The 1912 Villisca Axe Murders Blog

WHBF Entertainment Reporter Jonathan Turner interviews Epperly about Iowa's Worst Mass Murder, the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders

Iowa author has ax to find in Bettendorf talk

by: Jonathan Turner
WHBF-TV4

Ed Epperly has been obsessed with a mass murder in a tiny Iowa town for over 65 years.

The unassuming 87-year-old retired college professor will bring his fiendish tales of the 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe murders to the Bettendorf Public Library on Friday, Oct. 14. The 1:30 p.m. free talk is part of the library’s October Community Connections.

Epperly is the author of the new true-crime book “Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912.”  Decades in the writing, “Fiend Incarnate” looks at the notorious Iowa crime that led to nearly a decade of investigations and trials. Villisca (pop. 1,132) is in southwest Iowa, about two hours from Des Moines).

Read the rest of the story at WHBF's OurQuadCities.com!

 

Halloween Events Feature Villisca Axe Murder Author and Book Signings

Check out this list featuring numerous Halloween book signings and presentations by Dr. Epperly during the months of September and October.

Epperly's new true crime book, "Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912", will be for sale at the events, and patrons can have their books signed by the author after the presentation. Cash or check is the accepted form of payment at the events. The book can also be purchased at Amazon.com.

Dr. Epperly spent over 60 years interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures in the Villisca axe murder case in addition to examining historical records connected to the crime. He is considered the foremost authority on the sensational crime. The comprehensive 416-page historical true crime book is illustrated with over 190 rare images. 

Sept. 27, Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. Cascade Public Library, Cascade, Iowa

Sept. 28, Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. Eldora Public Library, Eldora, Iowa

Sept. 28, Wednesday, 5:15 p.m. Kling Memorial Library, Grundy Center, Iowa

Oct. 2, Sunday, 2:00 p.m. Marshalltown Public Library, Marshalltown, Iowa

Oct. 8, Saturday, 10:00 a.m. Woodward Public Library, Woodward, Iowa

Oct. 13, Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Gladbrook Public Library, Gladbrook, Iowa

Oct. 14, Friday, 1:30 p.m. Bettendorf Public Library, Bettendorf, Iowa

Oct. 16, Sunday, 1:00 p.m. Marengo Public Library, Marengo, Iowa

Oct. 17, Monday, 5:30 p.m. Union Public Library, Union, Iowa

Oct. 20, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Ely Public Library, Ely, Iowa

Oct. 24, Monday, 6:30 p.m. Belmond Public Library, Belmond, Iowa

Oct. 27, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Malvern Public Library, Malvern, Iowa

Oct. 30, Sunday, 12:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m. Book Rack, Davenport, Iowa

'Fiend Incarnate' author's true crime book definitive work on brutal 1912 Villisca axe murders

Author Ed Epperly with Villisca documentary filmmakers Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.

Excerpts of story by reporter Melody Parker
Waterloo Courier

Ed Epperly is considered an authority on the worst mass murder in Iowa history. The retired Luther College professor has spent more than six decades delving into the 1912 horrific murders of a prominent Villisca family and two overnight guests.

Epperly’s recently published true crime non-fiction book, “Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912,” is the result of his comprehensive research.

“This is an iconic case and stands right up there with Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden. These murders just haven’t gotten that kind of publicity, and the community of Villisca tried to repress news about it when it happened,” said Epperly.

The tragedy remains unsolved.

On June 10, 1912, the small community of Villisca awoke to the violent murders of Josiah and Sara Moore and their four children, Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul, and guests Lena and Ina Stillinger. They were discovered brutally bludgeoned to death in their beds.

Click HERE to read the rest of the story.

For more information about “Fiend Incarnate” visit VilliscaBook.com. To purchase the book via Amazon, click HERE!

To purchase the award-winning documentary "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" visit VilliscaMovie.com.

Villisca Axe Murder Expert Epperly Returns to Red Oak April 27

Inside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak, Iowa 1917 during the Villisca axe murder trial of Reverend Lyn George Jacklin Kelly. (Courtesy Fourth Wall Films.)

Red Oak, Iowa, the county seat of Montgomery County, where dozens of litigations including three sensational trials concerning the Villisca Axe Murders took place at the historic courthouse located in the center of the town square. Dr. Edgar Epperly, author of the new true crime book “Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912”, returns to Red Oak on Wednesday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. for a special presentation and book signing at the Red Oak Public Library, 400 North 2nd Street.

Red Oak Public Libary hosts author Dr. Epperly April 27th.

Considered the foremost authority on the Villisca axe murders, Epperly's 60 years of research, interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures in the Villisca murder case, examining historical records connected to the crime, and uncovering new information about suspects of the crime, has been distilled in a comprehensive 416-page historical non-fiction book illustrated with over 190 rare images.

“Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912” takes the reader back to the dark early morning of June 10, 1912, when a person or persons unknown bludgeoned to death Josiah B. Moore, his wife Sara, their children Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul, and two overnight guests, Lena and Ina Stillinger. The sensational crime led to nearly ten years of investigations and trials. The small southwest Iowa town of Villisca split over the guilt or innocence of a local businessman and State Senator. A traveling minister from England with a history of window peeping was charged and tried. Investigators and reporters across the country speculated that the brutal crime was the work of an early serial killer. Similar crimes had been committed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ellsworth, Kansas; and Monmouth, Illinois.

Epperly was the key consultant and interview in the award-winning  documentary feature film “Villisca: Living with a Mystery” by Emmy award-winning Fourth Wall Films.

To schedule an appearance or book-signing with Dr. Epperly, write to: [email protected]

 

The book is available to purchase on Amazon.com. It is also available at the following independent bookstores in Iowa (more to come):

Needful Things, 320. S. 3rd Avenue, Villisca, 402.540.8525 https://www.facebook.com/Needful-Things-in-Villisca-996817610707559/

Dragonfly Books, 112 W. Water Street, Decorah, 563.382.4275 https://www.dragonflybooks.com/

Luther College Bookstore, 700 College Drive, Decorah, 563.387.1036 https://www.lutherbookshop.com/

The Book Vine, 204 W. Main St., Cherokee, 712.225.2445 https://www.thebookvine.com/

The Pudgy Pumpkin Patch Gift Shop, 512 N. 4th St., Red Oak 712.623.8111 https://pudgypumpkin.com/

Villisca Axe Murder author and expert Epperly returns to SW Iowa for book tour April 4-8

Dr. Edgar Epperly, author of the new true crime book “Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912” returns to Southwest Iowa to host presentations and book signings April 4-8. Decades in the writing, the new book is bringing the notorious Iowa crime back into the limelight.

Sometime during the dark early morning of June 10, 1912, a person or persons unknown bludgeoned to death Josiah B. Moore, his wife Sara, their children Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul, and two overnight guests, Lena and Ina Stillinger. The sensational crime led to nearly ten years of investigations and trials. The small southwest Iowa town of Villisca split over the guilt or innocence of a local businessman and State Senator. A traveling minister from England with a history of window peeping was charged and tried. Investigators and reporters across the country speculated that the brutal crime was the work of an early serial killer. Similar crimes had been committed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ellsworth, Kansas; and Monmouth, Illinois.

Dr. Epperly’s presentations will take place:

• Monday, April 4, 6:30 PM, Villisca Public Library, 204 South 3^rd Avenue, Villisca, Iowa;
  
  
• Tuesday, April 5, 11:00 AM, Tabor Public Library, 723 Main Street, Tabor, Iowa;
  
  
• Tuesday, April 5, 2:00 PM, Shenandoah Public Library, 201 S. Elm Street, Shenandoah, Iowa;
  
  
• Tuesday, April 5, 6:30 PM, Hamburg Public Library, 1301 Main Street, Hamburg, Iowa;
  
  
• Wednesday, April 6, 6:30 PM, Clarinda Public Library, 100 E. Garfield, Clarinda, Iowa; Clarinda Library will also ZOOM the program as well. To attend online, request the ZOOM link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvceyupjMsG9wgMyVkunuRM8h4ue6cQXfV
  
  
• Thursday, April 7, 3:30 PM, Essex Public Library, 508 Iowa Avenue, Essex, Iowa;
  
  
• Thursday, April 7, 7:00 PM, Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Ave., Council Bluffs, Iowa;
  
  
• Friday, April 8, 4:30 PM, Gibson Memorial Library, 200 W. Howard Street, Creston, Iowa.

Dr. Epperly spent over 60 years interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures in the Villisca murder case in addition to examining historical records connected to the crime. He began his research in 1955 as a college student in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He is considered the foremost authority on the sensational crime. The comprehensive 416-page historical non-fiction book is illustrated with over 190 rare images.

Epperly was the key consultant and interview in the award-winning  documentary feature film “Villisca: Living with a Mystery” by Emmy award-winning Fourth Wall Films.

Public frustration in the inability of law enforcement to solve the Villisca Axe Murders led to the formation of the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The fingerprint collection compiled by the expert who also examined the Villisca crime scene became the basis of the F.B.I.’s current database.

Epperly has written dozens of articles and blog entries, and appeared on CourtTV and other television and radio programs. He is a popular guest speaker at colleges, universities, historical societies, museums, libraries, and book stores. He resides in Decorah, Iowa.

Epperly's research journey was the subject of the award-winning short documentary film AXMAN. For more information about “Fiend Incarnate” visit VilliscaBook.com.

