing to have near a loved one's body. Why not use a clean one? Why use something that was little more than a dirty rag? Despite her dislike for Trout, she approached him and attempted to return the sheet to him, but he told her that he didn't want it. For reasons unknown, Mary Jane decided that she would wash the sheet rather than throw it away. As she soaked it, the stain seeped out into the soapy water, turning it an unpleasantly bright shade of red and staining the sheet itself pink. Mary Jane took it as a bad omen, proof of her suspicions that her daughter had been murdered. But what could she do? Zona had been buried, and Trout had gone his merry way, probably intending on skipping town like he had when his last wife had died. A devoutly religious woman, Mary Jane did the only thing she could think of doing. She prayed. Every night for four weeks. She prayed for answers, for her daughter to give her some sign from the beyond, for anything that would help her bring Trout to justice.

And then, one night, Zona returned.

She appeared in an ethereal glow, freezing the air around her and, for four nights, this desperate and angry spirit would describe to her mother how her husband had ended her life. He had been an abusive monster, she told her mother. He had thrown a tantrum because she hadn't cooked the meat he wanted for dinner. In his rage, he had strangled her and then broke her neck. One night, while recounting her story, Zona's spirit even twisted her head around a full 360⁰ degrees to demonstrate how broken her neck was. This horrified Mary Jane, yet at the same time bought her a sense of purpose. There was always the risk that nobody would believe her fantastical story. She stood to lose a lot if they didn't; her reputation would be in tatters, her family would be a laughing stock and there was the very real chance of being sent to a sanatorium. But to Mary Jane the visitations were all the proof she needed to drag her son in law straight through the courts and onto the gallows. It was a risk she was willing to take and that's why, when morning came, she marched into town and into the office of John Preston, a local prosecutor. In a situation where many would have laughed in her face, Mr Preston chose to listen to Mary Jane, sitting with her for hours as she explained the situation. And it seemed to some degree that he took her seriously, maybe not about the ghost but definitely about the possibility of Zona having been murdered. 

Preston began an investigation immediately, starting by reinterviewing people who'd been involved in the case. When talking to Doctor Knapp, he hit gold, as the doctor finally admitted that he hadn't properly examined the body and explained why. This was all Mr Preston needed to have Zona's body exhumed for an autopsy. Trout was furious, strongly objecting to the situation. He grew even more agitated when he found out that, as next of kin, he would have to be present as it was performed. He knew he'd be arrested, he said, but boasted that they wouldn't be able to prove that he did anything. Not the sort of thing you expect an innocent man to say.

The autopsy was performed by Doctor Knapp, and it quickly became clear why Trout had been so desperate to hide Zona's neck and face. Her windpipe was crushed, the bones broken, and the tendons mangled. The blanket and pillow had been needed at her funeral because the damage was so severe that her neck couldn't support her head's weight. Even though she'd been buried for over a month, the bruises from her husbands hands still showed on her neck. Just as Zona's ghost had suggested, her death had been a violent one. These injuries might seem a little too extreme to have been inflicted on her by another person, but we must remember that Trout was a blacksmith. As a result, he easily had the strength to snap his wife's neck, just as her ghost had described.

You can't send a person to jail on suspicions and a ghost story, but those autopsy results changed everything and the case went to court on the 22nd of June, 1897. Trout, convinced that he'd walk free, plead not guilty. The Defence tried to use the ghost story to get the case thrown out of court, questioning Mary Jane on her experience. All attempts they made to embarrass her or get her to back down failed. She stuck to her story, changing nothing about it. In all probability it was probably the autopsy results that swayed the jury, but their decision was unanimous, GUILTY.

Erasmus Stribbling Shue was sentenced to spend the rest of his life locked up in the infamous West Virginia State Penitentiary, narrowly avoiding the hangman and a lynch mob that had formed outside.

Three years later, the flu swept through the prison, claiming Trout's life. Like many serving sentences there, he was buried in an unmarked grave. No records were kept, so its location is unknown. Zona is a different story. Not only is there a state historical marker near the cemetery where she's buried, but also a grave to visit if you are so inclined.

