The Black Dog of Newgate.

The remains of Newgate Prison, photo by L Wall, 2023

Exiting the tube station at St Paul's, I immediately regretted not bringing my scarf and hat; it was bitterly cold. While not a long walk from the station, I still managed to get lost twice, even with the help of Google Maps. My destination? An unassuming and overlooked lane, inaccessible to the public and hiding an interesting piece of London's history. At the end of the lane, tucked away behind lush greenery and the bins, is an old wall. The last remaining wall of the infamous Newgate Prison. And, of course, it's haunted.

Opened in 1188 and closed in 1902, Newgate resulted from Henry II bringing in new legal reforms in 1166. Unfortunately it was poorly maintained and run, a place where you were likely to die of some horrible disease before you reached your trial date. Rich or poor, innocent or guilty, Newgates doors were open to all. Some of its more well-known inmates included Captain Kidd, Daniel Defoe and (briefly) Oscar Wilde.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, or have even been following me on Twitter and Instagram, know I'm a sucker for a Black Dog story. So it should be no surprise that when I came across this gruesome tale my interest was peaked. Not your typical spectral hound, the story of the Black Dog of Newgate hits a bit differently. Rather than being an omen of doom to all who see it, this pooch was only interested in one thing, revenge.

Our story starts during the reign of Henry III, amid a terrible famine. People were struggling and suffering from the lack of food, but the situation was especially dire for those locked in Newgate Prison. As criminals they just weren't a priority when it came to supplies and had been getting so little that some had resorted to cannibalism. Despite being aware of this, the authorities were still sending people to the jail, and one of these unfortunates was an unnamed Scholar. The starving inmates of Newgate took the phrase "fresh meat" to a whole new level when they attacked and devoured him. Had they known that the Scholar had been sent to prison on charges of sorcery, they probably would have left him alone, but he was weak, and they were desperate. Little did they know that this monstrous act would come back to haunt them.  

First, prisoners reported seeing the Scholar himself wandering the prison, but man's true vengeance would manifest in the form of a ghastly black hound. The beast had glowing red eyes, and gore dripped from its tooth-filled maw as it stalked the corridors of Newgate. While the sight of it alone was enough to make a few of the weaker men drop dead of fright, others faced a much more terrifying fate. The hound turned vicious when it got bored of toying with the prisoners. It would appear in locked cells, then tear the men inside to shreds before vanishing. Imagine the horror of the prisoners as, night after night, their cells were filled with growls, blood-curdling screams and the sounds of men being torn limb from limb. 

Horrific as the attacks were, one thing soon became apparent. The Dog was only attacking those responsible for the Scholar's murder, hunting them down in the jail's darkest corners, hell-bent on wiping them all out. 

Upon realising this, the surviving murderers panicked. Together they organised a jailbreak, killing some of the prison guards in their desperate scramble for freedom. They would have been hung if they had been re-arrested, which would have been a mercy. Unfortunately for them the Scholar's wrath wasn't limited to the walls of Newgate, and you can't outrun four legs on two. All of the killers were hunted down and slaughtered. When its task was completed, the Black Dog returned to Newgate Prison, where it seems content to lurk up to this day. 

This gruesome tale could easily be the plot of a horror movie, but allegedly it's a true story. Our first written account of the Back Dog of Newgate was from a pamphlet (or chapbook.) published in 1596 by a highwayman named Luke Hutton. This was likely a pen name with a false backstory attached as an attempt to boost sales, as books written by criminals were popular even back then. The story might pre-date publication, but we don't have the original version as proof, which would have been told word of mouth. It's doubtful that it resembled the fantastical story that was published. If it was a pre-existing tale, then it's more likely that it became exaggerated over time till it became the horror story we know today. But one fact remains, true or not, people claim to have seen the hound. There have been sightings of a shadowy, dog-like thing slinking around the remaining wall. Reports include a terrible smell*, not unlike that of death, and the sound of footsteps. The area itself is meant to have a strange atmosphere. 

While certainly not one of London's most well-known ghost stories, I'm pretty fond of this tale of revenge from beyond the grave. I came across the story by chance, on Tik-Tok of all places. I got curious and had to look into the tale more. After that I couldn't resist a visit to the location. Sadly, as I've said previously, the site is not accessible to the public, so I couldn't get any closer than I did in my photo, and even that was zoomed in a bit. 

Have you ever been to this location and witnessed something strange or supernatural? I love to hear your stories! Tell us about them in the comments section below, or tag me in a Tweet!

The Black Dog of Newgate

* The wall is near some bins, so they might have been responsible for the Terrible Smell in more modern times. Either that or it's terrible dog breath, and we need to break out the paranormal pedigree dentastix.

