November 13, 2024 • 24 mins
What drove Dr. Charles Scudder, a disillusioned pharmacology professor, to trade a life of urban hustle for the shadowy solace of the Appalachian foothills? Join me, Carole Townsend, as we unravel the enigmatic and tragic tale of Corpsewood Manor, a story that defies conventional wisdom and leaves us questioning the boundaries between idyllic dreams and chilling realities. Dr. Scudder and his partner Joey Odom sought refuge in the Chattahoochee National Forest, constructing a secluded sanctuary far from the mundane grind of Chicago life. Their quest for authenticity and freedom, however, led them into a nightmare on the night of December 12, 1982—a night marked by horror that still echoes through the southern woods.
Explore the sinister events that unfolded when Avery Brock and Tony West shattered the peace of Corpsewood Manor, leaving a haunting legacy in their wake. This episode guides you through the chilling details of that fateful night and the subsequent realm of eerie legends that linger at the site. Drawing from insightful sources like BT Hartman and Amy Petula, we piece together the narrative of murder, mystery, and the macabre, inviting you to reflect on the unsettling truths and folklore that entwine Southern history. Settle into the comfort of my front porch as we journey through stories stranger than fiction, exploring the haunting lore of North Georgia.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carole Townsend (00:06):
Tryon, georgia, is a small town, snugly nestled
among the pine forests, hillsand lush valleys of northwest
Georgia.
Small town charm and southernhospitality characterized this
community, which was founded in1869.
Tryon was first settled by thepioneer William Penn and its
(00:31):
history is deeply connected tothe Tryon factory, which was
established in 1846 and has beenin operation ever since, almost
without interruption.
Like many small southern townsbuilt around textile mills,
Tryon is a friendly, traditional, largely conservative community
(00:54):
.
It was these verycharacteristics a simple life, a
less complicated world thatbeckoned Dr Charles Scudder and
Joey Odom to the area.
The two had long dreamed ofbuilding a castle in the woods,
an off-the-grid escape in whichthey could revel in each other
(01:15):
and in nature.
How could they have possiblyknown nearly 50 years ago, when
they built their secluded dreamhome in the middle of the
Chattahoochee National Forest,that what they were building was
actually a nightmare?
Here in the South, we love ourstories.
(01:36):
We begin in childhood huddledaround campfires, whispering of
things best spoken in the dark,confiding in our small, trusting
circles.
Why is that, do you suppose?
I have researched andinvestigated southern history
for more than 20 years and Ibelieve it has to do with this
(01:57):
region itself.
There's a lot that hangs in theether here and much that is
buried deep in the soil.
There's beauty here in theSouth, and shame and courage.
And, make no mistake, there isevil.
There's always been the elementof the unexplained, the just
(02:19):
out of reach that we can allfeel but can never quite
describe.
And the best place for tellingtales about such things is the
comfort and safety of an oldfront porch.
So I invite you tonight to comeup here with me, settle back
into a chair and get comfortable, pour yourself a drink if you
(02:43):
like, and I'll share with yousome of the tales best told in
the company of friends, talesthat prove that truth really is
stranger than fiction.
And I'll turn on the light.
You're going to want that.
I'm Carole Townsend.
Welcome to my Front Porch.
(03:03):
The following podcast containsmaterial that may be disturbing
.
Listener discretion is advised.
Charles Scudder was anintelligent man, a man of
academia, and after he earnedhis undergraduate degree back in
(03:25):
the 1970s, he went on to earnhis PhD in pharmacology.
Not long after that, loyolaUniversity in Chicago hired him
as an associate professor ofpharmacology.
He was well liked by hisstudents and he held the bar of
(03:45):
excellence high for them formore than 10 years.
His colleagues considered himto be brilliant.
As much as he loved his fieldof teaching and his research in
pharmacology, the rewards of thecareer he had treasured for so
long were fading for Charles.
He had grown tired of studentsthat he described as being
(04:10):
unteachable, and he despiseduniversity politics.
He had also become disenchantedwith the community that he
called home.
While he lived in a fine homemany might even call it a
mansion on the west side ofChicago, urban blight was
advancing knocking at his door.
(04:32):
Charles needed a change by thistime in his career.
The professor and his secondwife were divorced and their
grown children had moved out andembarked on their own lives.
The only two people left in therambling house were Charles and
his longtime housekeeper andcompanion, joey Odom.
