With its gentle drama and quaint childhood adventures, Little House On The Prairie painted a picture of wholesome family life in 19th century Midwest America.

Set in the God-fearing town of Independence, Kansas, plotlines rarely ventured beyond the realms of Sunday School and town gossip and real trouble meant somebody being late for dinner.

But behind these tales of youthful innocence that brought fame to the town across the world, lurks a ghoulish story of real-life abduction and serial killing that author Laura Ingalls Wilder neglected to mention.

Some 17 miles south of Independence, the township of Osage became the scene of a brutal campaign of murder by a family that became known as the Bloody Benders.