Villisca shouldn’t be ashamed by tragic history
It has been more than 100 years now that the worst mass murder in Iowa’s history occurred in Villisca.
Anyone who’s been in Montgomery County more than 20 minutes knows the story of the Villisca ax murders: an unknown assailant entered the Moore home and brutally killed all eight occupants (two adults, four Moore children and two visiting Stillinger girls) with an ax.
A massive manhunt ensued and the case investigated for years on end, resulting in two trials of one suspect, but no convictions.
The crime remains unsolved today.
A century ago, the town would be divided along religious and class lines in assigning responsibility for the murders. The anger, resentment and division manifested itself to such an extreme the town’s residents would enter the local theatre through separate entrances based on their beliefs of who was responsible for the murders.
Today, those feelings of resentment and division have faded with every year and passing generation, but have been replaced with emotions containing less angst and equivalent uneasiness.
Villisca’s residents have to live with a great paradox: their community’s greatest blessing is its greatest curse.
To say the least, not all the town’s residents are enthused about their hometown’s claim to fame.
Who can blame them? Eight people were brutally killed, including six baby-faced children.
It’s arguably the single most heinous crime in Iowa’s, and possibly the country’s, history.
That is hardly anything anyone wants to brag to Aunt Helen and Uncle Bob about when they come to town for a visit.
But this isn’t about Aunt Helen and Uncle Bob. It’s about Sith13, lillyjay2008, cowbud and Sinister Grin.
Those are the internet web names of four individuals who stayed a night in the ax murder house in 2008. They are four of thousands and thousands of people who have shelled out $400 to spend a night in a house that would barely rent for $400 a month under ordinary circumstances.
And through the days, even more people like “xXSpookyXx,” “Mystical Night,” “sympathyforthedevil,” and “TheNightGoat,” (I couldn’t make these names up) tour the home, buying t-shirts, books, and hopefully, newspaper reprints.
They also stop at the local diner for lunch and Caseys for fuel and may even be spending the night in nearby Stanton or Red Oak.
In many ways, the tragedy of 100-years ago is Villisca’s golden goose; but this is a nasty, dirty goose nobody wants to talk about, much less promote.
It would be easy for me to sit here 20 miles away and say suck it up, embrace your history and milk this opportunity for all its worth.
But Villisca isn’t my hometown. I’m not sure I’d be so enthusiastic about embracing something so offensive if it were.
However, there are a few things that can’t be changed. The murders happened and they happened in Villisca. It’s part of the town’s history, it’s part of the county’s history and it’s part of the state’s history.
The other thing that doesn’t appear to be changing is people’s appetite to relive events like that.
We live in an era where Halloween is becoming more popular at a faster rate than all other holidays and people are more fascinated than ever with the supernatural.
As long as that demand continues, “TheNightGoat” and his friends will be on the prowl for a good scare and legend (in addition to the traditional tourist whose taste leans to the macabre/supernatural).
If handled properly, Villisca can still maximize that unfortunate economic opportunity while maintaining a sense of dignity and respectability.
Every year, millions flock to Pearl Harbor to pay homage to American soldiers at the site of one of the worst tragedies in this nation’s history. Ground Zero in New York City may eventually become the same thing.
I’m sure the many businessmen and women in Pearl Harbor don’t revel or celebrate why their town is revered and visited by hordes of tourists. But just like Villisca residents, they can’t change history.
Many small towns like Villisca can’t support a grocery store, convenience store, diner and other amenities because they don’t have a hook to draw in out-of-town money.
Villisca has that hook.
And there’s nothing wrong with using it and maximizing its potential for the betterment of the community.
Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com