(04:54):
Charles and Joey at firstglance might be considered polar
opposites with respect tocompatibility.
While Charles was well-educatedand worldly, joey only had a
fifth-grade education and was 12years, charles Jr.
Joey did, however, have a flairfor the gastronomic arts, and
(05:19):
Charles had remarked at one timethat he could whip up meals fit
for a king.
In 1976, charles would get theopportunity for which he longed
to change his life and Joey's.
His mother had passed away andleft him a moderate inheritance.
(05:40):
He could take that money,combine it with what he had
managed to save and with theproceeds from the sale of his
home, and he could build thedream life he so desperately
wanted for himself and for hislover.
But where would they go?
Charles began searching forjust the right location,
(06:03):
someplace hilly and green, withfour seasons but without the
bitterly cold winters of Chicago.
He wanted a place with a steadysupply of clean water, plenty
of wood for cooking and heatingand, probably most important,
the new place had to be privateand isolated.
(06:25):
Above all else.
That search, and all itscriteria, brought his attention
to the foothills of theblue-green Appalachian Mountains
.
There he found a 40-acre plotsituated deep inside the
Chattahoochee National Forest, alocation that is just about as
(06:47):
quiet and secluded as anywhereeast of the Mississippi River.
When he made the 10-hour driveto check out the property and
the area, he fell in love withthe wildlife, the natural
resources and the sheer beautyof the place.
There was no question beautifulproperty in North Georgia would
(07:07):
be where he and Joey couldfinally live as they chose, as
lovers living off the grid andout of the scrutiny of the
judging eyes of an otherwisecold, impersonal, blighted city.
On October 6, 1976, charlesScudder's 50th birthday, the
(07:32):
professor submitted hisresignation to Loyola University
.
He listed his home for sale andsold every piece of the
elaborate ornamental furnitureinside it.
He sold everything in the housethat had a plug, because he and
Joey intended to live truly offthe grid, to fetch their own
(07:55):
water, generate their own heat,cook over a wood fire and even
grow as much food as they couldon their property.
One of the few items he keptwas his beloved gold encrusted
harp.
Finally, charles and Joey wouldhave the freedom they had
(08:17):
always desired but could neverfully express under the gaze of
prying eyes in Chicago.
By January 1977, charles andJoey had closed the door on
their lives in Chicago and settheir sights on their private 40
acres in northwest Georgia.
(08:39):
Their drive south was adifficult one, having navigated
a powerful blizzard in themidwestern part of the country,
but the two men arrived safelywith their two beautiful English
mastiffs just a couple of dayslater.
Here the men would build theirdream home, a sort of
(09:00):
mini-castle, one brick at a time, and by hand they dug their own
.
Well, by hand and they dug thehome's foundation the same way.
Loving every minute of the work, they slept in their car at
first, then in a tent, until thewalls and roof were far enough
(09:21):
along to keep the interior dryon the first floor.
The building techniques the menused have been described as
medieval and the house doesn'thave even one squared corner in
the entire structure.
When it was finished, the menhad laid 45,000 bricks each by
(09:42):
hand.
The process took about twoyears.
Charles and Joey named the trailthat led to the property Dead
Horse Road because of a dead androtting horse they found there.
They named their homeCorpsewood Manor because of the
unusual number of dead and dyingtrees on the property.
(10:04):
When the house was finished,the men placed a large pink
gargoyle above the frontentrance of the house.
Charles also made and installedsome rather morbid
stained-glass windows depictinghuman skulls and satanic images
(10:24):
such as Baphomet, thegoat-headed deity that
symbolized Anton LaVey's thenrelatively young Church of Satan
.
The satanic church was foundedin 1966 in San Francisco and
followers are quick to point outthat the church does not
espouse worshiping Satan.
Rather, satanists claim topromote humanistic values.
(10:48):
In other words, they promotemining and strengthening the ego
and individual wisdom.
They rebel against societalrestrictions and are in fact
their own gods.
They represent indulgence andvengeance and they believe that
all sin leads to physical,mental and emotional
(11:12):
gratification.
Atheism and hedonism are thecornerstones of the Church of
Satan.
Satanism are the cornerstonesof the Church of Satan.
Clearly, charles Scudder andJoey Odom required privacy not
only to live their lives aslovers, but also to openly and
freely practice a religionconsidered blasphemous and taboo
(11:34):
by Christians.
