The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm: Unraveling the History & Hauntings of a Serial Killer's Home

By Richard Estep and Robert Graves

Fox Hollow Farm, the infamous Indiana property where Herb Baumeister allegedly murdered at least eleven men, has a grim past and an unsettling present. This riveting book pieces together the story of the tragic case and explores the paranormal encounters that continue to this day, delving into the psyche of a suspected murderer and the terrifying supernatural activity that lingers in the aftermath of such unspeakable evil.

The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm provides detailed insights from the original criminal investigation as well as the perspectives of the man who survived Herb's attempt on his life. This chilling book also features actual supernatural evidence—from EVPs and psychic confirmations to first-hand accounts of the disembodied hands and voices that regularly manifest on the estate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
• Release date: Sep 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780738760797

Richard Estep

Richard Estep is the author of more than twenty books, including Visible Ink Press’ Serial Killers: The Minds, Methods, and Mayhem of History's Most Notorious Murderers as well as The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm and Haunted Healthcare. He is a regular columnist for Haunted Magazine and he appears regularly on TV shows such as Haunted Hospitals. He has had a lifelong fascination for ghosts and true crime. British by birth, Richard now makes his home in Colorado a few miles north of Denver, where he serves as a paramedic and lives with his wife and a menagerie of adopted animals.

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About the Authors

Richard Estep ( Boulder, CO) first got involved with paranormal research in 1995 and has investigated haunted locations on both sides of the Atlantic. He is the author of numerous nonfiction books on the subject of paranormal research, and his work features on the TV shows Haunted Case Files, Haunted Hospitals, and Paranormal 911. Visit him online at www.richardestep.net.

Robert Graves (Carmel, IN ) is the owner of Fox Hollow Farm. He has become something of a student of Herb Baumeister’s life … as both the man and the murderer.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm: Unraveling the History & Hauntings of a Serial Killer’s Home © 2019 by Richard Estep and Robert Graves.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the author’s copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition © 2019

E-book ISBN: 9780738760797

Cover photo by Richard Estep

Cover design by Shira Atakpu

Interior photographs by Richard Estep

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (Pending)

ISBN: 978-0-7387-5855-8

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to current author websites.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

Foreword by Cami Andersen

Introduction

Chapter 1: Weird Herb

Chapter 2: The Predator

Chapter 3: Bones

Chapter 4: Too Good to Be True

Chapter 5: Haunted

Chapter 6: Pursued

Chapter 7: Attacked

Chapter 8: Herb Did It

Chapter 9: Boots on the Ground

Chapter 10: Showdown

Chapter 11: Into the Pool

Chapter 12: Welcome Back

Chapter 13: Mixing It Up

Chapter 14: A Truly Sick Man

Chapter 15: The One That Got Away

Chapter 16: Get Away from There

Chapter 17: Stay Away

Conclusion: Making Sense of It All

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

For my great-nephew Harry James Estep, who entered this world at 6:31 p.m. on the evening of June 15, 2018.

—Richard Estep

In memory of the victims. May they rest in peace.

—Robert Graves

Foreword

In 2018, my longtime friend awaited the arrival of his parents, who were traveling to pay him a visit. As the hour of their arrival came and went, he began to wonder where they were. He called their cell phones but got no answer. The night went by with no contact from them. With concern and fear heavy upon him, he decided to get in his vehicle and drive the six-hour journey to look for them. Perhaps their car had broken down in a remote area on the side of the road and they had no way to contact him. Maybe they were involved in a motor vehicle accident.

There was no sign of them or their vehicle during the several-hour drive. Finally, he made his way down the long, secluded dirt driveway to their home. As he drew near their house, he saw their vehicle with packed bags on the ground ready to be placed inside. The dogs were out running in the yard of their several-acre desert property. The door to their house was left ajar and all personal items and medications were left untouched, as if they had stepped outside and lingered in the yard. Yet there was no sign of his parents. They seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

Authorities were contacted, and it was soon apparent to them that they would find no evidence of a struggle or foul play. But people do not just disappear without an explanation or a trace … do they?

With no clues to his parents’ whereabouts, they began organizing search parties to comb the vast and unforgiving deserts, caves, and mine shafts surrounding the property. Months of searching yielded no answers. The family frequently fell into despair, but they still held on to the hope that the couple would be found one day and they’d receive answers to the questions that plague them every moment.