Photo by Jimmy Emerson, DVM - CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Personally I'd like to believe in Zona's vengeful spirit, but I think this mystery has a much more earthly origin; a heartbroken mother determined to avenge her beloved daughter, one who was prepared to go to extreme lengths to do so. Like I previously said, she was a very religious woman and would have sworn an oath over a bible in court. It's unlikely that she would have willingly lied over something so important to her faith. However I'm still sceptical about her having seen an actual ghost. I believe that when Mary Jane removed the sheet from her daughter's coffin, she saw what had done to her, and it pushed her over the edge. Whatever the truth is, Mary Jane took it to her grave with her, swearing up until her death that her story was true.

What do you guys think? Ghost or dream? Have you heard of any similar stories? Let me know by tagging me in a Tweet or by leaving a comment below.

Island Life: My Top5 ACNH Spooky Villagers

Pull up a log and help yourself to a marshmallow.

Relaxing on my little island, I take the time to admire the beautiful sunset and sparkling ocean. Sure, I owe a ridiculous amount of money to a Tanuki, and I've been stung by wasps after shaking a tree from the wrong side, but life doesn't get much better than this.

It's just a shame it isn't real life.

Yes, like so many other gamers, I've fallen in love with Animal Crossing New Horizons. Despite everything I planned to do with my time during the national Lockdown that took place this year, most of that time was instead spent playing Animal Crossing*. The question is, why make a blog post about it? Isn't this blog meant to be about ghosties, ghoulies, long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night? The answer is yes, yes it is, and that's exactly why I've written a post about it. With characters straight out of folklore, mythical creatures and haunted artefacts, Animal Crossing has always had one foot firmly planted in the paranormal. That's actually one of the reasons I, and a lot of other people, love this game so much. With so many subjects to cover, I thought I'd start with the villagers themselves with a Top 5 list. So sit back and relax, as we enter the world of Animal Crossing and I introduce you to my Top 5 Spooky Villagers.

Lucky

I think you can already see why he's on this list, because clearly Lucky's luck ran out at some point. Wrapped from head to toe in bandages, with only his ears and tail free, this lazy dog villager is well and truly mummified. And if you need more proof that this good boy is among the walking dead, his only visible eye is an unearthly glowing yellow. That's not normal, that's the sort of thing you need to have a serious talk to your vet about.

Some people seem to think that the only animals mummified by the ancient Egyptians were cats, but this isn't the case. While some animals that suffered this fate were beloved family pets that had passed on and were treated the same way in death that any other family member would be, others were sacrifices to various Deities. These included a wide variety of animals, including man's best friend. Evidence of this is recorded every year, one of the biggest finds being found in 2015 when around eight million mummified canines were unearthed by Archaeologists in the catacombs dedicated to Anubis, located in Saqqara, South Cairo.

Coco

Coco is a rabbit villager, with the Normal personality and, let's be honest, is a complete sweetheart. A lot of players make the mistake of assuming that her name and appearance are influenced by coconuts, which also have three holes, very similar to the ones Coco has for her eyes and mouth. The truth is a lot darker than that. This charming bunny is actually based on a Haniwa. 

Haniwa are clay figurines of a ritual nature, specifically funerary objects that were buried along with the dead in ancient Japan, or used to mark burial sites. They first started off as simple clay cylinders, but over time they evolved into more intricate forms; human figures, houses, military equipment and even animals. These items were meant to serve or act as a companion for the dead; which of these was Coco's purpose we may never know. Coco isn't the only example of a Haniwa figure to appear in Animal Crossing either, others exist in the form of Gyroids.

Clay

Out of all the villagers on this list, Clay is my favourite. He's
adorable, delightful and I discovered him by accident while on a hunt for Pietro. Yes, that's right, I gave up my hunt for everyone's favourite killer clown sheep so that Clay could take the last empty spot on my island. I initially mistook him for a Cub villager, but he's actually a Hamster and comes with the Lazy personality.

Like Coco, he's also based on a type of ancient Japanese figurine and, although sometimes found in graves, a type that's not always of a funerary nature. Clay is based on a Dogū figurine, which were made only during Japans Jõmon period, making some of the oldest of these figurines around 10,000 years old. Their true purpose is debated, but they're considered to be evidence of a form of early religion, having been found in many places. It's possible that they could be depictions of some unknown deity or fetish of some sort, but some historians theorise that they may just have been toys. Even in modern times, these mysterious objects have captured peoples imaginations, inspiring everyone from artists to conspiracy theorists.