Another interestingcharacteristic of the couple's
castle is the three-storystructure they built next to the
main house.
The first story housed chickensin a coop, the second story
served as a pantry and it heldthe pair's pornography
collection, and the third floorthey called the pink room.
(11:58):
In this room, charles, joey andtheir guests would indulge in
wild, no-limits sex parties, andthe men kept a logbook of all
the guests who had indulgedtheir secret pleasures in the
pink room at Corpsewood ManorManor.
To add to the secret activitiesof the pair, their visiting
(12:22):
friends from Chicago and thefriends they eventually made at
Corpsewood, charles had broughtsome of his work at Loyola down
to Georgia with him.
As a professor of pharmacology,charles's work was far from that
of the run-of-the-mill academic.
His purple hair and his petmonkey clued most people into
(12:44):
that fact.
But as the assistant directorof the Institute for the Study
of Mind, drugs and Behavior,part of his work included
performing government-fundedexperiments with mind-altering
drugs.
Government-funded experimentswith mind-altering drugs.
When he left Loyola, he tookwith him two human skulls and
(13:06):
12,000 doses of LSD.
With these particular souvenirs, charles was free to practice
Satanism and explore hisindulgences within the walls of
his private castle.
As additional protection fromprying eyes, the two mastiffs
(13:26):
prowled the grounds and guardedCorpsewood Manor.
Their names were Beelzebub andArsoneth, one a nod to the
Prince of Devils and the other anod to a character in a
Lovecraft novel.
Now, area locals were of courseintrigued and more than a little
(13:48):
curious about the eccentricpair who had built the strange
castle far out in the woods.
In Tryon, charles and Joeywould sometimes navigate the
dirt logging roads aroundCorpsewood.
They would reach the mainhighway and head into town for
groceries and supplies.
Townspeople did not know whatto make of the two so-called
(14:12):
hippies who drove a black Jeepwith a pentagram painted on the
side.
Those curious enough to learnmore about the strangers would
make the long drive out toCorpsewood just to see what they
could see.
But a sign at the main driveread Beware of the Thing.
And no one dared go any closerto the house.
(14:33):
Rumors were seeded and spread,claiming that the sign meant
that the two men had summoned ademon to guard the property.
Others said they had seen robedfigures holding seances and
other dark ceremonies deep inthe woods.
Still others have said thatwhen they had visited the two
(14:55):
barons at Corpsewood, the food,wine and hospitality flowed
freely but without an invitation.
No one could be sure and no onecould have ever imagined the
truth about these two men, theirSatanism and their parties in
the pink room.
For the time being, rumors hadto suffice.
(15:18):
A few years into the couple'sresidence in their secluded home
, two locals finally did meetand eventually befriend the two
men.
A young man named Avery Brockhad wandered onto the men's land
and asked permission to hunt ontheir property.
Brock returned several timesand he began bringing his friend
(15:39):
Tony West with him.
Avery had taken note of how thetwo men lived and he had shared
his observations with Tony.
Charles and Joey's Satanism,their unusual residence and
their odd lifestyle had Averyconvinced that the men were
wealthy and that they werehiding a fortune in riches
(16:03):
inside the house.
The truth of the matter is thatthey were hiding a fortune in
riches inside the house.
The truth of the matter is thatthey had spent almost
everything they had on the landand on their secluded castle.
On the night of December 12,1982, avery Brock and Tony West
decided to rob the couple.
They picked up Tony's nephewJoey Wells and his friend Teresa
(16:28):
Hudgens, and the four drove therough and winding dirt roads
that led to Corpsewood Manor.
Joey and Teresa had no ideawhat was about to happen.
When they arrived, scudderhappily greeted them and soon he
and his guests were climbingthe 40-foot extension ladder to
(16:49):
the third floor of the chickenhouse, to the pink room.
There, charles and his guestsdrank homemade wine and sniffed
a substance they called Tudeloo,a mixture of varnish, paint,
thinner and other chemicalsmixed in a plastic bag.
Charles did not partake in thispractice called huffing, but he
(17:12):
did share his homemade winewith the others and indulged in
it himself.
Joey stayed behind in the mainhouse preparing dinner.
The partying went on for severalhours until Avery Brock left
the pink room saying he wasgoing to get more toodaloo from
(17:33):
his car.
In truth, he left to get his.22 caliber Remington
Speedmaster rifle.