Feline Folklore

By Day She Made Herself Into a Cat,
by Arthur Rackham.

I'm always slightly amazed when I meet people who say they don't like
cats. I suppose being a cat owner does make me a little biased though. Despite the widespread belief that they're uncaring and aloof, cats are, given a chance, some of the sweetest creatures out there. Even a snarling stray can mellow into a purring lap cat given time.

As a species, they have a mythology and folklore all of their own. They've been deified and demonised in equal measures. There are also many ghostly cats out there, a topic I've written about before and feline cryptids. I will introduce you to the folklore side of things in this post, choosing five areas to focus on. I'm leaving mythology and cryptids for a post sometime in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for those posts. 

• People often assume that only humans were affected by the witchhunts, but animals suffered alongside them. Cats were one of the animals considered to be a witches' familiar. They were thought to be inhuman spirits or demons in mortal form. In some places it was believed they had the same powers as a witch, enabling them to carry out their owners' evil deeds in their stead. It was pretty standard for them to be killed alongside those accused of witchcraft. The tragic thing is that both the human and animal victims were innocent. The real monsters were those instigating the witchhunts. It was a brutal and unfair period. When they weren't working with witches, it was thought they were working with the Devil himself, ferrying around souls and spreading pestilence. This led to the belief that they caused the bubonic plague, and even more cats were slaughtered in an attempt to stop it. The rat population grew out of control with fewer cats around, allowing the epidemic to spread more easily throughout Europe.

• Even when considered lucky, it still sucked to be a cat in medieval Europe. For some, cats were the guardians of the farmland, keeping evil spirits and pests away from the crops. But only if buried in the orchards or fields. They were also considered to guard the home against the same problems. It's common for mummified cats to be found in the walls of older houses, though it's not really known if they were walled in dead or alive. This unpleasant tradition was common during the 15th to 18th centuries. Some of these cats have been known to cause bad luck if messed with. I covered the story of one such cat and the chaos caused by upsetting it in one of my previous posts. If the cat was black it would bring even more luck, a complete turnaround from when they were considered servants of the Devil. Cats were luckier at sea than on land. Sailors liked to have a cat on board, not just because having something cute around boosted morale or that they kept pests away, but because it was considered lucky to have a cat on the ship. These days people prefer their lucky cats to be among the living. In some countries, black cats are considered bad luck, but they're considered the opposite in England. If a black cat crosses your path it's a good omen, and one old superstition suggests giving a black cat to the Bride on their wedding day for good luck. While I wouldn't recommend giving any animal as a gift, this tradition lives on with black cats often featured on wedding cards or as ornaments intended to be a keepsake. Not married? Not a problem. A black cat wandering into your home is said to bring in suitors looking for a partner. 

• It's well known that cats were worshipped in Ancient Egypt, but most people don't realise how loved they truly were. If a household's cat died, the whole family would go into mourning. It was traditional for family members to shave off their eyebrows as a sign of their grief and loss. The cats were often mummified and given proper burials with their own little grave goods. The killing of a cat was considered a terrible crime, whether accidental or not, and the sentence for such a crime was death. Hypocritically, there is historical evidence of cats being bred for the sole purpose of being sacrificed to the very Goddess that made them sacred. They would be killed, mummified and then given as offerings at temples or buried in tombs. Mummified cats are so prolific that in 1890 around 180,000 of them were actioned off in Liverpool for use as fertiliser. Awful as that is, I suppose we should be glad they didn't get eaten, like so many of their human counterparts.

• In the UK it's believed that a cat's behaviour can predict the weather. Who needs the weather report when you can just watch a cat? A cat clawing your furniture or getting the zoomies means that windy weather is coming. In Wales it was believed you could tell that it would rain if your cat was washing its ears a lot, and in other areas a cat sneezing predicted the same thing. Sailors believed that if the ship's cat fell overboard, a storm would soon follow that would sink the boat. Having a ship's cat that was black was said to guarantee fair weather. In Europe, you could keep your sea-going family members safe at sea and ensure that they'll have good weather by taking care of a black cat.

• Most cats won't ruin your Christmas unless they get at the turkey or knock over the tree, but one cat joyfully makes the festive season stressful: The Yule Cat. The oldest written records of this beast come from the 19th century, but it's believed that the Yule Cat has been around for much longer, possibly even tracing its history back to the Dark Ages. Hailing from Iceland, it's also known as Jólakötturinn and is one of the country's many terrifying Christmas spirits. Oddly, this festive feline is a little more interested in fashion than your average moggy, specifically whether or not you got new clothes before Christmas Eve. This massive moggy towers over houses and stalks the countryside, looking for people to bother. It'll leave you be if you've got a new set of clothes. If you haven't then it will pounce, and devour you. Maybe think twice about complaining next time your Granny buys you socks for Christmas?