Julian

Villagers with the Smug personality type can be an acquired taste,
you either love them or you hate them. I can't stand most of them, but I'll make an allowance for Julian because, despite being classed as a Horse type villager, he is actually a Unicorn. And who doesn't like unicorns?

Versions of these mythological beasts have been recorded since the Bronze Age, in countries all over the world. In fact, nearly every country seems to have their own version of the Unicorn, making it a very widely recognised creature. Often seen as a symbol of purity, they're also seen as a symbol of royalty and are a popular fixture on peoples coats of arms. The horn of a unicorn was especially in demand, as it was said to be able to purify poisons and heal all manner of illnesses, the tricky part was getting your hands on one. According to legend, only a virgin pure could tame a unicorn. They were used as bate in hunts, distracting the beast while hunter took advantage of the Unicorns sudden docileness. Smart merchants could make a small fortune selling cut down narwhale horns as the genuine article, the Vikings used to do so regularly. Most people back then had no idea what a narwhale was, it was an easy trick to pull off.

Hans

Hans is another Smug villager and is a Gorilla type villager. While
Gorilla types may be one of the most disliked varieties of villagers, I feel like we should give Hans a break. After all, everyone agrees that he's a Yeti, not a Gorilla. 

Also known as the Abominable Snowman, the Yeti comes to us from the Himalayas and is similar to other cryptids such as Bigfoot. Reports of these creatures go back centuries and many people have searched for them in an attempt to prove their existence, including Alexander the Great in 326 BC. Personally I'm split 50/50 on the topic, as I believe that an intelligent creature that's evolved for that type of climate could easily out-fox anyone hunting it and, as previously stated, reports of the Yetis existence go back thousands of years. Even the scientific community seem a little torn on the subject, despite extensive tests having been done on hair that's been found. Traditionally depicted as being covered in white, shaggy hair just like Hans, there are reports of Yetis sighted at lower altitudes with ginger or black hair, and it has been suggested that there may be more than one type of the creature roaming around. I wish I could say that they are entirely solitary creatures, but over the years there have been some reports of them harassing shepherds and attacking their herds.

So what about you, readers? Are any of your favourite spooky villagers in this list, or do you prefer one of the ones I've left off? What are your favourite spooky bits of Animal Crossing lore?

Let me know in the comments below or tag me in a post on Twitter, I love hearing your stories.

*Well, that and Gwent. Lots of Gwent. 

Ghost Ship: the SS Ourang Medan

The end of September is here and Autumn is in full sway. The leaves are turning, the air is crisp and the nights are dark, so naturally it's time to turn on the central heating or, if you're lucky, stoke up the fire and get stuck into a good ghost story. And, as always, I have the perfect story for you to scare yourself with.

"𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕫𝕖𝕟 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕦𝕡𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕦𝕟, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘..."

Allegedly a photo of one of the dead crewmen,
it's source is untraceable and therefore unreliable.

Sometime in 1947, ships in the Malacca Straight started to receive
distress calls from a Dutch merchant ship, which had run into trouble. This wasn't unusual in that area, but the content of the messages was. "All officers, including Captain dead, lying in the chartroom and on bridge. Probably whole crew dead." came the panicked message from the ships radio operator. This was followed by a string of garbled morse code, utterly untranslatable, as if the sender was so hysterical that they couldn't send properly. Minutes of silence followed before one last message was transmitted from the stricken vessel. Just two words. "I die." After this, there was nothing but radio silence. The ship, the SS Ourang Medan, couldn't be hailed. Coordinates had been given during the distress calls and an American vessel, by the name of the Silver Star, decided to check the situation out. Understandably unnerved by the chilling distress calls, they still hoped that they might save someone, anyone. Their hopes of finding survivors were soon dashed as they sighted the ship. The Ourang Medan was dead in the water, floating with the tide, nobody in sight. Once again all attempts to hail the crew were met with silence. Apprehensively, the rescuers boarded the silent vessel and were greeted with a sight beyond their wildest nightmares. Below deck, the ship was so cold that the rescue team could see their breath, it was like walking into a meat locker. Highly unusual for such a hot part of the country. But what truly sent chills down their spines wasn't the temperature, every member of the Ourang Medan's crew was dead. Bodies littered the decks. Twisted and contorted, their faces frozen in expressions of terror, as if they had seen something truly horrific in their final moments. Not even the ships dog had been spared, a fearful snarl forever fixed upon its face. It was the sight of the radio operator, slumped at his station, that sent the rescue party running. After much discussion it was agreed that they would at least tow the stranded ship back to port, so that the authorities there could investigate it properly. Before they could do so, thick smoke began to billow from the depths of the Ourang Medan. Fire soon followed the smoke and the crew of the Silver Star barely had enough time to cut their tow ropes and get themselves to a safe distance before an explosion rocked the other ship. It's said the force of the explosion was so strong that the SS Ourang Medan was actually lifted from the water as it was torn apart, sinking, never to be found.

