Voiceover narration reports on the murder of Dr. Charles S. Scudder and Joey Odom in Trion, Georgia while footage shows the unusual house owned by Scudder that contained various occult paraphernalia.
Also features a graphic map noting Trion, Georgia and Vicksburg, Mississippi
Reporter: Conroy, Barbara (not listed)

On December 16th of 1982, a tragic and senseless murder took place in the mountains of rural Georgia. The two murderers were accompanied to the murder site by two innocent friends; these friends served as material witnesses and were able to identify the perpetrators, who were apprehended shortly thereafter. The circumstances of the investigation and capture of the guilty parties weren't what distinguished this event; it was the subsequent vilification of the two victims.

One of them, Dr. Charles Lee Scudder, was a self-proclaimed Satanist. He and his partner, Joe Odom, the other victim, were homosexuals.

According to his friends, whenever the subject of church or religion came up, Dr. Charles Scudder would say, "I'm a Satanist.”
Dr. Scudder was born on October 6th, 1926 and educated at the University of Wisconsin and Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine; his degrees were in zoology, languages and chemistry, and his PhD was in pharmacology. In his youth, he was a highly intelligent young man, interested in almost everything. He studied drama, music and art, but ultimately he chose to pursue science as a career. He had two early heterosexual marriages, the second of which produced four sons: Saul, Gideon, Fenris and Ahab.

In 1959 he met Joseph Odom, twelve years his junior, whom everyone knew as Joey. Joey served as cook and housekeeper to Dr. Scudder and his sons, and shared quarters in an aging mansion Dr. Scudder had purchased; built in 1904, it was designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and located on Adams St. on Chicago's West Side. It was a rough area, but Dr. Scudder enjoyed the fading splendor of the mansion and the space it provided for his various interests, which included collecting antiques, producing his own paintings, playing the harp, providing a home for two huge English mastiffs, and pursuing a lively and varied correspondence with individuals and institutions — including Anton LaVey. Although he told his friends in Georgia that he hadn't joined the organization due to the membership fee, a search of Church of Satan archival material has revealed that Dr. Scudder did indeed formalize his affiliation, mailing his membership form and a check for $50 to San Francisco on June 16th, 1980. A cancelled check for a subscription to the Church of Satan's newsletter,The Cloven Hoof, was found on his desk after his death. According to his friends, whenever the subject of church or religion came up, Dr. Charles Scudder would say, "I'm a Satanist."

In 1976, Dr. Scudder became disillusioned with his career and tired of the challenges of living in a disintegrating neighborhood. His sons had grown and left home for their own pursuits; he was still reeling from the sudden death of his youngest son, Ahab. At the time of his relocation to Chattooga County, Georgia, Dr. Scudder was an associate professor of pharmacology at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine, serving as both a research scientist and an instructor. He decided to resign his position, and try to live "off the grid," in a rural, self-sustaining setting. Fed up with the frustrations of academic research, he wanted to be surrounded by the beauty of Nature and enjoy a measure of isolation. He purchased 40 acres of mountainous, undeveloped land in rural Georgia. You may read about his decision in his own words here:

A Castle in the Country by Charles L. Scudder

Dr. Scudder and Joey arrived at their property during an ice storm, with their two dogs and whatever they could fit in their Jeep and small camper. As they attempted to reach their hilltop, the first thing they saw was the corpse of a poor, departed horse blocking the logging trail, which they promptly named Dead Horse Road. The brick castle-like home they eventually raised among the trees there, became Corpsewood Manor. Dr. Scudder was a fan of the Addams Family, and likened his own tastes and lifestyle to that of the spooky clan of outsiders with whom virtually every Satanist identifies on one level or another. A sign was soon nailed to a tree along the road to Corpsewood, proclaiming proudly:

"Beware of The Thing."


Corpsewood Manor
Dr. Scudder spent six years at his dream home, building, digging, planting and caring for the land that was feeding him and Joey. Joey planted a rose garden and enjoyed cooking on a wood stove. They made friends with some of the locals, who brought fruit to be turned into Dr. Scudder's homemade wine; a wedding was hosted in the rose garden, accompanied by Dr. Scudder's harp playing from the sun deck above the gazebo.

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