The book is available to purchase on Amazon.com. It is also available at the following independent bookstores in Iowa (more to come):

Needful Things, 320. S. 3rd Avenue, Villisca, 402.540.8525 https://www.facebook.com/Needful-Things-in-Villisca-996817610707559/

Dragonfly Books, 112 W. Water Street, Decorah, 563.382.4275 https://www.dragonflybooks.com/

Luther College Bookstore, 700 College Drive, Decorah, 563.387.1036 https://www.lutherbookshop.com/

The Book Vine, 204 W. Main St., Cherokee, 712.225.2445 https://www.thebookvine.com/

The Pudgy Pumpkin Patch Gift Shop, 512 N. 4th St., Red Oak 712.623.8111 https://pudgypumpkin.com/

After 60 Years of Research Epperly's Villisca Axe Murder Book is Published

Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912 by Dr. Edgar Epperly, a new true crime book decades in the writing, was officially released on November 23 and is now available in print and on Kindle at Amazon.com and in independent book stores. The book is published by Fourth Wall Press of Moline, Illinois.

Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Iowa Axe Murders of 1912 tells the story of the violent 1912 Villisca axe murder mystery, still the largest mass murder in Iowa history. Sometime during the dark early morning of June 10, 1912, a person or persons unknown bludgeoned to death Josiah B. Moore, his wife Sara, their children Herman, Katherine, Boyd and Paul, and two overnight guests, Lena and Ina Stillinger. The sensational crime led to nearly ten years of investigations and trials. The small southwest Iowa town of Villisca split over the guilt or innocence of a local businessman and State Senator. A traveling minister from England with a history of window peeping was charged and tried. Investigators and reporters across the country speculated that the violent crime was the work of an early serial killer. Similar crimes had been committed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ellsworth, Kansas; and Monmouth, Illinois, leading some authorities to believe the axe murders were the work of a serial killer--a phrase that had yet to be coined.

Fiend Incarnate is illustrated with over 190 photographs and diagrams.

Don Brown and Ed Epperly in 1955, just beginning their research into the 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe murders.

Dr. Epperly, considered the foremost authority on the sensational crime, spent over 60 years interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures in the axe murder case and researching the events surrounding the famous unsolved mystery. His research began in 1955 for a college research project. 

“This unsolved murder mystery is a fascinating study of ordinary people dealing with an extraordinary event,” said Epperly.

Epperly was the key consultant and interview in the award-winning documentary feature Villisca: Living with a Mystery, produced by Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.

“In the wake of the success of the documentary, we talked about publishing a companion book,” said Kelly Rundle. “Books allow for a more detailed telling of a complicated story. Fiend Incarnate is the definitive written account of America's greatest unsolved mystery.”

Epperly has written dozens of articles and blog entries, and appeared on CourtTV and other radio and television programs. He is a popular guest speaker at colleges, universities, historical societies, museums, libraries, and book stores. He resides in Decorah, Iowa. Epperly's research journey was the subject of the award-winning short documentary film AXMAN.

Ed Epperly's Villisca Axe Murder Book Officially Released November 23

Tuesday, November 23, 2021 is the official release of Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912, Dr. Ed Epperly's much anticipated new true crime book. 

The book will be available to purchase online at Amazon.com via this link: https://www.amazon.com/Fiend-Incarnate-Villisca-Murders-1912/dp/B09M4T7VF5/ref=sr_1_1 

Fiend Incarnate is $24.99 plus shipping. Amazon Prime customers receive free shipping. 

Sometime during the night of June 10, 1912, a person or persons unknown bludgeoned to death Josiah B. Moore, his wife Sara, their children Herman, Katherine, Boyd, and Paul, and two overnight guests Lena and Ina Stillinger. The sensational crime in Villisca, Iowa led to nearly 10 years of investigations and trials.

The small Southwest Iowa town split over the guilt or innocence of a local businessman and State Senator. A traveling minister from England with a history of window-peeping was charged and tried. Investigators and reporters across the country speculated that the axe murders were the work of an early serial killer. Similar crimes had been committed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ellsworth, Kansas; and Monmouth, Illinois. Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912 represents the definitive written account of American's greatest unsolved mystery.

Fiend Incarnate is a companion to the award-winning documentary feature film Villisca: Living With a Mystery.


Dr. Ed Epperly, author of Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912.

Author Dr. Edgar V. Epperly has been researching the 1912 Villisca axe murders for over 60 years. He has written dozens of articles and blog entries, and appeared on CourtTV and other radio and television programs. He is a popular guest speaker at colleges, universities, historical societies, museums, libraries, and book stores. He resides in Decorah, Iowa. Epperly's research journey was the subject of the award-winning short documentary film AXMAN.