A rumoured photo of the SS Ourang Medan, photographer unknown

The Truth Behind the Tale

There's nothing quite like a good ghost ship story, is there? And in my opinion, the tale of the Ourang Medan is just that, a scary story. But would it surprise you if I told you that some people believe that it's not a story, that the events I just told you about really happened? Not an old urban legend, it seems to have first appeared in a Dutch-Indonesian newspaper in 1948, but also appears in two American papers, one also in 1948 and another later in 1952. It worth mentioning that these articles differ from the version of the story we have now, with the first article neglecting to name the rescue ship and the American articles including a miraculous sole survivor, who tells his rescuers that the ship was carrying badly packaged chemicals which leaked and killed the crew, before dying himself. While stories do change over time, some people believe that this is a sign that the tale was deliberately changed as part of a cover-up. The rescue ship, the Silver Star, was indeed a real ship, but there is no sign of the SS Ourang Medan ever having existed. There is a Coast Guard report floating around, but that's highly likely to be fake, as it was made in 1954 and the incident itself happened in 1947. That's an 8-year gap between events. Oddly, the Ourang Medan was also referenced by the CIA in a report in 1959. Although written in 1959, the report wasn't released to the public until 2003 and you can read that report as a pdf here. So whats going on here? Three conspiracy theories have grown around this story. 

Theory one: The most popular of the three states that the Ourang Medan was part of a massive cover-up, one that resulted in it being wiped from all registration and shipping records, and even from the ships log of the Silver Star itself. Some theorise that the ship wasn't even Dutch, but was instead a disguised American military ship, covertly moving a newly developed and unnamed chemical weapon from one location to another. This ties in nicely with the Sole Survivor from the American articles, who claimed the ship was carrying chemicals. Conspiracy theories aren't really my vibe, but you know me, I would never mock anyone for their theories and I love a good mystery. So it's no surprise that I've sat and thought about this story. It is worth noting that out of the two theories, this one seems the most realistic, since the sinking of the SS Ourang Medan and it's mysterious cargo coincides with the year that the Cold War started. In this period, if a country had developed a new weapon, then they would want to transport it around secretly. The chemical weapon part is where it gets interesting, as to have the effect on the Ourang Medan's crew that it had, then it would have to be a nerve agent of some sort. While the chemical weapon known as VX could have had that effect and did need to be stored in cold temperatures, explaining the why the ship was like a walk-in freezer below deck, it wasn't developed until the 1950s, in Britain. But that doesn't mean they, and other countries, wouldn't have been working on it before then. Meaning the SS Ourang Medan, if real, could have been transporting an early prototype of the weapon. If it were an unknown chemical weapon, then another possible culprate could be an extract of Oenanthe, a type plant also referred to as Hemlock Water Dropworts. In ancient Sardinia, this plant was used for its neurotoxins, usually when sacrificing the elderly. If administered in high enough amounts, it twists the face in death, causing something referred to by scientists as the Sardonic Grin. This might sound cheery, but it's actually less of a cheerful smile and more of a twisted grimace; teeth bared, eyes wide, sounds familiar doesn't it? It's the exact look that the crew of the Ourang Medan had on their faces in death. 

Theory Two: Something in the ships boiler had malfunctioned, or was on fire and was leaking carbon monoxide gas. This seems incredibly unlikely, because the side effects of CO poisoning would have had the crew sending out a distress call long before they reached the stage they did as would a fire. Some of the Ourang Medan's crew were outside in the fresh air, where CO gas would have dissipated and, even though they would have been feeling a bit queazy, they wouldn't have been reduced to twisted corpses. Also, if the boiler was releasing enough CO to incapacitate the crew that quickly, then the rescue party from the Silver Star would also have been affected to some degree when they went below deck. They were not. They also reported no signs of smoke, which would have flooded the ship had there been a fire below deck.

