Prepare yourself to venture into one of the most chilling true crime cases in American history — the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders.

This is part of our Campfire Series — a storytelling format where we gather firsthand accounts, interviews, and stories connected to a haunted location. Unlike our usual investigative episodes where my team and I conduct on-site investigations, these campfire installments bring together voices from afar to share their lived experiences.

In this special two-part series, we’ll explore the tragic night when eight people, including six children, were brutally murdered in their sleep. The case remains unsolved to this day. And the house where it happened? It still stands — a modest white home in Villisca, Iowa, now known across the country for both its history and its hauntings. It’s a place you can visit… though some who do report leaving with no intention of returning.

Over the decades, the Villisca Axe Murder House has drawn in investigators, authors, and television crews, all hoping to uncover the truth — or connect with something beyond it.

In Part I, you’ll hear phone calls with individuals who have direct connections to the house: a current tour guide who walks visitors through the home regularly, a local Villisca resident rooted in the town’s legacy and history, and a man who unknowingly bought the house directly across the street — only to discover that Villisca may have called him there for reasons he couldn’t yet understand. A few months later, he would find himself entangled in a series of events that nearly tore his life apart — beginning when he was hired to manage the murder house property itself.

And that is only the beginning. In Part II, we’ll continue his story, hear from this man’s wife, and speak with both a longtime paranormal investigator as well as an an author who has written extensively on the home’s haunted legacy.

So settle in, and listen closely. Because this campfire burns in the shadow of a home where something unthinkable happened over a century ago… and where some believe it never truly ended.

Photo provided by Travel Iowa

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In tonight’s episode, the Night Owl team returns once more to Freddo ATX — the historic Victorian café where unexplained activity continues to raise questions. In their last visit, three psychic mediums were brought in separately, blind to the location, and kept apart throughout the investigation. What they uncovered — children’s spirits, multiple women, and even the name Walter — pointed to a complex spiritual presence lingering in the home. But they’re not done yet.

Now, they return for a final night inside Freddo ATX, this time with all three psychics together. And with new tools and experimental methods in hand, they’re pushing deeper — to see if the spirits of this place are ready to reveal more.

Photo by Meg Blohm

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In tonight’s episode, the Night Owl team returns to Freddo ATX — a cozy café and bar tucked inside a stunning Victorian home at the corner of South Congress and Oltorf in Austin, Texas. In their previous visit, they gathered stories from the owners, staff, and a local ghost tour group that routinely stops at the property. The reports were unsettling: a heavy, foreboding presence on the first floor, strange thuds and disembodied voices, whispered names, phantom footsteps, and sightings of a woman — and even children — in the upstairs windows. The sightings were so frequent, someone once threatened to call CPS. Still, with Freddo only occupying the house since 2021, the staff aren’t quite sure what — or who — might be haunting the place. Some point, half-jokingly, to the home’s most famous former resident: Walter Tips — a rags-to-riches entrepreneur who rose to become one of Austin’s most successful merchants and eventually a Texas state senator. He lived — and died — in this home. But could he still be here? And if so, could there be others trying to make themselves known?

Tonight, the team returns to Freddo, joined by not one, not two, but three psychic mediums — all with no prior knowledge of this location and blind to the address until arrival. Their goal: to validate the claims shared in Part I, and perhaps, uncover something entirely new.

Photo by Meg Blohm

EPISODE SPONSORS:

SHADY RAYS

Thanks, Shady Rays. Get 35% off polarized glasses at shadyrays.com - code NIGHTOWL

AG1

New subscribers, go to drinkAG1.com/nightowl to get a FREE bottle of AG D3K2, an AG1 Welcome Kit, AND 5 of the upgraded AG1 travel packs with your first order.

BETTERHELP

The Night Owl is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/nightowl