It is believed that when the six members of the Moore family arrived at their home in Villisca, Iowa with two young guests on the night of June 9, 1912, someone was already hiding in the attic of the house, smoking cigarettes and waiting for everyone to fall asleep. Sometime between midnight and 5am, the intruder took an axe and used it to murder all eight of the house's occupants in their beds.
The crime was never solved, but the house stands to this day and is reported to be haunted. The place is a tourist attraction – you can visit the Villisca murder house and take a tour through it, or you can even spend the night there.
This real world tragedy and the ensuing paranormal activity has served as the inspiration for director Tony E. Valenzuela's film THE AXE MURDERS OF VILLISCA. Scripted by Owen Egerton from an idea crafted by Valenzuela and Kevin Abrams, the movie tells
the present day story of three troubled teens who decide to break in and spend the night at the house, forever changing who they are and what is known about the original murders.
Robert Adamson, Jarrett Sleeper, Alex Frnka, Conchata Ferrell, and Jon Gries star.
This sounds like an interesting project, and I'm intrigued to found out just what the spirits in the house have in store for those three teens.
Hopefully it won't be long before horror fans in North America will get their chance to watch THE AXE MURDERS OF VILLISCA, as IFC Midnight has acquired the North American distribution rights. Details of the release have not yet been revealed, but we will keep you updated.