13. The Villisca Axe Murders Shook A Small Iowa Town
In the year 1912, The Moore Family was brutally murdered by an intruder with an ax in Villisca, Iowa. Both parents, Joe and Sarah Moore, their four children, and two friends who came to spend the night were killed one by one by the same murderer. The front door was left unlocked, which was not uncommon back then. So the murderer was able to quietly tiptoe through the dark house with an oil lamp and chop them to bits in the middle of the night.
Some people believe that the murderer must have known the Moore Family, because it would have been incredibly difficult for a stranger to figure out the layout of a house at night, with only a handheld oil lamp for light. After he chopped up his victims, he covered the faces of every person with sheets and clothing. The also covered all of the windows and mirrors with blankets, and washed his hands before leaving the house.
This was years before police were putting up yellow caution tape around crime scenes, so over 100 townspeople showed up to take a look at the Moore house, which we now know would have completely defiled any possible evidence that may have been there. The killer was never found. Today, the Moore House has been kept as a museum. Some visitors believe that the house is haunted.