Excerpt: Queer Hauntings complied by Ken Summers

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay and Lesbian Ghosts complied By Ken Summers
Release Date: 10/2009
Publisher: Lethe Press
ISBN: 978-1-59021-239-4
Buy Link: http://lethepressbooks.com/gay.htm#summers-queer-hauntings

Amazon: Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay & Lesbian Ghosts

Blurb: Queer Hauntings: True Tales of Gay and Lesbian Ghosts is a collection of eerie locales worldwide with a queer bent, combining historical fact and unearthly encounters from across the United States, as well as around the globe. From haunted bars in New Orleans to a haunted theater in London, this guide encompasses the other side of the supernatural. The stories range from the serious, from brutal murders in rural Georgia, to the light-hearted, including the male spirit who enjoys unzipping men's trousers at a British pub. Ghosts of legendary celebrities intermingle with ordinary individuals. Along with these queer spirits are many businesses, either gay-owned or catering to a gay/lesbian clientele, experiencing hauntings. Clubs and bars hide more than shy young lovers in their darkened corners. Countless bed and breakfasts have otherworldly guests staying the night. Behind the shadows and doors of societal homophobia hide find pink phantoms and lavender apparitions in cities and towns spread across the globe.

Excerpt:

A Man´s Home is His Castle. The Corpsewood Murders

Dead Horse Road hardly sounds like a dreamland, yet for two men, this was where their dreams both came true and ended. The peaceful serenity has returned to Taylor Ridge in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, yet the memories haunting the landscape still can be felt by those daring enough to venture deep into the wilderness.
For over 20 years, ghosts have wandered the woods in Chattahoochee National Forest outside of Summerville, Georgia. Two lost souls, the victims of a brutal robbery, stand guard over the ruins of their brick mansion, known as Corpsewood Manor.

...

In November of 1982, Kenneth Avery Brock moved into the Halls Valley trailer of a 30-year-old unemployed construction worker by the name of Samuel Tony West. The 17-year-old part-time truck driver told West the tale of "queer devil-worshipers" living in the isolated country. Brock first met the couple while hunting deer on their property. He befriended them and spent many occasions drinking their homemade wine. Their relationship soon escalated; Brock may have become intimately involved with the men on numerous occasions (others speculate that Brock attempted to initiate a threesome with the couple but was denied). Scudder and Odom´s relaxed demeanor and effortless existence gave Brock the false impression that Scudder and Odom stockpiled an immense fortune. The vivid mind of 17-year-old Brock convinced Tony West they could become wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.

In a small town where rumors and gossip became gospel, Brock and West fell under the spell: blinded by greed. Disillusioned by their downtrodden lives, the duo hatched a plot to rob the couple of their fortune and run away, free to live their lives as they had always dreamed.

After hatching the burglary plan with West, Brock´s visits took on new meaning. In November of 1982, he visited the "castle in the woods" several times in am attempt to study the layout of the house. Unfortunately, his sexual encounters with Scudder and Odom were limited to the Pink Room and he was never granted entry into Corpsewood Manor.

On the evening of December 12, 1982, the plan was set into motion. Brock made a stop at his mother´s trailer to pick up a .22 caliber Remington automatic rifle "to use rabbit hunting". The duo stopped to visit Joey Wells and offered to take him and his date, Teresa Hudgins, out joyriding.

West and Brock suggested a visit to Corpsewood to drink some of their wine. While Joey was thrilled with the notion of free alcohol, Teresa was hesitant to meet the "devil-worshipers". Convinced by the others that it would be fun, she finally relented. The four individuals slowly traveled through the hilly roads of Taylor Ridge, inhaling a combination of paint thinner, alcohol, and glue called toot-a-loo. Teresa peered down at the rifle tucked between the front seats.

Charles greeted his unannounced visitors and bummed a cigarette for Odom, who was in the kitchen cleaning up after supper. Their visitors climbed the 40-foot ladder to the Pink Room, accompanied by Scudder. Wine was passed and the gathering became merry. Shortly thereafter, Brock stepped out to his car to get more toot-a-loo. He reappeared with his rifle minutes later, returning to his seat on the mattress.

Charles Scudder stifled a giggle. "Bang, bang," he uttered, amused in his mild intoxication.

When Scudder stood to adjust a lantern, Brock leapt into action. He grabbed the former professor by the hair, slid a knife from out of his military boot, and pressed it against Scudder´s throat. Brock demanded money and tossed the professor onto the mattress. He cut strips of pin cloth from the sheets and bound Scudder in his heavy coat. West and Hudgins were terrified and ran to the car, but the engine refused to start. As they headed back to the Pink Room, they could hear Brock´s desperate, angry demands.

West stood up and handed Brock the rifle.

Odom was interrupted in the kitchen by Brock ordering him out of the house. He looked up toward the doorway as Brock fired four rounds into Odom. Several more finished off the mastiffs, which never moved from their comfortable spot beside the wood stove.

Brock returned to the Pink Room and lead Scudder back to the house. The professor was ushered into the house where the gruesome scene met his eyes. As he stood over the bodies of his deceased lover and beloved mastiffs, a muffled moan escaped from beneath his gag.

He knew the end was near.

Brock led him into the library, pulled down the pink gag in Scudder´s mouth, and sat him in a chair. Charles stood one final time and shuffled in his bound feet toward Odom´s body. West demanded that he stop. As he continued his slow movement, intently gazing at Odom´s corpse, Charles Scudder uttered his final words.

"I asked for this."

West shot Scudder in the face at close range.