The Haunting of the SK Pierce Mansion

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Featured Haunted Places Horror Mystery and Lore

A 10 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath 6,661 square foot mansion with intricate wooden details, original windows, doorknobs, and marble fireplaces. Servant quarters with formal maid and butler pantries, a classic Mansard roof and grand staircase showcase the victorian era style of this mansion. With a team of 100 men, it took a year and a half to complete building. You would expect something like this to go up for millions, right? Well this house was sold in 2015 for $315,000, the same price as most three bedroom homes in the town of Gardner, Massachusetts where the SK Pierce mansion resides. This beautiful home was built all the way back in 1875 by a very wealthy owner of a manufacturing business named Sylvester Knowlton Pierce. His business was across the street from the home he built, and was the reasoning behind Gardner, Mass. being known as “Chair City”. It also supposedly housed very prestigious guests such as Calvin Coolidge (the 30th US president), Norman Rockwell (a famous painter), Bette Davis (a popular actress at the time), and P.T. Barnum (a politician and business man). So how exactly did this place turn into a destination for people investigating the paranormal?

The Haunting Lore

Very unexpected and mysterious misfortune struck the Pierce family shortly after moving into the house. Pierce’s first wife died three weeks after moving in. She had somehow picked up a bacterial disease that ate her flesh. Years later, during a downfall in the economy, SK Pierce passed away, and the rivalry between his son Frank and his second wife who was two years older than Frank began. The house ended up being passed to his second wife, Ellen, instead of his eldest son. This was not customary during the time and it angered Frank greatly. Eventually, Ellen died and her three sons fought in court over ownership of the house, ending in her son Edward winning. He utilized the size by turning it into a boarding home. Activities such as prostitution, drinking, and gambling ended up taking place at the boarding home. Among the darker activities was death. Edwards two-year-old daughter he had with his wife Bessie passed away from influenza. There was also a boarder by the name of Eino Saari who passed away from smoke inhalation in his room, though it is widely believed to have been caused by spontaneous combustion because the surrounding room had hardly any damage. Bessie also died in 1951 while the family occupied the home. Edward then lost the house in a poker game and a new owner took his place named Jay Stemmerman.

Jay Stemmerman.

SK Pierce Haunted Mansion

Jay Stemmerman didn’t last long in the Sk Pierce Mansion, he abandoned it somewhere in the 1980s and it sat like that for a near 20 years. It was filled with paintings depicting odd characters and scenes making people question what went on in the house. These paintings were discovered when the house was purchased in 2008 by Edwin Gonzalez and Lillian Otero, they were only able to stand living in the house for two years. They experienced many paranormal incidents including a message from a spirit leading Otero downstairs to a kiln where there were bones identified to be that of a young child. There had been stories in the past of a young boy dying at the home though no such reports were ever filed by the police. Edwin claimed to have seen the apparition of a young boy at his side in his office, many have speculated that it could be the ghost of the mysterious possible death of one. A book came out about the couple’s experience called “Bones in the Basement” by Joni Mayhan.

A Haunted Attraction

After a short two weeks on the market, this haunted home was owned by Rob and Allison Conti. They bought this house because of the title it holds as the second most haunted home in Massachusetts, and they quickly turned it into an attraction. You can now stay overnight at the SK Pierce Mansion or just visit for a paranormal experience of your own. Many guests there have reported a lot of strange activity. People have seen doors slam, full body apparitions accompanied by voices, furniture moving of its own accord, foul odors, and sudden temperature changes. There was even a guest who was said to have been pushed down the stairs by a ghost.

Paranormal Investigation

A group of people who investigate the paranormal went to visit the haunted mansion. They claimed to be able to feel the spiritual energy all over the house, which was also measured by multiple psychics using various tools. There were 25 people in the investigation that split into five groups of five people. Rooms such as the Red Room that were linked to some sort of tragedy were looked into. Colleen Costello was one of the psychics that were able to receive entities in many of the rooms. Specifically, in the Red Room, her group heard the spirit of a homicide victim using a spirit box. A spirit box is a device that uses radio frequencies to detect the voices of spirits. They also pinpointed and communicated with a nanny who had died in the house. The nanny would answer yes or no questions using lights but strangely refused to answer the one male in the room. Another room that they experienced strange events was the billiards room where they communicated with the spirit of P.T. Barnum. In the basement, Costello encountered a slightly angry spirit that had unresolved business issues with the Pierce family, from what the group understood it was about a false accusation. They realized the spirit was in the basement when the pendulum, a divination tool to detect said spirits, starting rapidly swinging.

Nicole Costello’s story doesn’t end there with the rest of the group though. She ended up spending the night and had more evidence of the paranormal. In the middle of the night, she reported hearing footsteps on the second floor which she was staying on. She later made sure it wasn’t one of the other guest’s footsteps, none of them had stepped foot out of their room that night aside from people on the first floor who never went up the stairs.

The Mysteries of The SK Pierce Mansion

There are still so many unanswered questions about this spirit-filled mansion such as why is there a tunnel below the house? Also are there more deaths there than have been reported? Did the strange paintings of half-beast half-human figures mean something more? There are many theories for all of these questions including the use of dark magic, child labor, human trafficking, and more. Would you dare to spend a night in this beautiful haunted mansion?