He walked back to the mainhouse and shot Joey four times.
He then shot the two mastiffswho were sleeping peacefully
near the stove.
By then, west, charles and theothers had also left the pink
(17:59):
room and entered the kitchen ofthe main house.
When Charles saw Avery holdinga rifle, he laughed and said
bang, bang, but then he saw hislover dead on the floor.
Brock and West demanded thatCharles give them all the money
and valuables he had insideCorpsewood.
Devastated and pleading for hislife, Charles explained that he
(18:24):
had no money to give them.
Ignoring the murderer's demandsfor him to sit still and be
quiet, charles walked over andknelt beside Joey's lifeless
body.
The last words he uttered wereI ask for this, I asked for
(18:45):
this.
Seeing the horror that wasunfolding, teresa and their
other friend tried to flee thescene, but the car that the four
had driven to Corpsewoodwouldn't start.
Brock and West ransacked thehouse, but they found nothing of
any value.
West shot Charles Scudder inthe head at point-blank range
(19:07):
and the group ran out of thehouse, but not before attempting
to steal Scudder's harp.
It would not fit in the blackJeep that they also stole, which
belonged to Charles.
The two murderers left Teresaand the other friend behind and
drove West on I-20 to a reststop in Vicksburg, mississippi.
(19:28):
There they murdered NavyLieutenant Kirby Phelps and they
stole hiscar.
On December 16th, a neighbor inTryon, georgia, discovered
bullet holes in the front doorof Corpsewood Manor and called
the sheriff.
On that very same day, teresaHudges went to the police and
(19:50):
told them the entire gruesomestory, adding that she had been
held captive by Joey Wells athis mother's house.
Before she could escape.
Immediately, a nationwidemanhunt began.
Immediately.
A nationwide manhunt began Atsome point during their time on
the lam, brock and Westdisagreed about which direction
(20:13):
to drive.
Originally they headed straightfor Mexico, but eventually the
two disagreed on that choice andthey split up, each going his
separateway.
On December 20, 1982, averyBrock returned to Georgia and
(20:35):
turned himself in.
On Christmas Eve, west did thesame thing in Chattanooga,
tennessee.
Brock's attorney used a defensethat claimed that Charles
Scudder had drugged him andtricked him into performing
sexual acts.
However, the homemade wine wastested for drugs and none were
found.
Both men were convicted ofmurder, among other charges, and
(20:59):
both received a sentence oflife in prison.
While in jail, brock attemptedsuicide but failed.
Both men still reside inGeorgia prisons
today.
During the investigation thatfollowed these horrific crimes
at Corpsewood Manor, officersfound a painting, a
(21:21):
self-portrait painted by DrCharles Scudder himself.
He painted the portrait afterJoey had told him of a dream
he'd had in which Charles hadbeen murdered.
The likeness depicted Scuddergagged with blood dripping from
his mouth.
There were five bullet woundsin his head.
(21:41):
He had painted thisself-portrait five months before
the murders took place.
What did Charles Scudder meanwhen he uttered his last words?
I ask for this Was he referringto his judgment in letting two
murderers into their home?
Was he referring to his choiceto practice Satanism or just to
(22:05):
move to Georgia?
Was he lamenting his many lifechoices that led him down a path
less traveled through the years?
We will never know what thisman meant or why his dreams of
moving south and living off thebeaten path ended in such
tragedy.
The isolated property in NorthGeorgia is now privately owned,
(22:31):
as I understand it, and it'sused primarily for hunting
purposes.
The skeleton of CorpsewoodManor still stands vigil among
the trees, though she showsclear signs of inoccupation and
disrepair.
Years back, a fire destroyedparts of the castle that were
(22:51):
made of anything except brick,but the pink gargoyle still
watches over the thick forestand the woodland creatures, and
many hunters have come back withmore than wild game for their
efforts.
Some have carried tales ofhearing dogs barking inside
what's left of the manor.
(23:12):
Others have reported hearingscreams and gunshots.
Perhaps those experiences canbe explained easily enough After
all, hunters expect to heardogs and guns in the woods.
But the harp, the hauntingnotes of a harp that rise and
fall on the wintry winds thoseare much harder to explain away,
(23:36):
don't youthink?
I'm Carole Townsend, veterannewspaper journalist and
six-time award-winning author.
You can find me on social mediaand check out my website at www
.
caroletownsend.
com.