During this time, I was attending university, studying criminal justice with a focus on forensics and crime scene investigation. Some case studies were hauntingly similar to that of my friend’s in many ways, but they were stories of people I did not know that focused primarily on the facts and the evidence obtained by law enforcement. However, not knowing them does not make the cases any less tragic. Through my friend, I was getting a professionally unique and valuable, albeit unwanted, glimpse into the personal lives of the friends and family members affected by a potential crime, as well as the challenges, heartache, and desperation that come with not knowing what has happened to a loved one.

No one expects something like that to happen to themselves or to their friends or loved ones. It hit far too close to home for my liking. People believe it only happens in the movies or to other people, as seen on true crime television series and documentaries. If you’re lucky, that holds true for you. It is a surreal experience and often feels like it isn’t real. Statements of disbelief are common. I have uttered the phrase, I can’t believe this is happening to them! many times in conversation. We don’t know what has happened to them or who may have been involved. It could just be an isolated incident—maybe an accident occurred—but that’s not true in all cases. Sometimes an evil, dangerous person walks into their lives for no rhyme or reason and does unspeakable things—and goes on to repeat them over and over again.

The number of serial killers jumped in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, and interest in them and why they do the things that they do has grown in the last few decades. Herbert Baumeister has drawn the curiosity of many serial killer enthusiasts, and scientists have gone to great lengths to research and interview serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Edmund Kemper, and John Wayne Gacy. They often have to listen to the horrid details and accounts of the acts from the killer’s own perspective, with the goal of better understanding how to identify future killers and prevent homicides.

While many serial killers have similar upbringings and characteristics, there are no concrete commonalities that would shed light onto which life event or events made them who they are or how they are able to do the things they do … or whether they are simply born evil.

In the US, one in three homicides goes unsolved and ends up as a cold case. The national annual clearance rate for homicide is in the low- to mid-sixtieth percentile range, which still leaves 35 to 40 percent of all homicides unsolved. Even when they are solved, obtaining a conviction for such crimes can be extremely difficult for prosecutors. In order to convict a perpetrator successfully, there must be no stone left unturned and no room left for reasonable doubt. By the time a case makes it into the courts, unless there is sufficiently solid evidence to get a conviction, most district attorneys won’t even try a case if they see any reason to suspect that they won’t win.

In order to open a homicide investigation, generally there needs to be a body and evidence that a crime has been committed. If there is no body or crime scene, the individual becomes a missing person. In some circumstances, they are considered missing and endangered. According to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), in 2017 there were over 600,000 missing persons cases and almost 900 sets of unidentified remains. When I first saw the number of missing persons, I was taken aback by the sheer amount. I felt the need to verify with a colleague in law enforcement that I was seeing the correct number and that it was truly accurate. Indeed, it was. However, almost two million cases of missing persons were entered into the NCIC database in 2017, and through hard work, about 67 percent of missing persons were found. Not all are found under ideal circumstances, but at least the families know where they are.

One of the theories in the paranormal field is that when a tragic event or death takes place at a location, it leaves behind an energy imprint that plays over and over like a movie. In some cases, the spirits of those who were involved in a tragic event that led to their death may remain.

Contrary to popular belief, paranormal investigation doesn’t consist of simply sitting around in the dark trying to capture disembodied voices or strange occurrences on video, or documenting anomalous activity with technical equipment. One must also investigate the land and the structure, along with the current and the previous owners. Most paranormal researchers spend long hours in records departments, sifting through large, dusty, old ledgers filled with beautiful scrolling script that is too small to read without a magnifying glass, and talking to local historians in an effort to find reasons for a suspected haunting.

One doesn’t always find an explanation. We count ourselves lucky when events are well known and we have a fairly good idea of who (or what) may be causing the paranormal activity that people are experiencing. There is no fortune and glory for one involved in the field of paranormal research; in fact, sometimes it can be downright frightening.

My least favorite side effect of being a paranormal investigator and researcher is when a spirit follows me from a haunted location back to my home. They often like to play with electronics, switch lights on and off, move items, bother pets, and sometimes make a real mess. The most disturbing thing of all is when they make their presence known while I am trying to get some sleep. More than once, I have had spirits stand in a dark corner and watch me while I am lying in bed, and I have had more ambitious spirits whisper or yell in my ear, startling me awake. On one occasion I was almost asleep when I was fully awaked by a female voice yelling, I’m behind you!

These things happen on a regular basis to many of the people who call us in to investigate their home. To those living in a haunted house, spirits can become an invasive part of life and creep into every aspect of their daily activities. Generally speaking, the homeowners have no idea who is in their home, why the spirits are doing what they’re doing, what the spirits want, or what to do about the haunting. They are often met with disbelief and skepticism when they try to talk about the strange things they’ve been experiencing. In many cases, they were never made aware that they were moving into a home that could be haunted, whereas in other cases (such as the haunting of Fox Hollow Farm), they are fully aware of the horrible things that have happened in or around the house but move in anyway.