Well, dear readers, I think we can all agree that cats have got a bit of a raw deal over the years. Sadly, many people still think ill of cats thanks to the darker parts of folklore and superstition prevailing in some way or another. Some people will even go out of their way to cause them harm. I shouldn't have to say this, but it's worth noting that HARMING A CAT OF ANY COLOUR WON'T BRING YOU GOOD LUCK, GOOD HEALTH OR WEALTH. Many superstitions or elements of folklore have their roots in a much darker time when people didn't have the knowledge we have now.

Do you have any favourite pieces of folklore relating to cats that I haven't included? Any stories you want to share about cats and the paranormal? Leave them in the comments below, or tag me in a tweet!

Ghost Trains and Ghouls: London's Haunted Underground.

Kevin Hackert, CC BY-NC 2.0

Recently, one of my best friends moved to London and, while I haven't been able to visit and much as I'd like, this means taking the train. I'm one of those people who quite enjoy a nice train ride. Once I've got my ticket, large coffee, and headphones on, with music or a podcast playing, I'm all set. Nothing left to do but watch the world speed past the window and make sure I don't get so distracted that I miss my stop. I find taking the London Underground at night is an interesting experience. When it's busy, it's okay. The need to catch your train, or get to your destination, distracts from your surroundings. But when quiet, the stations and tunnels take on an eerie quality. As you may have guessed, this fascinates me due to my love of all things spooky. Because London has a rich paranormal history, and its public transport isn't excluded from these hauntings. Let me introduce you to five of my favourite haunted Tube stations.

Bank Station

For some, the feeling of dread and sadness they feel at Bank Station is linked to them having to go back to the office after a weekend of rest and relaxation, but for some this might be a sign that they've encountered Sarah Whitehead. In the early 1800s, she lived in London with her brother Philip, who worked as a bank clerk for the Bank of England. Unbeknownst to his sister, Philip had gotten himself into debt through a series of financial misadventures and, desperate to get himself out of trouble, had resorted to forging cheques to bring in some extra cash. These days, if caught, you'd lose your job and spend some time in jail. But it was the 1800's when sentences for even the smallest of crimes was harsh, so when Philip was caught, he was sentenced to death by hanging. Horrifically, nobody told Sarah and, when she discovered the truth, she was driven mad by grief and came to believe that her brother was still alive. Still working at the bank. As a result she would go there daily, asking after him and loitering around outside until the bankers would take pity on her, giving her some money to get her to leave. This went on for decades, and Sarah's delusions and grief only got worse with age. Her demands to see her brother got more aggressive, and because she was used to the bankers giving her money, she now expected it. Death hasn't stopped Sarah from searching for her beloved brother. Dressed in her black dress and mourning veil, she has become the ghostly figure known as the Black Nun and has been seen in and around Bank Station and around the Bank of England. Interestingly, some sightings have also included direct interactions; Sarah has been known to wander up to unsuspecting commuters. She will often ask if they've seen her brother, though she will also ask for money.

Something else that can be experienced in the station is a ghastly smell, like rotting flesh. Allegedly a plague pit was disturbed while building the station. Many believe the unpleasant odour to be a ghostly manifestation of this. As well as the smell, commuters sometimes hear unseen people crying out in fear and pain. This could be linked to a tragedy that took place in WWII. During the Blitz, people would use the stations as makeshift bomb shelters. In January 1941, a German bomb hit the station and exploded. Around 50 people were killed, while many others were injured and trapped in the rubble. The sounds of distress and the terrible smell are possibly remnants of these events, snippets of history replaying themselves.

Holborn Station

A tube station haunted by the ghost of an Egyptian Priestess? Sounds like either a bad horror movie or another Mummy sequel, but the truth is stranger than fiction. This spirit initially haunted the now-closed British Museum Station, which shut in the 1930s. Clearly displeased about being on display in the British Museum and determined to voice their opinion about it, the ghost promptly moved to Holborn Station, where there have been many sightings of this mummified spirit as it stalks the station, moaning and shrieking. It's believed They are the spirit of a Priestess, dedicated to the God Amen-Ra. They've been linked to an artefact on display in the British Museum. This is a beautifully detailed sarcophagus lid of an un-named woman from 950-900 BC. Its original location, the body it contained, and what happened to the rest of the coffin remains unknown; it was donated to the museum from a private collection, and very little information was provided. Thanks to superstition, it has been nicknamed the Unlucky Mummy. It's been blamed for the death of a journalist investigating its history (1907) and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. An urban legend tells us about a secret tunnel leading to the British Museum from somewhere in the station, allowing the ghost to travel between the two. There's no truth to these claims, but they add an exciting element to this ghost story.

