Original subtitles

When I think of corpsewood, I think of sinister,

foreboding, and fascinating.

When I think of the circumstances

of all the events that led up to this,

it's...

A little overwhelming.

Hello?

Hello?

For a long time afterwards, I can --

think I can smell that smell that was inside the house.

There are monsters that live among US,

soulless, empty monsters.

Chattooga county.

It is extraordinary because it's in a valley

right at the edge of the cumberland plateau.

To the west, you've got lookout mountain.

And then to the east, you have Taylor's Ridge.

It's gorgeous.

It's an absolutely beautiful part of the world.

You drive through chattooga county

and it feeds your soul.

It's common for houses to be tucked away

in all kinds of places in the appalachians.

Chattooga county's no exception.

You'll go up a creek or go up a road or up --

up a holler and find a house.

You can have places in chattooga county

where you can't see your neighbor.

Some people like to get away from it all.

Some people want that cabin in the woods.

In the early 1980s,

one house deep in these Georgia woods

captivates the locals more than any other.

It's called corpsewood manor.

Corpsewood was very much removed

from any other community or building.

No, you would never expect to find anything like corpsewood.

Some people described it as a castle.

It had this sinister, forbidding look.

Maybe you could describe it as satanic.

It seems as if everyone in chattooga county

has heard rumors of evil rituals

and devil worship at corpsewood manor,

but no one knows the truth,

least of all local teenager Teresa hudgins.

Teresa hudgins was 18 years old.

When she was 16, she got married to a young man

and she thought she was going to find some happiness

and make her own family.

That didn't work out.

There were some marital infidelities

and she left him.

And she was starting all over again.

Teresa has been staying with friends

while she gets back on her feet,

and she's about to go on her first date

with a young man named Joey Wells.

She was very interested in Joey.

She thought he was very handsome.

She is surprised and not too happy

to see Joey arrive with some other company.

What's going on?

Look, I know it ain't what we had planned,

but I tried to call you.

The thing is, my car died.

But my uncle Tony said he could give US a ride.

Hey, bud. You and your little friend

getting in or what?

Why don't you hang on?

Look, we can call it off if you want.

It's just I've really been looking forward to tonight.

Well, who said anything about calling it off?

Cool.

Well, fellas, this is Teresa.

Teresa, this is my uncle Tony.

Hey, there.

Tony west was Joey Wells' uncle.

He was 29 years old.

And I think you know Avery.

Hey.

Avery Brock was born in chattooga county.

He lived there all his life.

She had seen Avery around for years.

They probably went to high school together,

I would think.

So Tony and Avery invited US to a party tonight.

Whose party?

You'll see.

After you.

So, what kind of party is this?

Nothing special.

Just going to pay a little visit to corpsewood manor.

Wait, what? I met one of the guys,

said I could bring whoever I want.

Besides, don't you want to see a real haunted house?

Teresa had no idea about corpsewood or --

or devil worshipers. I just don't think

that she got out in the community very much.

She lived a somewhat sheltered life.

Sure. I'm not scared.

The two men who live in corpsewood manor

are rumored to be fascinated by the occult.

Dr. Scudder and Joey odom wanted to be left alone,

without arousing suspicion or animosity.

People had a lot of bad feelings around the house at the time.

People did show up at corpsewood on a couple

of occasions in truckloads

demanding to know what was going on up there.

But the fear of the unknown

doesn't stop Teresa and the young men

from heading to corpsewood manor.

They wanted to see for themself the home of the devil worshiper.

The location of corpsewood's ideal

for being left alone.

They were at the dead end of a dirt road.

It was wooded all around, very quiet.

If I went alone at night,

I would be nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.

Woo!

Come on, now, Teresa.

What's going to happen in there while you got three

big, strong men with you?

Which way are we going?

Teresa was a good girl.

She never was in any kind of trouble.

I can see myself at her age

probably doing something similar,

just foolish things that you regret later.

These guys have never heard of a driveway before?

Guess they like it like this.

More private.

You hear that?

No. I didn't hear nothing.

Dang it, Tony.

Come on.

