Villisca, Iowa: Disembodied Voices, Moving Objects, Orbs ... The Most Haunted House In America

Villisca Ax Murder House
508 E. 2nd Street
Villisca, IA 50864
Website: VilliscaAxMurderHouse.com
Prices: $$$$

You can visit the Most Haunted House in America, the Villisca Ax Murder House, in Villisca, Iowa, a small farming town about 70 miles southeast of Omaha, Nebraska.

For $10 per person, you can take a 20-30 minute guided tour of the house (between March 28th and October 31st only) from the hours of 1pm to 3:30pm or for $428, you can spend the night in the house ... if you dare!

The house is a small wood frame farm home with two bedrooms and a small attic upstairs and a kitchen, pantry, living room, and small bedroom downstairs. There is also a small root cellar accessible from the outside. 

The story goes that the murderer waited for the family to return from church on June 10th, 1912, killing Josiah Moore, his wife, their four children, and two of the children's friends, the Stillinger girls, who just happened to be spending that night. He bashed all of their heads in with an ax he found on the property, then sat down at the kitchen table, eating a meal before depositing a slab of bacon by the door and leaving.

The family was discovered the next morning after a neighbor noticed the absence of activity at the house, calling a relative who made the gruesome discovery. 

There were several suspects, including a drifter, a preacher, and a local business owner who had a gripe with Mr. Moore, but the murders remain unsolved to this day. Disembodied children's voices, falling lamps, moving ladders and flying objects have been reported and psychics have confirmed the presence of spirits dwelling in the home.
Look very closely at the photo (below) I took in the upstairs bedroom of the Villisca Ax Murder House where Mr. and Mrs. Moore were brutally murdered. Can you see an apparition of a little girl in a dress?

The house is small and the guided tour only takes about 30 minutes, but you are welcome to stick and poke around if you hope to take photos, see an orb, or hear a disembodied voice. The cemetery where the families are buried is just up the road a quarter-mile or so north from the house and worth a visit if you want to pay your respects to the victims and their families.

Villisca is a small, rural farming community in the middle of Iowa, so there is not much else to do there. There is a gas station with fast food and pizza near the main road, but little else, so plan your trip accordingly. We made a special trip to Villisca on our way back to St Joseph, Missouri from Omaha and I have to say the Villisca Axe Murder House was worth the one-hour detour.

CombatCritic Gives The Villisca Ax Murder House 8 Bombs Out Of 10 ... Only Because The Prices Are A Bit High (The $6-$8 Range Would Be More Appropriate) ... More Bombs Are Better!

Murder times eight, intrigue, deception, unexplained, temperature changes, EVPs, orbs ... watch the video and decide for yourself if the Villisca Ax Murder House is THE MOST HAUNTED HOUSE IN AMERICA.

Take a paranormal tour of the Villisca Ax Murder House on CombatCritic's TravelValue TV:

Photos:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Villisca, Iowa: Disembodied Voices, Moving Objects, Orbs ... The Most Haunted House In America

Key Words: tour, Villisca Ax Murder House, most, haunted, house, America, Villisca, Iowa, murder, ax, axe, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Villisca Axe Murder House - The Most Haunted House In America

Look very closely at the photo (below) I took in the upstairs bedroom of the Villisca Axe Murder House where Mr. and Mrs. Moore were brutally murdered. Can you see an apparition of a little girl in a dress?

Murder times 8, intrigue, deception, unexplained, temperature changes, EVPs, orbs ... watch the video and decide for yourself if the Villisca Axe Murder House is THE MOST HAUNTED HOUSE IN AMERICA.

Take a paranormal tour of the Villisca Axe Murder House on CombatCritic's TravelValue TV:

Photos:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: Tour The Villisca Axe Murder House - The Most Haunted House In America

Key Words: tour, Villisca Axe Murder House, most, haunted, house, America, Villisca, Iowa, murder, axe, ax, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp

Lawrence, KS: A Few Flaws Drop Rating After Move To New Locale

El Potro
2351 W 31st St Lawrence, KS 66047‎

Phone: (785) 331-2500

Website
Prices: $$$$

Sunday is our weekly dinner out night and we were again surprised when we pulled into the parking lot to find a sea of cars and a restaurant full of people. Sunday night dinner out in Lawrence is normally so quiet you could be heard whispering three tables away, but not at El Potro. The new restaurant is bigger than the old place, but everything else seems pretty much the same with a few exceptions.

We were quickly seated with the waiter dropping by to take drink orders and the busboy dropping off chips, salsa and free chili con queso. Not only do they give you free cheese dip, it is in a decent size cup. My wife ordered orchata, a sweet rice-based drink from Mexico that tastes like liquid rice pudding with hints of cinnamon. I decided to go with the 22 ounce margarita (frozen with salt) and at $6, not a bad deal. It was fair, but with little alcohol. We also decided to try the guacamole (half order - $3.25), a good predictor of quality Mexican food. Not as good as mine or the best restaurant guac I have had, but plentiful and tasty with just a few chopped tomatoes on top to add color to the appetizer. It was a nice accompaniment to the cheese dip, chips, and salsa.

Veggie Quesadilla - $6.99

For our entrees, my wife ordered the vegetable and cheese quesadilla appetizer which came with more guacamole and pico di gallo (which they forgot). Quesadillas are pretty boring and this was no exception ... a flour tortilla, some melted cheese, and a few veggies ... at $7, it seemed a bit expensive to me.

Deep Fried Tacos - $8.49

I ordered the deep fried shredded beef tacos ($8.49 - ground beef or chicken also available) and a cheese and onion enchilada ala carte. The server brought three tacos in pre-fab shells (I hate pre-fab shells), so I asked them to bring the correct order. When they finally arrived, the tacos were crispy, the beef was well seasoned, and there was plenty of lettuce and cheese in addition to the standard rice and beans. The shells were pliable enough to add some guacamole, pico di gallo (from my wife's order - she hates tomatoes) and salsa, but the tortillas are thinner than I remember and fell apart on first bite. The enchilada came on a separate plate and was pleasing to the eye with a colorful accompaniment of sauce, cheese, lettuce and tomato. The enchilada ($2.50) was a tad small and the sauce spicy, but not overly so and the ratio of cheese to onion to sauce was good.

Cheese and Onion Enchilada Ala Carte - $2.50

They also had a guy with a guitar going from table to table singing Mexican mariachi songs. A nice touch, but he was not great and there were two small signs attached to his guitar reminding us that he works for tips. I understand that, but think it is a bit tacky to pressure customers into paying $1 or more for a single song which was all he stuck around to play. If you are going to provide music, pay the musician and if he gets a few tips, he can think of it as a bonus.

The new El Potro was not quite as good as the old one. The chips and corn tortilla taco shells are thinner than I remember, breaking easily. The margarita was not as tasty as at the old place and there was much less tequila. After drinking a 22 ounce margarita, I barely had a buzz. They got a 7 out of 10 score two years ago, but I have to drop a bomb after a less than stellar return visit.

CombatCritic Gives El Potro 6 out of 10 Bombs ... More Bombs Are Better!

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Title: A Few Flaws Drop Rating After Move To New Locale

Key Words: El Potro, el, potro, colt, Mexican, Lawrence, Kansas, Iowa, taco, guacamole, enchilada, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation: "G2G" - Good To Go