Covent Garden

Walking around Covent Garden tube station at night, you might be lucky enough to spot a handsome, well-dressed gentleman in Victorian-era clothing; a grey suit, cane and tophat. You might mistake him for a stray cosplayer if there's a convention on in London or just someone on their way to a fancy dress party, but this is actually the spirit of William Terriss. This actor was famous for the heroic roles he played on the stage but met his tragic end outside of the nearby Adelphi Theater in 1897. He was stabbed to death by out of work actor, and friend, Richard Archer Prince. You'd think he'd haunt the area where he died, and it's said that he does haunt the theatre, but it seems Willam also chose to go back to another place that had happy memories for him. Legend has it that he was very fond of a bakery that used to stand on the site where the station was built. Now, unable to pick up a pack of doughnuts and a coffee on his way home from work, he has taken to haunting the station instead. How do we know it's him? Photographs of him still exist, enabling witnesses to identify him. The last reported sighting of him was in 1972, but I've no doubt there have been some unreported sightings since then by people that never even realised that they were looking at a spirit.

For the morbidly curious among you, Terriss was buried in Brompton Cemetery, and a memorial plaque can be found for him outside of the stage door at the Adelphi Theater.

Liverpool Street

A hub for many of those leaving and arriving in London, Liverpool Street is one of the city's busiest stations. It's also built on the old Bedlam Burial Ground, a mass burial site estimated to have been used from 1569 to around 1738. The site was the resting place of thousands and included a 17th-century plague pit, most of which Archaeologists have excavated.

An unidentified man in white or light grey overalls walks the station. He's been spotted by many witnesses, sometimes in person but occasionally on CCTV. One such sighting was investigated by staff. A Line Controller, who was watching the security cameras, spotted the man wandering around the platform early one morning, at about 2:00am. This was a problem because the station was closed at the time, and the mystery man didn't appear to be a staff member. Concerned that they might have an intruder, the Line Controller quickly told the Station Supervisor, who decided that he would take a look for himself. He arrived at the platform to find it quite empty. The man in white had just vanished.

This has happened many times since, much to the annoyance of the station workers. But whoever this ghost is, he seems harmless enough. It's even possible that he might be waiting for a train, as he only seems to appear on the platform for the central line. Sadly, for the curious among you, you're unlikely to run into this spirit since he only appears when the station is closed. Personally, I'm curious about his identity. Who could he possibly be, and what happened to cause him to haunt the station? Could he have been one of the workers who helped build the place or its tunnels? Maybe one day we'll know for sure.

South Kensington

South Kensington Station doesn't just have a ghost, it has a ghost train. Like something from a gothic horror novel, it chugs slowly into the station as if it intends to stop and pick up passengers. An unknown figure in a peaked cap and coat can be seen clinging to the side of the engine for dear life, as if eager to get off. He doesn't get the chance though, as the train is off again with a shrill whistle, disappearing into the dark tunnel, vanishing without a trace.

This phantom locomotive was first spotted in the 1920s by a commuter waiting for the last train. To them, it wouldn't have seemed all that odd at first. It would have just looked like a typical steam train until it vanished into thin air. To add to the mystery, the train itself doesn't exist; there was no record of its name/serial number. And, even if there had been, it shouldn't have been there at that time. Whatever is going on here, it's not a regular occurrence, though there is an unsubstantiated report of another sighting in 2013. 

Photo by Joshua Brown, CC BY-SA 2.0

Disappointingly, I've never experienced anything paranormal on the London Underground. I'd love to though. These are just five of the ghosts that haunt the tubes, there are so many more, some more frightening than others. Who knows, maybe one day I'll witness something and, when I do, you'll be the first people to know about it. Have any of you guys seen anything paranormal at one of London's train stations? If you feel like sharing the story, please do! You can share your story in the comments box below or tag me in a Tweet on Twitter.

If You Go Down to the Woods Today: Epping Forest

Photo by L Wall.
Epping Forest, Oct 2021

There's no better spot for a good ghost story than a deep, dark forest. Something about them just seems to invite tales of the paranormal. Perhaps it's a sense of the unknown, that anything could be waiting in those deep woods or the fear of straying from the path and getting lost. One thing's for sure, no matter how pretty they are, forests can be downright spooky. For this post, we're taking a look at Epping Forest. I won't lie, I love this pretty forest, especially this time of year when the leaves are changing. There's plenty of places to park and grab a cup of tea and lots of lovely long walks. Perfect for a family outing this Halloween weekend. The fact that it's haunted is an added bonus. So let me introduce you to Epping Forests most well-known spooks.