Epperly's Definitive Written Account of 1912 Villisca Axe Murder Mystery To Be Released

Dr. Edgar Epperly spent over 60 years interviewing eyewitnesses and key figures in the 1912 axe murder case, and researching the events surrounding the violent deaths of eight victims in the small southwest Iowa town of Villisca. The brutal crime is still considered Iowa's worst mass homocide.

Dr. Epperly's long-awaited true crime book, FIEND INCARNATE: VILLISCA AXE MURDERS OF 1912, will be released in the coming weeks and will be available on Amazon and in independent book stores. The book is published by Fourth Wall Press.

FIEND INCARNATE is a companion to the award-winning historical documentary film VILLISCA: LIVING WITH A MYSTERY (VilliscaMovie.com). Epperly's decades-long research journey was the subject of the short documentary film AXMAN.

Publication Date: Fall 2021!

To be among the first to be notified about the book's official release date, email [email protected]!

Epperly's "Fiend Incarnate" Villisca axe murder book nears completion

Ed Epperly joins the Rundles for a selfie holding the most recent proof of his upcoming book.

Does the serial killer theory still hold? Or, after uncovering new information about suspect Reverend Lyn George Kelly, can he finally say, without a doubt, "Kelly did it"?

Dr. Edgar V. Epperly was very excited to see the most recent proof of his much-anticipated book Fiend Incarnate: the Villisca Axe Murders of 1912. He has researched the Villisca, Iowa axe murders of the six-member Josiah Moore family and two overnight guests, Lena and Ina Stillinger, for over 60 years and has worked on his magnum opus for two decades.  Epperly is considered the authority on the unsolved murder mystery. He was the primary historical consultant on Kelly and Tammy Rundle's award-winning documentary VILLISCA: LIVING WITH A MYSTERY.

The release of Fiend Incarnate: The Villisca Axe Murders of 1912 will be announced... soon. #villiscathetruestory 

The award-winning documentary film "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" can now be streamed via Vimeo video-on-demand at:

https://www.vimeo.com/ondemand/villisca/

Click above to view an excerpt or use the link above and select "View the Trailer" to view the excerpt.

View the entire feature-length film for just $2.99!

Purchase Villisca Living with a Mystery on an extra-feature-packed DVD here: https://fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm

Monday, June 10th, 107 Years Ago -- "This is a day like that day."

PROLOGUE (an excerpt from Dr. Edgar V. Epperly's forthcoming book on the 1912 Villisca, Iowa axe murder mystery)

In the spring and summer of 1993, rain fell so frequently and fiercely in the Upper Midwest that the resulting great flood exceeded the combined volume of all five of the Great Lakes. The water from 150 major rivers and tributaries engulfed twenty million acres, killed fifty people, destroyed or damaged nearly 50,000 homes, and left fifteen billion dollars of damage in its wake. It remains one of the worst natural disasters in American history.

In late July of that year, on a gray day in which a moisture-laden sky seemed about to open up again on water-weary Iowans, 98-year-old Des Moines resident Ervalene Curtis Brown stood and gazed plaintively out her fifth floor apartment window. She didn’t see the tree-lined drive below.  She saw a misty day from long ago. It was a day of ladies with parasols in long dresses, and men in straw hats, watches ticking in their vest pockets.

Fourth Wall Films photo.

She closed her eyes for a moment and then said to her daughter, “This is a day like that day.” Her daughter knew what day she meant. Sometimes a whole month would go by without a trivial word or action triggering Ervalene’s malingering memories. Her father sold his business and moved their family from the town of her birth to escape a small rural community torn apart by one night of violence and decades of contentious investigations, divisive local speculation, and frothy allegations.

Later Ervalene married and moved to the city, longing for obscurity and to disassociate herself from the event and all the uncertainty and conflict that it represented. She dreaded the inevitable innocence of the question, “Where are you from?” The answer always brought a knowing nod followed by a stream of additional queries and uninformed conjecture about the infamous murders of all six members of the Josiah B. Moore family and the two young Stillinger girls. The unsolved 1912 Villisca axe murders were and are the worst mass homicide in Iowa history.

Spewing acrid smoke and white billowy steam, a train pulls into the depot with eager bloodhounds on board straining at a handler’s traces. Thousands spill into town driving horse and buggy, gripping picnic lunches, and clicking Kodaks. The dead covered faces of the eight victims still staring upward as feverish crowds push past a young deputy to see the scene of inexplicable horror for themselves.

Awash in a great flood of unwanted reflections, Ervalene opened her moist blue eyes.  Her macabre thoughts were interrupted only vaguely by the appearance of a droplet, or two, of rain on the glass before her. 

“It was a cloudy, humid day,” she remembered. “If it sprinkled it didn’t rain, I know.”

__________________________________________________________

Order the award-winning "Villisca: Living with a Mystery," featuring an interview with Ervalene Curtis Brown here: http://fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm

Stream "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/villisca