Corpsewood manor was surrounded

on all four sides by national forest,

accessible only by a dirt road.

Dr. Scudder named the road

approaching the house as dead horse road.

I can honestly tell you

I've never been in a stranger place.

When Teresa first arrived at dead horse road

that went up to the manor, she was a little frightened.

She was already a little uneasy,

being with these people she didn't know.

You should always trust your gut when it's sending you

some sensation of fear or unease.

Don't try and tell yourself, "he'll be offended."

Just walk away.

Welcome to the devil house.

18-year-old Teresa hudgins,

on her first date with Joey Wells,

finds herself in unexpected company

at Georgia's mysterious corpsewood manor.

My god, I am so sorry.

Forgive me, please.

I couldn't resist.

Welcome to corpsewood.

We built it ourselves, brick by brick,

our own hideaway deep, deep in the woods.

Now, please, take a look around.

There's a lot to see.

Trust me.

Dr. Scudder was from Illinois.

Don't be shy. Go ahead.

He had been a professor of pharmacology at loyola.

We've been collecting for years and years,

and here's the fruit of it.

It was as if they had stumbled across

a grade-b horror film.

On top of the bookshelf, a human skull,

the desk jammed with ancient manuscripts

concerning black magic and witchcraft and satanism.

So, um, why is it called corpsewood?

When we stumbled on this spot in the woods,

it was filled with dead and dying trees.

Corpses of wood, if you will.

Don't ask me why they were dying.

Some blight, I suppose.

And we found it fitting that we name the manor

after the previous inhabitants.

Well, this is Joseph.

When Joseph odom was 21 years old,

he moved in with Charles scudder,

moved into his home as his house keeper,

and he lived with Charles for the next 23 years.

To all indications, they were a couple.

They were partners.

I think that Charles and Joseph loved each other very much.

They were very happy with the home

that they had built, with the home that they created

there out of nothing in the woods.

Joseph, our guests must be thirsty.

This is supposed to be a party, right?

How about opening a batch of wine?

Come on in, everybody. Follow me, right this way.

When she first arrived at the manor,

she was already a little uneasy being in this house

of what they said were devil worshipers.

Make yourselves comfortable.

Hey, mister, you got a light switch?

No power, no water, no phone.

We're completely off the grid.

The wine. Bring it on in.

Thank you, Joseph.

Here.

Everyone take a seat.

It's our own recipe.

Guaranteed to warm the spirit on a cold night.

To your health.

Drink up, my lovely.

Come on, Teresa. What are you afraid of?

I don't really drink, is all.

Don't go offending our host, now.

This is a very important man.

Bravo. Now, if you'll excuse me,

I am going to go check on dinner.

What is it?

You said there'd be one, maybe two.

Well, they brought friends. We have enough food.

That's not the point.

We're not in Chicago anymore.

We have to be more careful.

My impression of odom was that he was not the one

who talked to people much when they came.

I think he was the one who maybe perhaps cooked

and took care of things.

These kids are just here to have fun.

They better be,

after all we put into this place.

Joseph, they're our guests.

And I want them to feel welcome.

Please?

Let's continue the evening in another room, shall we?

Dr. Scudder guides Teresa and the others

across a clearing in the dark Georgia woods

to another structure on the property.

They had a chicken Coop, they called it,

out in the back,

and they had this room that they called the party room.

Here it is.

Come on in, everybody.

Haven't gotten around to raising any chickens, I'm afraid.

Have a seat.

What can I say? I, have odd taste.

Hey, let me ask you something, professor.

Yeah. How do two guys like you

end up in the middle of hillbilly land anyway?

Well, I'll tell ya -- Anthony, is it?

Tony.

It's Tony. Right.

Fact is, I wanted a simpler life.

I want-- well, we wanted to get as far away from the hustle

and bustle of city life as possible.

Chicago gets more dangerous every year.

And I figured if I didn't get out

of that old neighborhood soon,

I'd never make it out of there alive.

I thought you could use another bottle of wine.

Dinner should be ready in about 45 minutes.

Thank you, Joseph.

Well, here we go.

Cheers.