Dick Turpin

Dick Turpin is one of the UK's most legendary historical figures, a highwayman who's often portrayed as a dashing and romantic rogue when he was little more than a violent thug. Turpin, and the gang he was involved with, used the forest as cover for their various nefarious activities. This gang started off as poachers, possibly using the butchers that Turpin owned at the time to get rid of the animals they killed. After a while, they got greedy and turned to highway robbery. They didn't just limit themselves to coaches and lone travellers. They were happy to rob local farms and houses, taking great delight in torturing those inhabitants who would not comply with his wishes. Turpin wasn't just limited to Epping Forest, he and the gang were active over most of the London area. He eventually moved to Yorkshire, where he would end up being tried and hung for stealing horses, in 1739.

There are a lot of places in the country that lay claim to the spirit of Dick Turpin, but why return to Epping Forest in death? Perhaps it's because he felt safe there. While using Epping Forest as their hiding spot, Turpin and his friends seemed untouchable. It was leaving the London area that got him killed. The spirit believed to be him has been spotted a lot over the decades, usually dressed in his riding cloak and tri-corn hat. Sometimes this spirit is spotted loitering among the trees or on the forests older roads. Other times it has been seen riding a ghostly black steed. The problem is that so many people have died in Epping Forest over the century, we've no actual proof that this spirit is that of Dick Turpin, even though it resembles him.

Photo by L Wall.
Epping Forest, Oct 2021

Hangman's Hill

If the name of this location alone isn't enough to send a chill down your spine, then the strange phenomenon that takes place here will. Leave your car in neutral at the bottom of the hill at night, and you may find it rolling uphill all on its own. Waiting for you at the top? The tree that gives the hill its name is reputed to be a hanging tree where the men killed were innocent of their crimes. Some say the tree is pulling cars towards it with a phantom noose, hungry for more victims. However, the truth is just as fascinating; it's an optical illusion known as a Gravity Hill. Your car is rolling downhill, but the surrounding landscape is laid out in such a way that it makes it look and feel like you're going uphill. Don't feel disappointed though, there are is some sort of paranormal activity going on in the area. Blood-curdling screams have been heard echoing through the woods at night, and concerned listeners have been known to call the police about the sounds on occasion.

Be very careful if you try this out for yourself. Remember, this is a road and there may be other vehicles around who won't see your car in the dark or you if you get out to look around. 

Photo by L Wall.
Epping Forest, Oct 2021

The Suicide Pool

You won't find Epping Forests Suicide Pool on a map, and that may be for the best. Who knows, this tragic place may have even dried up and vanished if it ever existed at all. Since it seems nobody currently knows where it is or isn't telling if they do, we will never know for sure. What we do know is the story behind it, which began around 300 years ago with a pair of star-crossed lovers. Their relationship was forbidden, but they would meet as often as possible by a pool in the forest. When the girl's father found out, he waited there and killed her in a fit of rage. He threw her body into the water, and when the boy found her there, he walked into the pool and drowned himself in an attempt to reunite with her in death. After this, the pool turned dark, nothing would grow there and the bodies of animals soon started to turn up on its banks. If true, this could just be the result of the water being contaminated by the bodies being left to rot in it. The story doesn't end there. Allegedly the pool is haunted by an angry spirit that lures people into the water to drown them. Among its reported victims are a young servant named Emma and her infant child, and later an unnamed woman in 1887.

In  1959, a competition was held by Essex Countryside Magazine in an attempt to find out where the pool was. Why they wanted to know is unclear, some places should be left alone, and one lady who wrote to the magazine seems to agree. In her letter, she told the magazine that she knew exactly where the pool was but would never tell them its location. She explained that it was a dark and evil place, with an "atmosphere unpleasant beyond description."

Photo by L Wall.
Epping Forest, Oct 2021

Many other spirits call these woods home. Shadowy figures dart between the trees, and strange sounds float on the breeze. A phantom carriage has been heard rattling along the roads, drawn by equally spectral horses, though it's usually heard and not seen. There have even been reports of Poltergeist activity, with people being pushed or knocked to the ground by an unseen assailant.

Sadly, I've yet to experience anything paranormal in the forest. The most frightening encounter I've had was a run-in with a low hanging spider, but I'm ever hopeful. If I ever have a personal ghost story from Epping Forest, you will be the first to hear about it. Until then, if any readers have any spooky stories from Epping Forest, and are willing to share their story with me and the other readers, why not leave a comment below? Or, alternatively, tag me in a Tweet. 