(23:57):
As always, thanks for listening, and if you're enjoying these
tales of Southern history andlore, I hope you'll tell your
friends.
Subscribe to this podcast onSpotify, apple Play, iheart and
anywhere you listen.
My team and I used thefollowing materials to bring
(24:21):
this story to you the CorpsewoodMurders 40 Years Later by BT
Hartman, dated October 27, 2022,in Atlanta Magazine.
Death Comes to Corpsewood Manor, northgeorgiahistorycom, march
14, 2024.
The Corpsewood Manor Murders inNorth Georgia by Amy Petula,
(24:43):
arcadia Publishing.
Tryon, georgia, is a small town, snugly nestled
among the pine forests, hillsand lush valleys of northwest
Georgia.
Small town charm and southernhospitality characterized this
community, which was founded in1869.
Tryon was first settled by thepioneer William Penn and its
(00:31):
history is deeply connected tothe Tryon factory, which was
established in 1846 and has beenin operation ever since, almost
without interruption.
Like many small southern townsbuilt around textile mills,
Tryon is a friendly, traditional, largely conservative community
(00:54):
.
It was these verycharacteristics a simple life, a
less complicated world thatbeckoned Dr Charles Scudder and
Joey Odom to the area.
The two had long dreamed ofbuilding a castle in the woods,
an off-the-grid escape in whichthey could revel in each other
(01:15):
and in nature.
How could they have possiblyknown nearly 50 years ago, when
they built their secluded dreamhome in the middle of the
Chattahoochee National Forest,that what they were building was
actually a nightmare?
Here in the South, we love ourstories.
(01:36):
We begin in childhood huddledaround campfires, whispering of
things best spoken in the dark,confiding in our small, trusting
circles.
Why is that, do you suppose?
I have researched andinvestigated southern history
for more than 20 years and Ibelieve it has to do with this
(01:57):
region itself.
There's a lot that hangs in theether here and much that is
buried deep in the soil.
There's beauty here in theSouth, and shame and courage.
And, make no mistake, there isevil.
There's always been the elementof the unexplained, the just
(02:19):
out of reach that we can allfeel but can never quite
describe.
And the best place for tellingtales about such things is the
comfort and safety of an oldfront porch.
So I invite you tonight to comeup here with me, settle back
into a chair and get comfortable, pour yourself a drink if you
(02:43):
like, and I'll share with yousome of the tales best told in
the company of friends, talesthat prove that truth really is
stranger than fiction.
And I'll turn on the light.
You're going to want that.
I'm Carole Townsend.
Welcome to my Front Porch.
(03:03):
The following podcast containsmaterial that may be disturbing
.
Listener discretion is advised.
Charles Scudder was anintelligent man, a man of
academia, and after he earnedhis undergraduate degree back in
(03:25):
the 1970s, he went on to earnhis PhD in pharmacology.
Not long after that, loyolaUniversity in Chicago hired him
as an associate professor ofpharmacology.
He was well liked by hisstudents and he held the bar of
(03:45):
excellence high for them formore than 10 years.
His colleagues considered himto be brilliant.
As much as he loved his fieldof teaching and his research in
pharmacology, the rewards of thecareer he had treasured for so
long were fading for Charles.
He had grown tired of studentsthat he described as being
(04:10):
unteachable, and he despiseduniversity politics.
He had also become disenchantedwith the community that he
called home.
While he lived in a fine homemany might even call it a
mansion on the west side ofChicago, urban blight was
advancing knocking at his door.
(04:32):
Charles needed a change by thistime in his career.
The professor and his secondwife were divorced and their
grown children had moved out andembarked on their own lives.
The only two people left in therambling house were Charles and
his longtime housekeeper andcompanion, joey Odom.
(04:54):
Charles and Joey at firstglance might be considered polar
opposites with respect tocompatibility.
While Charles was well-educatedand worldly, joey only had a
fifth-grade education and was 12years, charles Jr.
Joey did, however, have a flairfor the gastronomic arts, and
(05:19):
Charles had remarked at one timethat he could whip up meals fit
for a king.
In 1976, charles would get theopportunity for which he longed
to change his life and Joey's.
His mother had passed away andleft him a moderate inheritance.
(05:40):
He could take that money,combine it with what he had
managed to save and with theproceeds from the sale of his
home, and he could build thedream life he so desperately
wanted for himself and for hislover.