Index

https://www.estately.com/listings/info/4-west-broadway–5

https://www.littlethings.com/haunted-victorian-mansion-gardner-massachusetts

https://www.countryliving.com/real-estate/news/a35307/would-you-buy-this-famously-haunted-victorian-mansion/

https://www.sentinelsource.com/elf/body_and_soul/chair-city-spirits-investigating-paranormal-activity-at-s-k-pierce-mansion/article_9cb695ec-2b52-11e7-8a73-a3018843344e.html

https://jonimayhan.com/2013/12/16/secrets-from-the-grave/

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Urban Legends – Unsolved Axe Murders lead to Haunted House in Villisca, Iowa

Categories
Featured Haunted Places Horror Mystery and Lore

Murder of 8 People

Villisca Ax Murder House early 1900's photo
Villisca Ax Murder House

June 11, 1912 is a day in history that will never be forgotten. On this day, an innocent group of eight people were brutally bludgeoned to death in their sleep with no clear motive or murderer. A family of six and two friends of the children’s were staying in the home the night of the 10th after returning from church at 9:45-10 p.m. Similar to many of the people living in Villisca, Iowa at the time, the Moore family did not lock their doors when they were away for Church. This is possibly when the murderer entered their home awaiting their return. Police were led to believe that the killer was hiding out in the attic before the killings due to cigarette butts being found up there. When a neighbor realized the family hadn’t started their daily chores on the morning of the 11th, she called Russ Moore, Josiah Moore’s brother. Russ Moore went over to the home and checked the inside and found a horrific sight. He immediately called the police who figured out the series of events.

The first person who was bludgeoned that night was Josiah Moore, he was said to have been most brutally attacked with the blade of their family’s own axe. Next was Sarah Moore who was murdered with the blunt end of the blade like the rest of the victims. Their kids were killed next along with the family friends, Ina Mae Stillinger who was 8 and Lena Gertrude Stillinger who was 12. All of the victims were said to be asleep when they were attacked except for Lena who was found with defensive wounds on her and in a strange position on her bed.

There were a few odd things about the crime scene. The family’s axe was left on the ground in the guest room where the Stillinger sisters were staying, and next to it was a piece of slab bacon weighing four pounds. Also, the killer had covered all the of the mirrors in the home with blankets or clothes, what does that mean? It was found that after the murders the killer had cooked himself a meal but left it untouched. Near the plate of food was a bowl of bloody water in the kitchen. These strange details left many dumbfounded and confused.

Suspects

Picture of suspect serial killer Henry Moore in old newspaper clipping
Suspect #2 was serial killer Henry Moore

Investigators were quickly called to the home after police saw the sight of the obvious homicide. They quickly ruled out a murder suicide because the wounds of each victim could not have been self inflicted. There were many suspects but the one that they honed in on was Reverend George Kelley. He was a traveling minister that had been in town for one night and performed the service the Moore’s had attended that evening. He was not able to explain what he was doing when he was out of town from 5-5:30 a.m. the next morning. He was reportedly very interested in the murders and had been in and out of trouble with the law in the past. He had sent obscene materials through the mail and had a stay at a mental hospital. In 1917 he was arrested for the murders and confessed but later recanted his confession. Eventually he was tried and acquitted for the murders as many people didn’t think he was mentally or physically capable of murdering the 8 people. No one else was ever convicted or tried for their murders, so the case went cold.

Newspaper article from the early 1900's alerting people of the murders that took place.

Paranormal Activity

Similarly to many other houses with mass murder, there are people who believe ghosts are haunting this home. Families have tried to live in this home after the murders but never lasted long in it. In 1994 Martha Linn bought the home and restored it to use it as an attraction. You could visit the house for a tour or stay overnight in it. It was featured on many ghost hunting shows and has had every type of paranormal activity imagined. People have reported disembodied footsteps, voices and apparitions, strange shadows, things moving of their own accord, and overall just bad vibes.

Among the most mysterious events was a Ghost Hunter stabbing himself during an overnight stay in the house. He was rushed to the hospital on November 8, 2014 with a self inflicted stab wound to his chest. From what the police understand he had called for help from his friends on his mobile two way radio. The rest of his party had found him with the injury. The stabbing took place around the same time that the murders in 1912 had occurred. It’s such a popular destination for people to investigate the paranormal on their own, especially since it has the title of one of the most haunted places in America. Martha Linn has even said that she has seen guests interact with the spirits of the victims in the home.

In June of 2016 a photographer went to the home to take pictures for a sneak peek into the RAGBRAI route that cyclists go on. He took a picture in the attic which is where the killer was said to hide out. People that have seen it looked closely and noted that the front right leg of the chair seems to be floating, many people believe that this is due to the paranormal presence in the home. There is also another image of a board filled with pictures where people have claimed to see floating orbs around different rooms in the house, supposedly those of the victims.

Haunted Villisca House Tour

Sources

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/2016/06/13/photo-inside-villisca-axe-murder-house-seriously-creepy/85833366/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ppm84g/why-did-a-ghost-hunter-stab-himself-inside-a-famous-axe-murder-house-1118

https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/villisca-ax-murder-house-iowa/

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