By: Amelia Wigton

    It was June 10, 1912, that changed the small town of Villisca, Iowa forever. It was that morning that Moore family---a father, a mother, four children and two visiting children---were discovered dead. The weapon? An ax.

    Now known as the Villisca, Iowa Ax Murder House, it has been talked about for nearly a century for the sheer gruesomeness of the crime and the fact that the killer---or killers---were never discovered.

    However, a Harrisonville family has their own theory as to what really happened that tragic night when eight people were brutally murdered in their beds. A theory that is gaining the group---Miller’s Paranormal Research based in Harrisonville---national attention.

    Brenda Marble and Dee Ann Tripses, sisters and co-founders of the research team, first visited Villisca in August, 2003 along with the team. However, what they witnessed that night---and again in two following investigations---is something they will never forget.

    "At the Villisca house, there’s a lot more going on there than the normal sensations of a haunted house," Marble said. "We’ve experienced not only the normal ghost experiences that occur in most houses, but we experienced a whole lot more. This house is phenomenon when it comes to the haunting going on there. It’s like a spiritual battle."

Marble and Tripses said the first investigation was so intense that they returned for a second---something the group generally does not do.

    "Usually after we do an investigation, we’re done with it," Marble said. "But this particular place, we knew as soon as the residual happened that there was more than just a haunting going on there."

Marble and the team had to begin thinking "outside the paranormal box" because up to that point no teams had ever recorded a residual.

    "A residual is an instant in time that just plays over and over," Tripses said. "We called this an intelligent residual because the ghosts were interacting with the psychic while the crime was occurring."

    Marble and Tripses said they believe the residuals that have been captured on tape answer many of the questions as to what happened that fateful night. The group has recorded EVP---electronic voice phenomena---of the ghosts discussing the murders as they took place. They believe they have also captured a photograph of an apparition of whom they believe to be the murderer, as well as a photograph of what looks like an energy vortex in the shape of a warped ax.

    The evidence the research team collected has been featured in the March issue of "Ghost Magazine."

A documentary has also been filmed by a small production company---Movie Memories and Studio 9 Productions in Atlantic, Iowa---in March. The documentary, "Villisca---The Untold Story," reveals who Miller’s Paranormal Research believes to be the murderer and why it occurred. The documentary is due to be released in late summer and will be shown on various cable stations in Des Moines and Atlantic, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb. It will also be sold on VHS and DVD.

    The research and evidence collected by Millers Paranormal Research will also be scrutinized by the Sci-Fi Channel during a segment of "Proof Positive." The producers of the show contacted the team and have already evaluated the evidence collected by Millers Paranormal Research. The group will return to the Villisca house May 17 for the taping of the segment. The approximate 15-minute segment will air in the fall.

    According to it’s Web site, the mission of Millers Paranormal Research team is to answer the "hows, whats and whys in the paranormal field of investigations." The group has investigated a large number of places locally and out of state since it formed three years ago. All of their investigations are free of charge.

    For more information on the Villisca Ax Murder House investigation or Millers Paranormal Research, visit it’s Web site at www.millersparanormalresearch.com.

Top: Millers Paranormal Research has done multiple investigations at the Villisca Ax Murder House.  Above: a photograph of what looks like an energy vortex in the shape of a warped ax was captured during the first investigation in August.  Below: the team believes this is a photograph of an apparition of whom they believe to be the murderer.  He is shown on the right with his arms at this sides.