Theory Three: Aliens did it. Out of all of the theories, this is (for me at least) the most far fetched of the bunch. Some people strongly believe that what happened on the Ourang Medan was a violent chance encounter with Aliens, which resulted in the gruesome deaths of all aboard and resulted in the ship exploding. Sadly this theory crops up a lot when something mysterious, with no apparent explanation, occurs. No signs of UFO activity or unexplained lights in the sky were sighted or reported by any of the other ships in the area.

The Ourang Medan in Popular Media

Oddly, although there are a lot of films based around the subject of ghost ships, there are none about the Ourang Medan. This is a shame, since the story would, if made by the right people, make a brilliant horror movie. The closest you'll find is The Man of Medan, an excellent game made the company Supermassive Games. The game itself is based around the idea of...well, I won't tell you. It may have been released last year, but you'll find no spoilers here. Available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, it's well worth a download if you enjoy a story-driven adventure/survival horror game with multiple endings based on your actions during the game.

So, what do you think, readers? A chilling tale to scare your friends or a true story that has been covered up? Personally, I'm hoping it is just a story, because after referring to the theories about it as conspiracy theories, I'm going to be very embarrassed if the first one turns out to be true. And completely mortified if the third one turns out to be true. Have any theories of your own, or anything to add to the ones I've mentioned? Let me know in the comments below, or link me in a Tweet. 

Killer Unknown: the Villisca Axe Murders

The daybook, Chicago, 14th June 1912.
 Public domain

Every town has it's haunted house, a grim-looking place where terrible things have happened or are
rumoured to have had happened. But not many can boast of a crime quite like the Villisca Axe Murders of 1912. A crime so brutal that it replaced the recent Titanic disaster on the front pages of many American newspapers. People were fascinated by true crime, even 108 years ago.

June 9th, 1912.

The Moore family returned to their home after an enjoyable, but busy, day out. The family was made up of Josiah (43 y/o), Sarah (39 y/o) and their four children, Paul (5 y/o), Boyd (7 y/o), Katherine (10 y/o) and Herman (11 y/o).

Joining them were Lena (8 y/o) and Ina Mae Stillinger (12 y/o), two of Katherine's friends, who had been invited over for a sleepover. They'd spent the day at their local church, attending a Children's Day event organised by Sarah and they didn't get home until late, around 9:45 or 10:00.

It's not known what time they all went to bed, but it's safe to assume they had some tea first and spent some time unwinding before they did. Eventually, the household would go to bed, the Moores and their brood in their own rooms upstares and the Stillinger girls in the guestroom downstairs.

None of them would ever wake up.

June 10th, 1912

The Moores neighbour, Mary, has started her day. But, as she goes about her morning routine, she can't help but notice that something is missing and that something was the Moores. See, at that point in the morning, the children should have been out and about, starting their daily chores. To Mary's growing concern, as the morning went on there was no sign of life over at the house next to hers. She assumed that the family had fallen ill and went to check on them. The curtains were still drawn and the house seemed dark. Mary first tried knocking on the door, then calling out to the people inside, but got no response. Her attempt to let herself in was met with something unusual; a locked door. It was unusual because in those days, in those sleepy, safe little towns, people would leave their doors unlocked. They had nothing to fear, or at least thought they didn't, but what would be discovered inside that house would have the whole town locking their doors and windows. Unable to get in, Mary called Ross Moore, Josiah's brother and owner of a spare door key. And, being the good person she was, while Ross let himself into the house, Mary fed the families chickens, thinking she was doing her friends a favour. She wasn't expecting him to come running out, calling to her to call the police.

Inside the house had been ominously silent, Ross may have been expecting to find something grim but nothing could prepare him for the horror contained inside that building. Wandering around the ground floor, calling for his family, he came across the guestroom and its chilling contents. And having guessed why the family was nowhere to be seen, he fled.