Teresa's unease only grows

as the homemade wine flows more freely.

How about a game of truth or dare?

Teresa, why don't you start it off?

Um...

Dare.

Well, I got one for ya.

Why don't you give a kiss to uncle Tony?

I'll take it, I'll take it, come on.

Yeah. I'll take it.

How about you, Charles?

Truth or dare?

Truth.

All right.

How do you have the money to pay for all this?

I had an uncle who passed away,

left me enough to buy the land, build this house.

But I'll tell you a little secret.

Poof!

It's all gone.

Just about every penny.

When -- look at that.

No more wine.

And that was our last bottle. Damn it.

I got some beer in the truck.

I'll go grab it.

Yeah, get the beer.

Back in the chicken Coop, Teresa can't help

but notice that Avery doesn't return right away.

That was Teresa's first sign that something was happening.

But even then, she had no idea what was going on.

Joey. Yeah.

I want to go home now.

Calm down, Teresa. The party's just beginning.

It's all okay.

Hands up!

Bang-bang.

Where do you keep the cash?

Y'all got this fancy house. Now where do you keep the cash!

I really have no idea what you're talking about.

They're in the woods. Thick woods, deep woods.

Get up!

There's nobody anywhere close, and Teresa and Joey,

both of 'em I'm sure were frightened to death,

and all they could think of to do was to run.

Tell US where the money is.

Go, go, go, go. Go, go, go, go!

Teresa, where are the keys at?

Joey! Joey, my god!

Roll the window down.

I said, roll the window down.

Theresa: Do as he says, Joey. Please just do as he says.

Get out of the truck. Get back inside.

Teresa at the time is faced with

a very tight spot.

She's there with three men, two of whom who are

obviously willing to hurt somebody,

Joey, who she doesn't really know

and doesn't know if she can trust.

No cell phones because it's 1982.

There is no house next door.

Listen, I -- I -- I will play the game you want me to play.

No need for this.

You have Dr. Scudder,

a man who is independently wealthy

from Mr. Brock's point of view.

He sees this home.

He probably saw some of the most extraordinary furniture

he has ever seen.

I'm sure he concluded,

"Dr. Scudder must have a lot of money."

I'll get you to tell me where the money is.

I'll get you to tell me where the money is.

What is he talking about? Tony. What is going on?

It'll be all right.

Now, why don't you do me a favor?

Be real smart, tell me where the money is.

This is getting out of hand, all right?

Out of hand? You think so, Charles?

Yes. Yeah?

Well, it'll be a lot easier --

Deep in a national forest in rural Georgia,

an evening at the secluded corpsewood manor

has turned violent.

What did he do? What did he do?

What did he do?

Keep your mouth shut!

Y'all stay right here. Don't do anything stupid again!

What have you done? No!

Tell me what you did. Listen, there is no money.

I spent it all building this place.

What did you do! I just live off the land now.

I swear. Please.

Stand up! Listen, I swear!

Stand up! Please!

Come on. All of you! Come on.

Come on!

Get out. Get out.

Though the two men who live at corpsewood manor

are reputed devil worshipers,

in fact, they aren't the villains here.

Scudder and odom aren't monsters.

They're just human beings.

Joseph.

Joseph!

Joseph!

Where is he?

He's in the kitchen.

Go. Get!

Teresa's first instinct was just to survive,

just to try to get away, to try to live.

Teresa!

Teresa, stop!

Teresa, stop!

And again, Teresa goes off into the night,

scared to death.

Look, you go get her,

and don't come back until you find her.

Teresa!

Teresa?

Get in there. Go. Get. Go!

Joseph!

Joseph!

Because of the large amount of blood,

I think he suffered.

Joseph, wake up!

I'm sorry I brought them here.

I can't even imagine the horror of that,

of seeing the person you love the most in the world

lying dead on the floor.

Why are you doing this? Shut up!

This is the last time I'm going to ask you.

Where... is... the money?

Teresa!

Teresa, where are you?

Teresa.

What the hell do you think you're doing?

I don't want to die! I can't die!

Shut up. Shut up! I can't die!