But where would they go?
Charles began searching forjust the right location,
(06:03):
someplace hilly and green, withfour seasons but without the
bitterly cold winters of Chicago.
He wanted a place with a steadysupply of clean water, plenty
of wood for cooking and heatingand, probably most important,
the new place had to be privateand isolated.
(06:25):
Above all else.
That search, and all itscriteria, brought his attention
to the foothills of theblue-green Appalachian Mountains
.
There he found a 40-acre plotsituated deep inside the
Chattahoochee National Forest, alocation that is just about as
(06:47):
quiet and secluded as anywhereeast of the Mississippi River.
When he made the 10-hour driveto check out the property and
the area, he fell in love withthe wildlife, the natural
resources and the sheer beautyof the place.
There was no question beautifulproperty in North Georgia would
(07:07):
be where he and Joey couldfinally live as they chose, as
lovers living off the grid andout of the scrutiny of the
judging eyes of an otherwisecold, impersonal, blighted city.
On October 6, 1976, charlesScudder's 50th birthday, the
(07:32):
professor submitted hisresignation to Loyola University
.
He listed his home for sale andsold every piece of the
elaborate ornamental furnitureinside it.
He sold everything in the housethat had a plug, because he and
Joey intended to live truly offthe grid, to fetch their own
(07:55):
water, generate their own heat,cook over a wood fire and even
grow as much food as they couldon their property.
One of the few items he keptwas his beloved gold encrusted
harp.
Finally, charles and Joey wouldhave the freedom they had
(08:17):
always desired but could neverfully express under the gaze of
prying eyes in Chicago.
By January 1977, charles andJoey had closed the door on
their lives in Chicago and settheir sights on their private 40
acres in northwest Georgia.
(08:39):
Their drive south was adifficult one, having navigated
a powerful blizzard in themidwestern part of the country,
but the two men arrived safelywith their two beautiful English
mastiffs just a couple of dayslater.
Here the men would build theirdream home, a sort of
(09:00):
mini-castle, one brick at a time, and by hand they dug their own
.
Well, by hand and they dug thehome's foundation the same way.
Loving every minute of the work, they slept in their car at
first, then in a tent, until thewalls and roof were far enough
(09:21):
along to keep the interior dryon the first floor.
The building techniques the menused have been described as
medieval and the house doesn'thave even one squared corner in
the entire structure.
When it was finished, the menhad laid 45,000 bricks each by
(09:42):
hand.
The process took about twoyears.
Charles and Joey named the trailthat led to the property Dead
Horse Road because of a dead androtting horse they found there.
They named their homeCorpsewood Manor because of the
unusual number of dead and dyingtrees on the property.
(10:04):
When the house was finished,the men placed a large pink
gargoyle above the frontentrance of the house.
Charles also made and installedsome rather morbid
stained-glass windows depictinghuman skulls and satanic images
(10:24):
such as Baphomet, thegoat-headed deity that
symbolized Anton LaVey's thenrelatively young Church of Satan
.
The satanic church was foundedin 1966 in San Francisco and
followers are quick to point outthat the church does not
espouse worshiping Satan.
Rather, satanists claim topromote humanistic values.
(10:48):
In other words, they promotemining and strengthening the ego
and individual wisdom.
They rebel against societalrestrictions and are in fact
their own gods.
They represent indulgence andvengeance and they believe that
all sin leads to physical,mental and emotional
(11:12):
gratification.
Atheism and hedonism are thecornerstones of the Church of
Satan.
Satanism are the cornerstonesof the Church of Satan.
Clearly, charles Scudder andJoey Odom required privacy not
only to live their lives aslovers, but also to openly and
freely practice a religionconsidered blasphemous and taboo
(11:34):
by Christians.
Another interestingcharacteristic of the couple's
castle is the three-storystructure they built next to the
main house.
The first story housed chickensin a coop, the second story
served as a pantry and it heldthe pair's pornography
collection, and the third floorthey called the pink room.
(11:58):
In this room, charles, joey andtheir guests would indulge in
wild, no-limits sex parties, andthe men kept a logbook of all
the guests who had indulgedtheir secret pleasures in the
pink room at Corpsewood ManorManor.
To add to the secret activitiesof the pair, their visiting
(12:22):
friends from Chicago and thefriends they eventually made at
Corpsewood, charles had broughtsome of his work at Loyola down
to Georgia with him.