Photo by Jennifer Kirkland, CC BY-ND 2.0

Town Marshal Horton and his men arrive to discover a human abattoir and a rapidly growing crowd of onlookers. A search of the house reveals that somebody has taken the families axe from the woodshed and, starting with Josiah and Sarah, killed everyone. These murders were methodical and precise. Everything seems to indicate a lot of anger and most of this rage seems to have been aimed at Josiah. Mr Moore had been struck at least thirty times, with both the blade and back of the axe. The force of the blows rained down upon him were strong enough to pop his eye right out of its socket and the murderer had gone out of his way to demolish Josiah's face. Investigators even found chunks gouged out of the ceiling above the bed, where the axe had been swung back so far that it had struck it. After finishing of the adults, he went after the children and, after he was finished, he went back to the parent's room to beat Josiah's face into an unrecognisable mush. Once he had done so he went downstairs and killed Lena and Ina Mae. And this is where it starts to get weird. Or weirder. You see, killing someone with an axe, especially when using such extreme brute strength, is going to make a lot of noise. And yet no one woke up, except for possibly Lena Stillinger. She was found lying sideways across her bed and there were signs of a struggle, defensive wounds on her arms. But other than Lena, it looks like everyone just slept through the carnage. Sarah, tucked up in bed with Josiah didn't stir as her husbands head was caved in. The children didn't wake as their siblings, in the same room as them, had their short lives ended. And Ina Mae Stillinger didn't wake as her sister fought off her attacker. Stranger still, after finishing off his victims, the killer had covered their faces, mirrors and other reflective surfaces with bedsheets and items of clothing. This could indicate two things. The first possibility is that it was an act of remorse, the killer knew they'd done wrong and this was some strange way of showing respect to the victims, much like wrapping a body in a burial shroud. The second possibility is that he was covering his tracks, much like how serial killer Andrei Chikatilo would put out his victim's eyes for fear that they somehow contained his image burnt onto them. Is it possible the killer thought this act could prevent him from being caught? For some reason, the killer also removed a 4lb cut of bacon from the pantry, only to discard it in the living room along with the murder weapon, which he propped up against the wall. Was this some bizarre attempt at making the murders look like a robbery gone wrong, or had the killer intended to take it with him but forgot it or changed his mind? Police also found a bowl of bloody water, as if the killer had tried to wash himself clean, before leaving and locking the door behind him.

Doctors on the scene work out that the crime had been committed sometime between 12:00 am and 5:00am, but it doesn't seem that they looked into why no one had woken up while it was happening. 

Considering how much of a shambles the investigation was, it's possible that they did look into it but the evidence was lost. 

Crime Scene or Circus?

Photo by Jennifer Kirkland, CC BY-ND 2.0

The local law enforcement's half-hearted attempts at investigation pretty much ensured the killer would never be found and the suspect list they came up with was based on rumours and mudslinging rather than actual evidence. They didn't rush to start a manhunt, believing that it would be a waste of time and the killer would be long gone. Some even dismissed the case as just part of a string of similar murders that had been taking place at the time. Worse yet, in a time where forensic science was still developing and relied on an untampered with crime scene, the police didn't properly secure the building. All they did was warn the crowd outside not to go in and made no real attempt to stop them when they started to do so anyway. It was a small town and news travelled fast. The crowd that had been outside when the police arrived had swelled in numbers. Driven by morbid fascination, they ignored the police and proceeded to enter the house. Over 100 people treated a tragic crime scene full of gore as a sideshow, wandering around the house like it was a museum and, most likely, destroying vital evidence. The desecration didn't stop there, as one of the ghoulish visitors took a chunk of Josiah's crushed skull home with them, as a souvenir. 

All this while the families of the dead watched on in grief and horror.

The Suspects

Despite the lack of real evidence, there was no shortage of suspects, with people being blamed left, right and centre. There were seven suspects in total, most of it comes across as a bit of a witch hunt. In some cases, it looks as if the police were trying to cover up their incompetence at the crime scene by desperately scrabbling for someone to blame. But, as you'll see, there are a couple of potential suspect here.

Sam Moyer

It's said that when a murder happens, it's usually perpetrated by someone the victim knows. And the Moore's definitely knew Moyer, as he was a family member, Sarah's brother. He became a suspect when it came to light that he'd often threatened the life of his brother-in-law, but his alibi was a solid one and resulted in him being cleared of all charges at the inquest.

It's worth noting that while Sam had a history of threatening Josiah, there are no reports of those threats being extended to his sister, nieces and nephews. 

Henry Moore

Henry's surname is just an odd coincidence, since he was in no way related to the victims. I've mentioned before that there was a slwe of violent axe murders being commited at the time, which some consider the Villisca murders to be a part of. Henry was one of the suspects for those murders, incriminating himself even further when he took and axe to his own grandmother, wife and infant child.