As paranormal investigators and researchers, we must rely upon the facts and evidence collected during a case. What isn’t always conveyed are the personal and spiritual experiences that can sometimes impact us for the rest of our lives. We deal with the intangible and the unseen. When the realization sinks in that these were real people who once lived, had emotions, and had both loved and been loved (just as we all have), we are changed forever and go through a transformation in which we develop a level of empathy that we didn’t have before.

When I am in the presence of a spirit, I always strive to maintain the awareness that they have gone through something powerful enough to disrupt the natural process of moving on after the act of dying. We tend to ask questions that can be deeply personal, and we are delving into their past and situations that are most likely hard for them to relive.

In my case, the spirits that I’ve encountered at the haunted hospital of which I am a co-owner have been around for a long time, and over the years we have developed relationships and fostered mutual respect. I’ve come to think of them with great fondness and gratitude for the things that they have taught me.

I have also experienced them caring about me, greeting me when I walk past them, asking how my day has been, and sometimes even recognizing when I’ve been going through tough times in my life. I’ll never forget when I heard a voice come through a spirit box during an investigation and say, You seem much happier today, after a particularly challenging week. They are there observing us more than we know and see much more than we sometimes give them credit for.

While I read The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm, my heart went out to the victims and to their families. As a seasoned paranormal investigator myself, and owner of the most haunted location in Utah, I’m well aware of the sensitivity and respect one needs to employ while telling the stories of those who remain long after their physical death. I have worked with Richard Estep and his team for several years, and I was once again reminded of the impeccable skill, professionalism, and thoughtfulness Richard consistently exhibits as an author and paranormal investigator throughout his investigation of Fox Hollow Farm and the spirits that haunt it.

As investigators, we work tirelessly to give closure to the friends and loved ones left behind and to the spirits that linger on, waiting for someone to discover them. For even after their bodies have been recovered and entombed in their final resting place, they still have stories to tell …

One only has to listen.

—Cami Andersen

Author, paranormal investigator,

and owner of Asylum 49

[contents]

Introduction

On the face of it, the two of us might seem to be an unlikely pairing for a writing partnership. One of us is a car dealer who performs autopsies on behalf of the coroner, while the other is a paramedic who spends his vacation traveling the world investigating haunted houses. One is soft-spoken and mild-mannered, whereas the other is loud and boisterous.

We came together with the intent of investigating and writing about one of the most bizarre, fascinating, and downright disturbing cases of paranormal activity on record: the haunting of Fox Hollow Farm.

Located in a peaceful and picturesque part of Indiana, Fox Hollow Farm was once the home of one Herbert Baumeister. By outside appearances, Baumeister was a successful businessman, devoted family man, and pillar of the community, albeit one who went by the nickname of Weird Herb. Yet during the mid-1990s, authorities discovered something horrific in the woods behind the farm. At first hundreds, and then finally thousands, of bones and human remains were found, scattered all across the grounds and down into the creek. Detectives suddenly realized what had happened to all the men who had gone missing from the gay community in Indianapolis, along with others who had turned up dead along the side of the interstate.

Weird Herb now had a new nickname. People were calling him the I-70 Strangler.

Unfortunately, he was able to evade justice. Fleeing to Canada, Baumeister took his own life on a lonely beach, thus closing the book on one of the most prolific serial murderers in American history.

Or so it seemed.

Fox Hollow Farm is a unique place in many ways, not least being the fact that it is one of the few places in which a serial killer committed his vile acts that has been left standing. In fact, not only is it still standing, but it is actually a lived-in private residence, home to a family. Such a thing is unusual. Consider the Oxford Apartments in Milwaukee for example, where self-professed cannibal killer Jeffrey Dahmer murdered twelve men, storing their remains in his bedroom and kitchen. The entire building was demolished in 1992 and at the time of writing is nothing more than an empty, weed-infested lot.

The Chicago home of John Wayne Gacy, who sexually assaulted and killed at least thirty-three young men, was also torn down. When a subsequent owner of the property built a new house on the same piece of ground, he found it necessary to change the street address in order to throw off ghoulish sightseers. While many people find the subject of serial killers to be understandably fascinating,

Reviews for The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm

[veronica.sparrow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting book about Herb Baumeister who murdered many young men at Fox Hollow Farm and the paranomal aftermath at the farm that followed the murders. Even though this was mainly a story about the hauntings, I was impressed by how the author laid the ground work by detailing Herb Baumeister's life and crimes. All in all, it was a very interesting read.