August Blog Update

It's been a funny old month here at Strange Ways HQ, dear readers. As a result, I'm sorry to say there won't be a blog post this month. Don't worry though, I'll be back in September with a monster of a blog! Until then, why not check out some of my older posts, reread some old favourites or discover some new ones.

Hang in there, readers, and stay spooky.

The Mystery of the Coffin Dolls

Our story begins like a folk-horror novel. It's the summer of 1836 and a small group of boys are roaming the slopes of Arthur's Seat outside of Edinburgh. They're hunting for rabbits but somehow discover something much more interesting when they stumble upon a small, well-hidden cave. It was here that an unknown person had hidden away seventeen tiny coffins, each one containing a wooden doll, shrouded in cotton and lovingly carved. They had been stacked in three tiers, with eight dolls on both of the bottom rows and one lone one on the top. Combined with the coffins, they each measured just under 4 inches. They were in various states of decay, with the bottom row being in the worst condition. The ones on the second row were in a much better shape, but the one on the top was so well preserved that it could have been placed there quite recently. It's clear a lot of care had been put into their creation, but they really are eerie to look at.

Whoever it was that hid these detailed little effigies had clearly expected them to remain a secret, as the cave had been carefully camouflaged behind a loose piece of stone. Still, they didn't take into account the unstoppable curiosity of children on an adventure. Only eight remain today. Some were destroyed by the boys, and others have just fallen apart over the years due to improper care. However, the ones that remained were reported on in an edition of The Scotsman newspaper (July 16th of that same year.), drawing attention to the find. They earned the nickname of the Fairy Coffins, and there was much speculation as to what was going on. Some of the ideas put forward are more likely than others, but let's take a look at them.

National Museums of Scotland

Witchcraft

Thanks to superstition, people are often quick to point a finger at the supernatural whenever anything weird or creepy is found. But the fact remains that dolls, some similar to these, have been used in magical rituals all over the world for thousands of years. They're still used to this day and serve many purposes, from healing to harm. When the dolls were found, witchcraft was actually illegal in the UK and claiming to be a witch or have supernatural abilities could potentially land you in jail. That didn't mean that the craft had died out. It just meant that those involved had to be very careful about how they went about it. The lonely, windswept crags of Arthur's Seat would have been a perfect location to whip up a ritual or two. A lot of people at the time were concerned that that was the case, and even The Scotsman seemed to support this theory in their article, which did nothing to calm those convinced that witches were stalking the hills with ill intent. The use of witchcraft and charms actually ties into our subsequent two theories.

Sailors Charms

Some believed the coffins were placed there by sailors or their family members as a charm designed to keep them safe while out at sea. Sailors tended to be quite superstitious, so the use of charms and the consultation of local cunning folk was not uncommon.

Others believed that the dolls had been made to represent the men who had tragically drowned and were an attempt to give them a burial of sorts since their bodies could not be retrieved. Though land burials for those lost at sea do exist, there's a possibility these were performed by those too poor to afford one.

 

The "Daft Man"

The dolls would appear in the newspapers again in 1906, this time as part of a much more chilling tale. A woman had come forward with a story that she felt was directly linked to the dolls. A person she described as a "Daft Man," who seemed to be both deaf and mute, would sometimes visit her father at his place of work. He showed her father a picture he'd drawn of three coffins on one such visit, each one with a date written under it, 1837, 1838 and 1840. After sharing this cryptic message, he left. Following this, her Father lost one family member on each of those years; a close relative in 1837, a cousin in 1838 and his brother in 1840. The "Daft Man" wasn't seen again until after the brothers funeral, when he walked into the Father's workplace to glower at the poor man before leaving, never to be seen again. The woman believed that her Father had encountered the creator of the Coffin Dolls, that the "Daft Man" was enraged by their discovery but was blaming her Father for it for some reason.

A Hidden War Memorial

In 1820 an event occurred that would go on to be known as The Radical War. Artisans and workers took to protesting and strikes as they sought reforms that would include safer working conditions and better pay. Sadly, the authorities were having none of it. The "War" was brutally stamped out, with some of the ring leaders being sent to the gallows, whilst other supporters were split between transportation to Australia and hard labour in Scotland. Those forced into hard labour were put to work building a new footpath that curved around Arthur's Seat and was named Radical Road, seemingly to mock those tasked with its creation. It's still there today and is a popular hiking trail, although not everyone knows about its sad history. It's hypothesised that the dolls were hidden by the workers as a memorial to the executed leaders and an odd sign of hope to those who wanted to see the cause continued.