Despite this he wasnt officially charged for the Villisca murders, remaining only a suspect and it's worth pointing out that the murder of his family was one fueled by greed. He'd taken out insurance on each of them and it appears that he was hoping to pass the murders off as one of the many commited at that time, so that he could make a claim.

Reverend George Kelly

To the people of Villisca, Reverend George was a bit of an oddball and a creep. A travelling minister, he attended the same church event that the Moores did before their deaths and left Villisca sometime around 5:30am, not long after the murders had happened. What made people even more suspicious of him is that he'd often been seen peeping through peoples windows and had been accused, multiple times, of asking young girls to pose for naked for him. Young girls around Lena Stillinger's age and up. He was also completely obsessed with the crime, bothering the families and the police with letters and attempting to sneak onto the crime scene, when it was secured, by pretending to be a policeman. He even told a P.I. that he'd been around the house the night the murders took place and may have witnessed it, but the police didn't bother to take him into custody for the murders until 1917. That's a whole five years after the murders took place. After hours of interrogation, they got a confession out of him and sent him off to court. He would go to trial two times and be acquitted on both occasions. At the first trial, the jury looked at his history of mental illness and refused to sentence him. At the second he went back on his claim that he'd committed the crime, insisting that the police had beat the confession out of him. 

Andrew Sawyer

Andrew was a railroad worker, a bit of a loner, with no link to the Moore family. And like the rest of the nation, he was fascinated by the murders that had taken place, but fascinated to the degree that his constant talking about it unnerved his co-workers enough that they complained to the crew's foreman. The foreman, a man named Dyer, took him aside to speak to him about it, hoping to solve the strange problem. He was shocked when Andrew admitted to being in Villisca the night of the murder and told him that had heard it happen, but ran away for fear of being blamed for it. As a transient, he would have made the perfect scapegoat. Dyer was so unnerved by this that he immediately reported the man to the police. Despite his bizarre claims, Andrew was able to provide the police with a pretty solid alibi, as on the night of the murders he had been arrested for vagrancy in Osceola, Iowa. This lead to him being dismissed as a suspect.

Paul Mueller 

A European immigrant, Paul Mueller was never arrested or charged for the Villisca axe murders and is a relatively new suspect in the case, having been suggested as the murderer in Bill James and Rachel McCarthy's 2017 book The Man from the Train. Evidence against him includes him being tracked in a year-long manhunt, accused of killing a family in Massachusetts in 1897.

Frank F. Jones

Out of all the people on this list, it seems that Mr Jones had an actual reason for wanting Josiah Moore dead. An Iowa State Senator living in Villisca, before he turned to politics he had owned a store there. And who worked for him? None other than Josiah. Josiah who turned out to be so good at his job that he would go on to leave Jones' employment and open a store of his very own, taking a lot of high paying customers with him in the process. On top of that, there was an unfounded rumour going round that Josiah was having an affair with Jones' daughter in law. 

Although he went uncharged for the murders, many of the locals, including the father of the Stillinger sisters and Ross Moore himself, still strongly felt that he was the guilty party. It was suggested that he'd hired someone to commit the deed, rather than risk dirtying his own hands and reputation. Josiah's family and their friends? Collateral damage. But who could he hire to do such a terrible thing? Well, that would be William Mansfield, the next suspect on our list.

William Mansfield

I chose to place Mansfield after Jones on this list, because of their possible link to each other. He was a deeply unpleasant person and one who wasn't just a prime suspect for the string of axe murders that had been going on, some even suspect him of being a potential suspect in the Axeman of New Orleans killings. He even killed his own wife, parents-in-law and infant child with an axe just two years after the Moores murders. Yet he wasn't investigated for killings in Villisca until 1916 and was quickly acquitted as he had a seemingly solid alibi. A witness would later come forward stating that he'd seen Mansfield in Shenandoah, Iowa, heading to the train station. If this is true then it blows Mansfields alibi clear out of the water, but he was never re-arrested. At the same time of his first arrest, Frank Jones was pushing for the arrest of Reverend Kelly, an investigator at the time believes this led to Mansfields release and the subsequent trial of Kelly.

A Crime Unsolved.

