Tuesday Sep 23, 2025
Chopped Silence: The Ardenwald Axe Murders
In today's episode, we’re looking back at the chilling case of the Ardenwald Axe Murders, a brutal crime that shook the small, tight-knit community of Ardenwald, Oregon in 1911. It stands as one of the state's most horrific and perplexing unsolved crimes.
6 months ago
You’re totally right, Brenda. I actually did a podcast episode on April 8th about the Villisca Axe Murders, and there definitely are several similarities. Sadly, mass killings have most likely been around forever — they just get more media coverage today.
6 months ago
This reminds me of the Villisca axe murders in Iowa in 1912. A few similarities. We tend to think of mass killings or serial killings as modern day happenings, but apparently they’ve been around for many years.
6 months ago
Thank you for your feedback — it’s much appreciated! I likewise had never heard about this particular murder case. I just stumbled upon it one day. But once I researched all the details, I knew I had to produce a podcast about it. As you pointed out, this case shows that people really haven’t changed that much over the past 100 years.
6 months ago
Very Spooky. I had never heard of this murders case, and it sounds like a serial situation definitely connected it with those other murders. People are so scary. I used to think people were nicer back in the early 1900s, but I can see that I was wrong about that. I hope and pray that we can one day learn to be kinder and more gentle, but our divided society seems determined to hold onto hate. I think Ryan Murphy would be interested in these 2 cases for his American Crime Series on FX, and Hulu.