Look, you want him to shoot US both?

You need to come back with me, okay?

Look, you're safer with US

than you are out here in these woods.

God knows what'll get you out here.

The only people that knew where Teresa was were the people

that were in the car with her.

Nobody knew where she was.

I can't even imagine the things

that were running through her mind.

It must've been terrifying.

You promise you won't let them shoot me.

You promise.

I promise.

Come on. Come on.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

Come on, come on!

Charles! Where is it?

Avery Brock told Tony west that they lived like kings.

I think other people thought that they had money up there.

But there was nothing to find, nothing of any value

that they could get out of the house.

Where is it!?

Avery! You said it was here.

I know, but I don't know where anything is!

Charles. Charles, Charles, Charles!

Hell, I find it hard to believe

that I'm having to ask you again and again!

No, no, no!

We're not leaving here with nothing!

Hey! Get in here.

You, take that. Help Avery.

Come here. Get in here.

Go sit down right there next to him.

Sit down. Shut up. Don't say a word.

I was just completely scared to death.

I mean, I didn't know what was going to happen.

All I knew is I just wanted to get away.

I didn't know if he was going to shoot me and leave me up there.

But it wasn't going to end right then.

Where is it? Are you okay?

Yeah.

I knew they were dead serious

about what was about to take place.

A friendly party at corpsewood manor

turns into a bloodbath

when Joseph odom is shot to death.

Will his partner of 23 years, Charles scudder,

suffer the same fate?

Hudgins: I remember Tony west putting the gun

right between Charles' eyes on the forehead,

and he pulled the trigger.

I was right there.

I saw the blood come out of the hole

and it went dripping down his nose,

and I started crying out loud.

Unable to find anything of value,

killers Avery Brock and Tony west

flee the crime scene with Teresa and Joey.

Teresa was essentially a prisoner for the next few days.

They kept her isolated.

I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming,

sweating, 'cause I always thought

they were coming after me.

I would have dreams that Tony was coming after me.

And he was killing me and I couldn't get away,

and I had dreams of being at corpsewood

and I couldn't get off the mountain.

Teresa.

She was told over and over not to say anything.

Where am I? You're at my mama's house.

We just need a place to stay for a couple --

where are Tony and Avery at?

Look, drink this.

Drink this.

Go on, now.

I even wonder sometimes

if maybe they weren't giving her something.

I think they were pretty confident that Joey Wells

wouldn't snitch on 'em,

and I think that's why Tony west wouldn't have killed Joey Wells,

because he was his nephew.

Teresa doesn't have family ties to the killers.

In the location she was in,

if they had wanted to dispose of a body,

it would have been very easy

to have killed her and disposed of her.

I need to get home. Why don't you --

I need to get home. Go back to bed for a little bit.

Look, you need to rest. All right?

Hudgins: I wanted to leave that very second,

but I felt like Joey was my only hope

to get out of there unharmed.

For days, the bodies of Joseph odom

and Charles scudder lie unnoticed

inside corpsewood manor.

Since they rarely ventured into town,

it didn't occur to anyone to check up on them.

Raymond Williams was a friend of theirs,

and he came to the house originally

on the day of the murders

and told them that a friend of theirs was in the hospital,

and Charles and Joseph expressed concern

and they asked him if he would come back

and let them know what happened, and so he said he would.

Hello?

When he got up to the house, the first thing he noticed

were bullet holes in the window pane,

and that frightened him.

He just turned right around, got in his car,

and went back down the mountain to call the police.

Make sure you get some shots inside the house.

The community was very concerned that the killers

were living amongst them.

Pretty gruesome in there.

We were concerned that they were going to strike again.

There was clearly evidence that there was

a planned crime,

that this was a premeditated crime.

We had absolutely no idea who had done this,

who had committed this crime.

We could only hope there might have been a witness

who would come forward.

Four days after the murders,

one witness, Teresa hudgins,

just may have found her chance to escape.

Teresa.

Don't do anything stupid again!

I didn't have time to think.

I really don't remember what was going on in my mind.

I had to get away. I wanted to go home.