Discarded Playthings 

Where they were just toys? Creepy, oddly well-detailed toys that had been forgotten by those who used to play with them. Handmade toys were more common in those days because the big toy-making factories we have today just didn't exist. There are some unusual and flat out disturbing ones out there, including Frozen Charlotte; a jointless, porcelain doll originally meant as a bath toy for young children, but one that would occasionally come with accessories such as a miniature coffin. They really sound familiar, don't they? Frozen Charlotte was first mass-produced in Germany in the 1850s, but it's possible there could have been similar toys around before her and that the ones found in that cave are an example of that. The cave itself seems to have been a small one, so it would have made an excellent den for a child, or small group of children, to play house in. Eventually these children would have grown up, moved away or died, due to the high mortality rate in children of this era. The dolls could have just been forgotten.

Burke and Hare's victims

You might not know what they did, but I bet you've heard of them. In a time when body snatching was rife, William Burke and William Hare became masters of their trade and real-life boogeymen. Local anatomy schools would pay a pretty penny for a fresh corpse, and many poor people turned to grave robbery as a way to pay their rent. But for these two men, digging up the recently deceased wasn't good enough, as the death of one of Hare's lodgers made them realise that they could acquire fresher merchandise by making it themselves. And the fresher the corpse was, the more doctors and medical schools were willing to pay for it. After selling the body of the first lodger, they started to kill, slaughtering 16 people in a period of about 10 months between 1827 to 1828. They were only caught when another lodger became suspicious of their shifty behaviour and stumbled upon the poorly hidden body of their last victim.

Some experts and historians believe the dolls represent these victims, with the dolls on the first two rows being the bodies of those murdered and the one on the top being the lodger who died of natural causes. 

National Museums of Scotland

Will the mystery of the Coffin Dolls or whoever tucked them away in their little tomb ever be solved? Probably not. Maybe, sometime in the future, another stash of dolls will be found and give us more clues. Sadly the way in which the surviving dolls were discovered means we'll get no hint from them since they were found by bored children and not Archaeologists. I'm no expert either, but I favour two theories; Witchcraft and the memorial for Burke and Hare's victims. As I've previously stated, the area would have been perfect for a witch to practice their craft. It was quiet and, for the most part, offered the privacy they would have wanted to do whatever it was they were doing. But I also like the idea that someone out there wanted to honour the poor souls cut down by Burke and Hares greed, even if no one else would ever know about the memorial.

If you want to see the dolls for yourself, then you're in luck because you can! They're on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, which is now open again. Depending on Lockdown rules and if you're able to safely travel, then why not stop by and pay them a visit? 

While you're here, why not head down to the comments and share any stories you might have about these dolls or similar ones? What theory do you think is most likely? Or, if you want, tag me in a Tweet and let me know there. 

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. 

The Art of Terror: Early Haunts

"𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓵𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓰𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼, 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽𝓵𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓰𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓱𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓻𝔂 𝓱𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓽𝓸𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝓲𝓬 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵 𝓪𝓭𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓪𝓷 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓵𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮. 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓬𝓱 𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓢𝓵𝓮𝓮𝓹𝔂 𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀, 𝓡𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓕𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓲𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓪 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓼 𝓒𝓪𝓻𝓸𝓵." 

 October is here. The nights are dark and cold, the perfect time to snuggle up in the warm, with a hot drink and something spooky. What's winter without a good ghost story? But there are so many to choose from and sometimes you want something new, something you haven't read before. How about a classic ghost story or two? Better yet, how about four in the form of a beautifully written and illustrated graphic novel?

This graphic novel is bought to us by author T.W.Burgess. His first novel was self-published in 2014
and he has since released five others, including Photoghasts, the worlds first AR haunted book. His works have garnered great praise from publications such as Starburst Magazine and Rue Morgue, and have included introductions from Junji Ito, Reece Shearsmith and Corin Hardy. With these books, he has helped introduce us to a wonderful world of spine chilling horror. And now, with the help of a team of amazing artists, that world is about to expand even further. I'd like to introduce you to Early Haunts, a stunning and much anticipated graphic novel which I hope you'll consider adding to your collection. If not for yourself, then for that special spooky someone in your life. This new anthology brings you four little known classic tales of terror, coming to us from mythology and early folklore, and introducing the reader to a carefully curated collection of some of the earliest recorded ghost stories. Some of you may have heard of these stories, but many of you won't have and Early Haunts is the perfect introduction to them for any reader. 