As a professor of pharmacology,charles's work was far from that
of the run-of-the-mill academic.
His purple hair and his petmonkey clued most people into
(12:44):
that fact.
But as the assistant directorof the Institute for the Study
of Mind, drugs and Behavior,part of his work included
performing government-fundedexperiments with mind-altering
drugs.
Government-funded experimentswith mind-altering drugs.
When he left Loyola, he tookwith him two human skulls and
(13:06):
12,000 doses of LSD.
With these particular souvenirs, charles was free to practice
Satanism and explore hisindulgences within the walls of
his private castle.
As additional protection fromprying eyes, the two mastiffs
(13:26):
prowled the grounds and guardedCorpsewood Manor.
Their names were Beelzebub andArsoneth, one a nod to the
Prince of Devils and the other anod to a character in a
Lovecraft novel.
Now, area locals were of courseintrigued and more than a little
(13:48):
curious about the eccentricpair who had built the strange
castle far out in the woods.
In Tryon, charles and Joeywould sometimes navigate the
dirt logging roads aroundCorpsewood.
They would reach the mainhighway and head into town for
groceries and supplies.
Townspeople did not know whatto make of the two so-called
(14:12):
hippies who drove a black Jeepwith a pentagram painted on the
side.
Those curious enough to learnmore about the strangers would
make the long drive out toCorpsewood just to see what they
could see.
But a sign at the main driveread Beware of the Thing.
And no one dared go any closerto the house.
(14:33):
Rumors were seeded and spread,claiming that the sign meant
that the two men had summoned ademon to guard the property.
Others said they had seen robedfigures holding seances and
other dark ceremonies deep inthe woods.
Still others have said thatwhen they had visited the two
(14:55):
barons at Corpsewood, the food,wine and hospitality flowed
freely but without an invitation.
No one could be sure and no onecould have ever imagined the
truth about these two men, theirSatanism and their parties in
the pink room.
For the time being, rumors hadto suffice.
(15:18):
A few years into the couple'sresidence in their secluded home
, two locals finally did meetand eventually befriend the two
men.
A young man named Avery Brockhad wandered onto the men's land
and asked permission to hunt ontheir property.
Brock returned several timesand he began bringing his friend
(15:39):
Tony West with him.
Avery had taken note of how thetwo men lived and he had shared
his observations with Tony.
Charles and Joey's Satanism,their unusual residence and
their odd lifestyle had Averyconvinced that the men were
wealthy and that they werehiding a fortune in riches
(16:03):
inside the house.
The truth of the matter is thatthey were hiding a fortune in
riches inside the house.
The truth of the matter is thatthey had spent almost
everything they had on the landand on their secluded castle.
On the night of December 12,1982, avery Brock and Tony West
decided to rob the couple.
They picked up Tony's nephewJoey Wells and his friend Teresa
(16:28):
Hudgens, and the four drove therough and winding dirt roads
that led to Corpsewood Manor.
Joey and Teresa had no ideawhat was about to happen.
When they arrived, scudderhappily greeted them and soon he
and his guests were climbingthe 40-foot extension ladder to
(16:49):
the third floor of the chickenhouse, to the pink room.
There, charles and his guestsdrank homemade wine and sniffed
a substance they called Tudeloo,a mixture of varnish, paint,
thinner and other chemicalsmixed in a plastic bag.
Charles did not partake in thispractice called huffing, but he
(17:12):
did share his homemade winewith the others and indulged in
it himself.
Joey stayed behind in the mainhouse preparing dinner.
The partying went on for severalhours until Avery Brock left
the pink room saying he wasgoing to get more toodaloo from
(17:33):
his car.
In truth, he left to get his.22 caliber Remington
Speedmaster rifle.
He walked back to the mainhouse and shot Joey four times.
He then shot the two mastiffswho were sleeping peacefully
near the stove.
By then, west, charles and theothers had also left the pink
(17:59):
room and entered the kitchen ofthe main house.
When Charles saw Avery holdinga rifle, he laughed and said
bang, bang, but then he saw hislover dead on the floor.
Brock and West demanded thatCharles give them all the money
and valuables he had insideCorpsewood.
Devastated and pleading for hislife, Charles explained that he
(18:24):
had no money to give them.
Ignoring the murderer's demandsfor him to sit still and be
quiet, charles walked over andknelt beside Joey's lifeless
body.
