Paranormal Researcher Stabs Himself In Chest At Villisca Ax Murder House

37 year-old Robert Steven Laursen Jr. suffered what police have deemed to be a self-inflicted stab wound to the chest at about 12:45 a.m. this morning, while staying at the purportedly haunted Josiah B. and Sarah Moore House (aka "The Villisca Ax Murder House"). Mr. Laursen was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital with critical injuries and later airlifted to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha.

Image credit: Youtube user Paranormalpat

The house, where tours are conducted and people can spend nearly $500 for an overnight stay, was the site of the infamous 1912 murders of Joe and Sarah Moore, their four children and two young sisters who were at the home for a sleepover. All eight victims suffered severe injuries from ax blows to the head. Though there were several suspects, one of whom was tried and acquitted twice, the crime remains unsolved. In 1994, the house was fully restored to its 1912 condition by its current owner and has neither electricity nor running water.

Previous tenants of the home have reported a slew of paranormal phenomena including sightings of an ax wielding shadow figure, shoes filled with blood and the crying of children.

From the Omaha World-Herald:

Montgomery Sheriff Joe Sampson said no criminal charges are planned because investigators found no indication of foul play.
Sampson also said he has never run into any problems at the Villisca house before Friday.

"We can only speculate’’ about what happened, he said about Laursen, who was at the Ax Murder House with "a couple of others.’’

"These people (paranormal investigators) are at the house all the time,’’ Sampson said. "They set up their equipment and everything.’’

The home’s owner, Martha Linn, 77, who is a widow, said she has two tour guides who handle the overnight stays at the house, which has no electricity.

"I have these all the time,’’ she said about paranormal "investigative teams’’ visiting the home. "They all hope something will come to them. ... Sometimes they like to tempt fate.’’

Linn said nothing like Friday’s injury has ever occurred at the house during her ownership.

Another article I read quoted Mrs. Linn as saying that the Mr. Laursen was staying at the house as part of family group of paranormal investigators. The paranormal blogosphere has been abuzz with posts about the incident all morning and its also being reported by many news outlets but unfortunately, I haven't been able to track down many additional details. As you may expect, without much information available, many are speculating that Mr. Laursen could be the victim of some sort of malevolent force.

Hopefully Mr. Laursen recovers from his injuries soon and can tell his story himself!

Okay...

Edit: it didnt say whether or not it was a knife...maybe he was just running with scissors in the dark. But still the second part is valid.
This guy doesn't need attention...he needs serious mental help.

"They all hope something will come to them. ... Sometimes they like to tempt fate.’’

Boom. Case closed

a reply to: the owlbear

Lots of people carry knives. I carry a knife. Regardless of his mental stability that point is moot. Knives are everywhere. If he wasn't carrying the knife with him he could have gotten it from an on-site kitchen, who knows. I wonder why he stabbed himself though. You would think if he were trying for a suicide he would have been a bit more diligent in his attempt... Who knows, weird stuff going down there man... weird stuff indeed.

a reply to: theantediluvian

If they got all of their equipment setup, they should have this whole event on video...?

Or did I misread something here?

Not that I would want him to die or anything but if it had been fatal I would say there's something in that house. But since it was I think someone might be trying g to get a TV shoe or something out of it. I wonder if there will be any kind of investigation to see if it was self inflicted. Like the angle and depth of the cut would show if he was conscience of doing g it and trying not to hurt himself too badly.

Next level ouiji board.

It will be interesting to see if he had a history of mental illness, as well as any past incidents in his studies. I used to live not far from Volusia and was invited to go on an overnight and declined.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Whoops! Injured himself too severely to be able to hide the knife. The hoaxster busted himself. Dumb***.

The comments in this thread pretty much echo what I've read elsewhere in terms of tentative hypotheses (in no particular order):

- possession / other paranormal
- publicity stunt gone wrong
- mental illness
- freak accident

I haven't been able to track down any groups of which he might be a member but there's thousands of "paranormal investigation teams" in the US alone. The number really shot up in the last 10 years since Ghost Hunters introduced the world to the T.A.P.S team. Undoubtedly there's lots and lots of people who've seen the show and others that have popped up since and thought, "Gee, those guys were plumbers and now they're TV stars — I could do that!"

It will be interesting to hear his story and see any possible footage. If this group of which he's a member has a website/blog and somebody can track down the URL, that would be awesome.

a reply to: Chrisfishenstein

It will be interesting if any of it does come out. Right now, all of their equipment is probably at the police department.

a reply to: theantediluvian

Interesting, thanks for posting! With little information, I'd bet he was/is mentally unstable and the stress of staying there pushed him over the edge. I hope he recovers and can tell his story. Very scary situation.

According to this article, the man was from rhinelander, wi (which might help identify if he had any official paranormal group affiliatin). Also they say he stabbed himself outside of the house.

Source: www.inquisitr.com...

"The Villisca Axe Murder House was the scene of a stabbing on Friday morning. According to KCCI, a Wisconsin man stabbed himself outside of the home, which many believe is haunted. Robert Laursen, Jr., of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, was at the home on a paranormal investigation of sorts when things went awry. A police investigation is currently underway, and the man’s motive is unknown at this time.

Emergency crews were called to the area after midnight on Friday morning. The man was found in critical condition when he was transported to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha by helicopter. However, he is still alive. Police will be speaking with Mr. Laursen once he is well enough to talk about what happened."

a reply to: VegHead

I tried looking for groups in the Rhinelander area, and one of them has a facebook page but it looks like a husband & wife team (Northern Wisconsin Paranormal Society). There's just SO many. This site lists 73 groups in WI alone and two of them listed in Rhinelander.

originally posted by: CagliostroTheGreat
a reply to: the owlbear

Lots of people carry knives. I carry a knife. Regardless of his mental stability that point is moot. Knives are everywhere. If he wasn't carrying the knife with him he could have gotten it from an on-site kitchen, who knows. I wonder why he stabbed himself though. You would think if he were trying for a suicide he would have been a bit more diligent in his attempt... Who knows, weird stuff going down there man... weird stuff indeed.

True. I see this as a publicity thing gone wrong, though. Nowhere, IA isn't a good spot to stab yourself in the chest with ANYTHING. Maybe he was too enthused or just had too much adrenaline when he was attempting to get his fifteen minutes and went too deep...

He will have some people who will hang on his every word whether he says it's a ghost or a demon or a leprechaun that made him do it. The more outlandish the more likely to get him attention.

Do strange things happen? Yes. But in the years since the murders in that house, other than dust particle or bug "orbs" and questionable evps, nothing happens there.

I'd be more impressed if he had tried decapitating himself and died right there in the house.

As it stands: meh.

A part of me wishes this is one of those people that smack talk ghosts, looking for a reaction and got one.

originally posted by: chiefsmom
a reply to: Chrisfishenstein

It will be interesting if any of it does come out. Right now, all of their equipment is probably at the police department.

If they are lucky, they'll discover that the police department's evidence locker is haunted.

originally posted by: nukedog
A part of me wishes this is one of those people that smack talk ghosts, looking for a reaction and got one.

That would be a hilarious video:

"Give us a sign that your presence or are you afraid? You are a coward, aren't you? Why are you so afraid to show yourse-AAAAARRRGHHH!"

a reply to: the owlbear

I predict that no matter what, even if he has some sort of history of psychiatric problems, it will still be looked on as a combination of a troubled mind and something like possession or demonic oppression.

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

Yep. Knives dont stab people...people stab people.....