I wanted just to run.

And that's what I did.

And Teresa knows she has to tell someone her story.

Miss, can I help you?

As Georgia law enforcement investigate the double homicide

of Charles scudder and Joseph odom

at corpsewood manor, Teresa hudgins,

the only witness to the crimes willing to talk,

is about to break the case wide open.

There were no direct clues at the time.

We were floundering at the time Teresa showed up.

No one would have expected this kind of eye witness to pop up.

I've been through a lot of homicide cases

since 1982 and I've never had a situation

where somebody goes on a first date

that ends up in a armed robbery-murder

in a weird house on top of a mountain,

and then they walk away from it.

I... I, um, saw...

Someone got murdered a coup-- couple of days ago.

For Teresa to come forward took a lot.

First of all, she had to overcome the shock

that I'm sure she had to be in.

She then had to deal with her fear

of being retaliated against.

Mr. Brock and Mr. West were not in custody.

So it took a lot of courage.

Tony west and Avery Brock are the ones who did it.

Hudgins: I felt like I did the right thing

by telling them everything that I knew.

I mean, to get that out, to be able to tell someone

who was going to go and try to capture Tony west

and Avery Brock and not let them get away

with what they did that night

by killing Charles scudder and Joseph odom.

I can still see that man in...

The last moments of his life,

asking me if I was okay.

Me.

He said, "Teresa, are you all right?"

And I will never forget it.

Are you okay?

Yeah.

I'll always have a special place in my heart for Charles

and I've carried that thought all my life.

Hudgins: I've never heard a human being

ever being in agony from being hurt so much.

I can still smell the blood this day.

There was nothing I could do to help them.

I need you to tell me.

Tony west and Avery Brock.

Do you know where they are now?

No.

I'm sorry.

Avery and Tony took off driving Charles scudder's Jeep.

They made it as far as somewhere near vicksburg, Mississippi,

and they were beginning to run out of gas

and they pulled into a rest area.

Parked in the rest area was a Navy lieutenant,

Kirby Phelps, who was on his way home for Christmas

from the pensacola naval station.

They find the unfortunate Mr. Phelps in the car,

get him out of the car, kill him for his car...

And keep going west.

One of the most regrets that I have is...

Not getting to the law enforcement

before the 16th,

because that's when they went and killed that Navy officer

who was going home to spend Christmas with his family,

and if I had gotten to the law enforcement people on the 15th,

I could have saved that man's life.

West and Brock went westward together.

After they left Mr. Phelps in Mississippi,

they I think split up in Texas.

They then came back separately.

Avery Brock is here in summerville?

You say you spotted him where?

I'm going to have to call you back.

Welcome home, Mr. Brock.

Police place Avery Brock under arrest,

and soon after, they apprehend his accomplice, Tony west.

Both men eventually plead guilty and receive life sentences.

I am very happy that Tony west and Avery Brock went to prison.

I don't believe justice will have ever been served

for what Charles scudder

and Joseph odom received that night.

Being in prison for 30 or 40 years

doesn't compare the suffering

and the heartache that those men went through.

No! Joseph!

Being in prison, I feel like they got the easy way out.

Joey Wells cooperated with investigators

and was not charged with any crime.

Teresa hudgins never saw him again.

Hudgins: I didn't deserve being there, seeing that,

but I do believe there was a reason for everything,

and the reason being is no one would have ever known the truth

of who killed those men that night,

so maybe that's why I was there, because I'm the one that told,

and I don't regret it at all.

I would do it all over again.

After the murders, corpsewood fell into ruins

because there was a fire,

which I think is tragic, considering how much they --

they loved that home and how hard they worked.

The people that set the fire were never brought to justice.

As far as I know, no one knows exactly who they were.

Today, rumors persist about this quiet corner of Georgia forest.

Corpsewood has become a part of the culture

and the local folklore of the area.

Even today, it's a popular destination

for all kinds of people that would go up there

and see if they can ghost hunt.

People are always going to be drawn

to the macabre and the bizarre,

and they will embellish it.

It's just a place.

It's a beautiful place where something very tragic happened.