The 1912 Villisca Axe Murders Blog

Villisca Axe Murder Novel Now Available for Kindle and Other Electronic Formats

According to a press release from author Stephen Bowman, Morning Ran Red, a novel about the 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe murder mystery, is being released in all electronic formats.  Users of Amazon.com’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook or any of the other electronic reading devices or computer software can download all formats at smashwords.com.

Morning Ran Red is a highly fictionalized telling of the Villisca ax murder true crime story.  While the names of the characters in the book have been changed, a sufficient familiarity with the story allows readers to determine which characters are based on real people.

“I’m very excited about this,” Bowman said.  “Over 250,000 readers have enjoyed the printed version, and it’s really fun that more people can now enjoy it at about one-third the price."

Bowman was interviewed for the documentary feature film Villisca: Living with a Mystery and noted that Villisca residents were somewhat reluctant to cooperate with his requests for information about the still-unsolved murders of eight local citizens

Documentary filmmaker Kelly Rundle chats with Stephen Bowman (seated) in 1994. 

“No one wanted me to write the story,” Bowman said.  “But I think today most agree that publication of the book helped heal some of those old wounds, finally.  And I am under the impression it has added to the economic vitality of the town.  Their annual Villisca Days is very popular, and I think it’s because they loosened up a bit.”

The first Heritage Days weekend in 1987 was planned as a direct response to the release of Morning Ran Red and its sensational nature.  Townspeople were unhappy with his portrayal of the city and its people, and decided they prefered a factual telling of the story to a fictional one.

"In thinly veiled fiction he may have assassinated the character of people who didn't deserve it, and they are no longer here to defend themselves," said Villisca farmer Tom Rusk during his Villisca documentary film interview.

Stephen Bowman is a native of Red Oak, Iowa who lives and writes in Omaha, Nebraska.  Signed printed versions of his books are available at: BowmanBooks.com.

Book on U.S. Oddities Features Villisca, Iowa "Haunted" Murder House

In its inexorable march from historic site on the National Register to paranormal bed and boo-fest, the Villisca Axe Murder House is mentioned in a new book entitled Weird U.S.-The ODDyssey Continues (sic).

Amazon.com says: "Each fun and intriguing volume offers more than 250 illustrated pages of places where tourists usually don’t venture: it’s chock-full of oddball curiosities, ghostly places, local legends, crazy characters, cursed roads, and peculiar roadside attractions."

An Amazon reviewer comments: "A lot of the stories therein are historically true...there's always large sections dedicated to abandoned towns, schools, asylums which are easily verifiable. Some of the most interesting reading here, however, is the folklore which, seldomly backed by much more than the person's word, must be taken with a grain of salt."

In addition to a purposeful misspelling of the word odyssey in the title, one can discover what Messrs. Sceurman, Moran, and Lake think about the Josiah B. Moore home by examining the other unusual places and subjects that accompany the infamous murder site:

• Alabama's Goat Man
• Louisiana's Bonnie and Clyde Festival
• shrunken heads in Kentucky
• spontaneous human combustion museums in Pennsylvania and Florida
• a raisin box collection in New Jersey.

It's hard to imagine what the murdered Moore family would think if they came back and saw the legend that has arisen around their former home since it was declared "haunted" by ghost hunters in 1998.

 

Rundles and Epperly Join Authors of Iowa Murder Mystery Book in Iowa

Villisca: Living with a Mystery filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle and historian Edgar V. Epperly joined Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland authors Thomas Wolf and Patricia Bryan (shown above) at the Ankeny, Iowa campus of Des Moines Area Community Colleges (DMACC) Double Talks series on January 25-26, 2008.

The two-day presentation was titled The World of Justice: Murder & Mayhem Within Iowa's Crimes and organized by DMACC professor Lisa Ossian.

If you haven't had a chance to read their book or visit their website, please consider this a recommendation to do so.  The book is a compelling Iowa murder mystery and an insightful study of the status of women in late early 1900s America.

Yes, it's an axe murder in Iowa that predates the Villisca, Iowa crime by a dozen years.  Are they connected?  No, but these true stories still offer both intrigue and insight.

Assassin reviews here.  A more complete book review here.

It was nice meeting you Thomas and Patricia.  We wish you continued success with your fascinating book!

By the time the Friday, January 25, 2008 community college event started, over 90 people were seated with more standing in the back of the room.