The last words he uttered wereI ask for this, I asked for
(18:45):
this.
Seeing the horror that wasunfolding, teresa and their
other friend tried to flee thescene, but the car that the four
had driven to Corpsewoodwouldn't start.
Brock and West ransacked thehouse, but they found nothing of
any value.
West shot Charles Scudder inthe head at point-blank range
(19:07):
and the group ran out of thehouse, but not before attempting
to steal Scudder's harp.
It would not fit in the blackJeep that they also stole, which
belonged to Charles.
The two murderers left Teresaand the other friend behind and
drove West on I-20 to a reststop in Vicksburg, mississippi.
(19:28):
There they murdered NavyLieutenant Kirby Phelps and they
stole hiscar.
On December 16th, a neighbor inTryon, georgia, discovered
bullet holes in the front doorof Corpsewood Manor and called
the sheriff.
On that very same day, teresaHudges went to the police and
(19:50):
told them the entire gruesomestory, adding that she had been
held captive by Joey Wells athis mother's house.
Before she could escape.
Immediately, a nationwidemanhunt began.
Immediately.
A nationwide manhunt began Atsome point during their time on
the lam, brock and Westdisagreed about which direction
(20:13):
to drive.
Originally they headed straightfor Mexico, but eventually the
two disagreed on that choice andthey split up, each going his
separateway.
On December 20, 1982, averyBrock returned to Georgia and
(20:35):
turned himself in.
On Christmas Eve, west did thesame thing in Chattanooga,
tennessee.
Brock's attorney used a defensethat claimed that Charles
Scudder had drugged him andtricked him into performing
sexual acts.
However, the homemade wine wastested for drugs and none were
found.
Both men were convicted ofmurder, among other charges, and
(20:59):
both received a sentence oflife in prison.
While in jail, brock attemptedsuicide but failed.
Both men still reside inGeorgia prisons
today.
During the investigation thatfollowed these horrific crimes
at Corpsewood Manor, officersfound a painting, a
(21:21):
self-portrait painted by DrCharles Scudder himself.
He painted the portrait afterJoey had told him of a dream
he'd had in which Charles hadbeen murdered.
The likeness depicted Scuddergagged with blood dripping from
his mouth.
There were five bullet woundsin his head.
(21:41):
He had painted thisself-portrait five months before
the murders took place.
What did Charles Scudder meanwhen he uttered his last words?
I ask for this Was he referringto his judgment in letting two
murderers into their home?
Was he referring to his choiceto practice Satanism or just to
(22:05):
move to Georgia?
Was he lamenting his many lifechoices that led him down a path
less traveled through the years?
We will never know what thisman meant or why his dreams of
moving south and living off thebeaten path ended in such
tragedy.
The isolated property in NorthGeorgia is now privately owned,
(22:31):
as I understand it, and it'sused primarily for hunting
purposes.
The skeleton of CorpsewoodManor still stands vigil among
the trees, though she showsclear signs of inoccupation and
disrepair.
Years back, a fire destroyedparts of the castle that were
(22:51):
made of anything except brick,but the pink gargoyle still
watches over the thick forestand the woodland creatures, and
many hunters have come back withmore than wild game for their
efforts.
Some have carried tales ofhearing dogs barking inside
what's left of the manor.
(23:12):
Others have reported hearingscreams and gunshots.
Perhaps those experiences canbe explained easily enough After
all, hunters expect to heardogs and guns in the woods.
But the harp, the hauntingnotes of a harp that rise and
fall on the wintry winds thoseare much harder to explain away,
(23:36):
don't youthink?
I'm Carole Townsend, veterannewspaper journalist and
six-time award-winning author.
You can find me on social mediaand check out my website at www
.
caroletownsend.
com.
(23:57):
As always, thanks for listening, and if you're enjoying these
tales of Southern history andlore, I hope you'll tell your
friends.
Subscribe to this podcast onSpotify, apple Play, iheart and
anywhere you listen.
My team and I used thefollowing materials to bring
(24:21):
this story to you the CorpsewoodMurders 40 Years Later by BT
Hartman, dated October 27, 2022,in Atlanta Magazine.
Death Comes to Corpsewood Manor, northgeorgiahistorycom, march
14, 2024.
The Corpsewood Manor Murders inNorth Georgia by Amy Petula,
(24:43):
arcadia Publishing.
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