There are few crimes as chaotic as the Villisca Axe Murders, with the surviving family members being failed so abysmally by those who should have been supporting them and solving the crime. Even with seven suspects, no killer was ever bought to justice. I'll leave it to you to make up your mind which one of the accused committed the crime, if any and I'd love to hear your theories in the comments. Or, as always, if you'd prefer to do so, then you can tag me in a post on Twitter. Personally, I side with the theory that it was Jones and Mansfield. Being popular in the community, Josiah Moore would have been an even bigger thorn in Jones' side had he decided to jump into politics as well, not to mention the rumours about the alleged affair would have damaged Jones' families reputation to a degree. Out of everyone on that list, Jones was the only person to have a real reason to want Moore out of the way, Mansfield was the perfect tool to get the job done and Reverend Kelly was the perfect sacrificial lamb. I'm not saying Kelly was an angel. Far from it, he was a complete dumpster fire of a human being who had already had numerous complaints raised against him for his odious behaviour, but he'd never shown signs of being violent before and seems to be the only person to be interrogated to such a degree that he admitted to the crime. Kelly was a very scrawny, malnourished looking man whom I doubt would have had the strength to kill one person with an axe, let alone do that amount of damage. Mansfield could though, and proved it by committing a near-identical crime two years later when he slaughtered his own family. It would also make sense that Jones would approach someone who didn't live locally to kill the Moores.

Photo by Jennifer Kirkland, CC BY-ND 2.0

One thing has always fascinated me though; why didn't the family wake up? Again, the murders wouldn't have been quiet. If they were sleeping naturally then they would have woken up, there would have been panic and screaming, and survivors. One theory does come to mind and that is that the family had been drugged. Barbiturates were readily available in many forms in those days, buying them was as easy as buying a packet of sweets. You picked your poison and you paid for it. If the family had a late tea planned for when they got home, Sarah probably would have prepared it in advance and left it out ready to reheat, making it easy for a home intruder to slip something a bit stronger than salt and pepper into the mix. There is a theory that instead of entering the house after everyone had gone to bed, the killer was already hiding in the house when they got home, in the attic. When searching the house for clues, the police found cigarette butts up there, adding weight to this theory, but they also could have come from one of the many townfolk who trudged through the house that day. However, the possibility of someone lurking up there, waiting for the unfortunates below to go to bed, ties in very well with the family being drugged, since the suspect would have had to enter the house to do so. It also adds another level of horror to the situation. Even if the family had locked their door, they wouldn't have escaped.

A Murder House in Modern Times

These days, the Moores home remains unlived in, but not completely abandoned. It would seem that the Moores never left. Visitors to the house have reported the sound of children playing and running from room to room, doors slamming on their own and opening just as easily, plus unexplained banging and dripping noises. The temperature will drop without warning, a feeling of darkness and heaviness will invade the atmosphere, and both shadow figures and an odd mist have been seen roaming the halls. Evidence has been caught on camera too. Subsequently, the house is on most paranormal enthusiasts bucket list and has featured on many ghost hunting programs and documentaries.

The strangest thing to happen in the house to date (other than the hauntings and the murders.) would have to be the accident that occurred there in 2014. honestly, I can't think of any other way to describe it than as an accident, but a visitor staying the night for a paranormal investigation stabbed himself, in the chest. There was no warning that it was going to happen and he didn't give a reason as to why he'd done such a thing, but the police did out foul play. Because of the building bloody history and alleged hauntings, a lot of people have linked the visitors odd behaviour to that, but he would appear to be the only person who has felt the need to harm themselves in the house.

Speaking of paranormal investigations; the house had various different owners after the 1912 tragedy, until it was bought in 1994 and renovated. All modernities were stripped back and the house returned to it's early 1900's glory, to how it would have been when the murders occurred, complete with historically accurate furnishings, decore and accessories. The owners now allow people to visit the house, running daytime tours and night experiences that allow you to sleepover. And if you're unable to travel to Villisca for a tour (or are just too scared to.), you can take a virtual tour of the house instead. 

Photo by The Man-Machine, CC0 1.0

Have you visited the Villisca Axe Murder house? Have a story of your own to tell, maybe some evidence of the paranormal or just your own theories as to who committed the terrible deed? Let me know in the comments below or tag me in a Tweet! As always, I adore getting comments from you guys and hearing any fascinating stories you have to tell.