“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.

Linn, who has owned the home at 508 E. Second St. since 1994, said she has two tour guides who handle the overnight stays at the house, which has no electricity. Linn and her late husband, Darwin, removed all electrical and plumbing fixtures in an effort to restore the house as much as possible to its condition at the time of the murders.

The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Day tours and overnight stays can be purchased at the home.

The home’s website promotes the paranormal possibilities, and Linn says many “investigative teams” have visited.

“They all hope something will come to them,” she said. “Sometimes they like to tempt fate.”

But Linn said she’s “absolutely sick” about Friday’s incident. “I can’t imagine why somebody would do something like this to himself.”

Contact the writer: 402-444-1259, jay.withrow@owh.com