Only 26 years ago, a horrible tragedy struck the small town of Summerville, Georgia. The events have (quite literally) haunted the area ever since.
In an effort to escape the urban life of Chicago, Charles Scudder, a pharmacology professor from Loyola University, moved to the isolated home known as
Corpsewood Manor. With his companion and lover Joseph Odom at his side, they lived a very simplistic life (
as Scudder once wrote about in Mother Earth News). There was no running water and the only electricity was supplied by a generator. They grew their own food and purchased what supplies they needed with the $200 of monthly interest from Scudder's savings account.
Of course, there was a dark side. Scudder had connections with Satanist Anton Lavey (though some say he was merely a practicing Wiccan) and his home was adorned with human skulls and occult artwork. There were rumors of illicit drug use and that their chicken coop hid a secret room, filled with gay pornography and various sexual devices. Although they were very likable people, the couple raised more than a few rumors and eyebrows.
On December 12, 1982, Kenneth Avery Brock (who had known Scudder from hunting on his land... and a few sexual encounters) banded together with two men and one woman in a plot to burglarize the dwelling. Somehow, the robbery plot changed to murder as they made their way to the house. Scudder went with the gang to the chicken coop to allegedly do drugs. Brock and Tony West bound and gagged Scudder, demanding money. When Scudder said there was none, Brock headed for the manor.
He shot Odom and their two dogs before returning to the coop to lead Scudder back to the house. Visibly distraught over the murder of his lover, he was ordered to hand over the money. Scudder's last words were, "
I asked for this." Brock shot him six times.
The manor was looted by the gang and burnt to the ground. The murders were discovered days later by a friend. Brock and West were later apprehended.
A battle ensued over inheritance. Scudder and Odom were cremated, but only Odom's ashes were spread at Corpsewood.
The haunting of the
Corpsewood Manor ruins began almost immediately. People taking small souvenirs returned them after being struck with bad luck. People have heard dogs barking, breaking glass, and gunshots. Occasionally, Scudder's harp is heard playing in the woods. An air of unhappiness and darkness still hangs over the grounds to this day.
Were Scudder and Odom bad people? More than likely not. But their spirits seem bent on some form of revenge... or have placed a curse on their violated land. A few brave souls have ventured onto the property after dark, but few ever return.
The violent hate crime which took the lives of these two men just might have unleashed a demon...
Ghosts are big business. Isn't it time we had a television station devoted entirely to them?
