83. The Corpsewood Manor Murders

Spooky season has officially begun—and this one’s straight out of a horror movie. In today’s episode, we’re diving into the Corpsewood Manor Murders: a case that’s equal parts eerie legend, satanic panic, and heartbreaking true crime.

Dr. Charles Scudder and Joseph Odom built their dream castle deep in the Georgia woods—a gothic escape complete with gargoyles, stained glass, and a pink “party room.” But when small-town rumors collided with fear, prejudice, and greed, the result was pure tragedy.

We’ll unpack the media frenzy that branded the victims as “gay devil worshippers,” explore the real story behind the Church of Satan, and trace how moral panic and homophobia turned two eccentric men into the villains of their own murder.

SOURCES:

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/castle-in-the-country-zmaz81mazraw/

https://oxfordamerican.org/oa-now/the-corpsewood-manor-murders

https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/the-corpsewood-murders-40-years-later/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Georgia/comments/1g8waa3/georgia_folklore_murder_sex_and_satanic_panic_in/

https://allthatsinteresting.com/corpsewood-manor-murders

https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/crime-history/the-cold-blooded-killing-of-the-gay-satanists-of-corpsewood-mano

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/11/10/415776/Jerry-Summers-Corpsewood-Manor-Murders.aspx

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2016/aug/03/chattanoogauthor-releases-new-book-corpsewood/

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2023/oct/29/true-crime-album-offers-new-perspective-on/

https://churchofsatan.com/faq-fundamental-beliefs/

https://moonspenders.com/2018/10/06/haunted-horror-the-corpsewood-murders/

Archives:

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Atlanta Constitution

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The Atlanta Times