The Stories

The House in Athens

Adapted from the ancient Roman story of the same name, it was found in the letters of Pliny The Younger, a Roman politician and writer. He lived from 61AD to 113AD, which gives you an idea of just how old this story is, making it the earliest recorded ghost story in the book. The House in Athens tells the tale of a terrifying chained apparition stalking a house in ancient Athens and how a man named Athenodorus set out to solve the mystery of this ominous spectre. You'll recognise this chained ghost from Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, as it was an inspiration for the tormented spirit of Jacob Marley.

It's illustrated by Mike O Brien, who has captured the story wonderfully with his rich colour pallet and sweeping brush strokes. His work has previously been included in Cracked Eye Magazine and at the Bishop's Stortford Museum, among others.

The Tale from Dish Mansion

Originally recorded as The Plate House, by Baba Bunko in 1758, this folktale can trace its origins to a Kabuki play by the name of Bancho Saravashiki. It tells the chilling story of Okiku, a girl doomed to become a tragic and terrifying Japanese spirit known as a Yokai. If she sounds familiar to you when you read this chapter, then you can thank author Koji Suzuki, who seems to have taken inspiration from this tale for his novel, The Ring, thus bringing us another well dwelling spector; Sadako. 

Illustrator Bri Neumann and colourist Bryan Valenza have bought this tale to life with incredible attention to detail and a gorgeously warm colour pallet. 

Bri Neumann has worked in Television, Animation and Computer Games in a variety of different roles, including working for Dreamworks Animation, Nintendo and Rick & Morty, among others.

Bryan Valenza has worked for both indie and non-indie publishers, including DC Comics, Image Comics and Lion Forge.

The Wild Huntsman

The Wild Huntsman has been carefully dapted from the poem of the same name, which was written by the German poet Gottfried August Bürger in the 1700s. Based on German folklore, it concerns the tale of a huntsman who, upon going hunting on a Sunday, soon finds himself cursed through his own actions. This creepy poem was a source of inspiration for Washington Irving, when he was writing his own classic ghost story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Illustrator Brian Coldrick has brought this chilling tale to life with a cool colour pallet and stunning art style that brings life to the frantic chase depicted in the poem. Known for his brilliant webcomic Behind You, his work also includes monster design for Doctor Who, robotic prosthetics for Lady Gaga and cover art for Locke and Key.

The Death Bride

A chilling Italian gothic horror story, The Death Bride hails from a French anthology of German ghost stories known as Fantasmagoriana. This tale of love and terror was first translated by Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès, anonymously for some reason and it was published in 1812. Fantasmagoriana was one of many books read by Mary Shelly during her stay in Geneva with her husband Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, becoming one of her main influences when writing her famous novel Frankenstein.

This story is illustrated by David Romero, a freelance illustrator and animator whos speciality is horror. His haunting artwork adds a dark atmosphere to this story, which brings with it a creeping dread. Very fitting for a story like this. David has worked for many people and companies, including Image Comics and Simply Scary Podcast.

A lot of work has been put into this project, each story has been painstakingly adapted by T.W.Burgess and beautifully bought to life by the artists involved. Simply put, it's a labour of love. The Kickstarter campaign ends on the 6th of November, so you still have plenty of time to get involved and show your support for this exciting project. 

Head over to the Early Haunts Kickstarter now and you can help bring this book to life in the form of an elegantly designed hardback novel. 

There are seven levels of support you can offer. Each brings with it a signed first edition of the book (either digital, physical or both.) and various other goodies, including (depending on the amount pledged.) limited edition bookplates, copies of T.W.burgess' other novels, a copy of the Early Haunts digital sketchbook and a Thank You in the back of the book itself.  The campaign also includes three fabulous Stretch Goals. It's reached the £10,000 goal so all print backers will receive a limited edition art print, but if it reaches £15,000 then they will be able to include AR pages in the book and if it reaches £20,000 then every backer will get a copy of an exclusive bonus comic. T.W.Burgess and Brian Coldrick have been working on a comic adapted from the actual haunting which inspired the classic ghost story The Turn of the Screw, written by Henry James. 

I myself have signed up and am following the campaign with much excitement. How about you, dear reader? Are you already following Early Haunts? What are you excited about the most, what has you hyped for the project's completion? If you arent following Early Haunts on Kickstarter just yet, then I highly recommend you do so. This unique and fascinating graphic novel is an excellent addition to any ghost story or graphic novel collection.

As always, I'd love to hear from you, either in the comments below or by tagging me in a post on Twitter. Plus don't forget to send some extra good vibes and support to team responsible for this beautiful project, by following them on Twitter too. Their profiles can be reached by clicking on their names.

 𝓔𝓪𝓻𝓵𝔂 𝓗𝓪𝓾𝓷𝓽𝓼.

 𝓞𝓷 𝓚𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷!

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.