Chuck and Joe's Retreat

About This Post: This post is a little different from the others I've submitted. While murderers Avery Brock and Tony West spent a considerable amount of time getting drunk and taking drugs at the house in question, they never officially lived there. Rather, it was the home of the victims; two eccentric gentlemen who made the mistake of welcoming troubled young men into their lives.

The Killers: Kenneth Avery Brock (b. 1965) and Samuel Tony West (1952–2023) were roommates and the perpetrators of the notorious Corpsewood Manor murders. The two decided that the older gentlemen, who had built a large fortress in the Georgia woods called Corpsewood Manor, due to the dead trees that once surrounded the property, were hiding money in their home. On December 12, 1982, the two young men went to the estate under the guise of buying homemade wine and, after gaining the old men's trust, shot and killed Dr. Charles Scudder, his partner Joseph Odom, and their two English mastiffs. Finding no money in the house, the perpetrators stole Scudder's Jeep and fled to Mississippi. While there, they stole a car from Navy Lieutenant Kirby Key Phelps and murdered him in the process. After, they fled to Texas. While in Austin, the two argued about what to do next, thus leading to West and Brock splitting up. Brock went to Marietta, GA, and turned himself in to the police on December 20th. West was later arrested on December 24th in Chattanooga, TN, and both men were eventually handed down life sentences for the murders of Scudder, Odom and Phelps. Due to the victims' homosexual lifestyle, as well as their interest in the occult, the crime received heavy media attention during the "Satanic Panic" of the early 1980s. This attention fueled a local lore that continues to surround the ruined estate atop what locals still call "Devil Worshippers' Mountain."

The House: Located on Taylor's Ridge in Summerville, GA, the house was hand-constructed by Charles Scudder and Joey Odom in 1977. This was after Scudder had quit his associate professor's job at Loyola University, divorced his wife, and left Chicago for rural Georgia with his housekeeper and friend, Odom. The rounded, castle-like structure was built primarily with red bricks and furnished with renaissance-style furniture. As the house had no utilities, the couple lived off-the-grid, only occasionally going to the town of Triton for necessities. As Scudder and Odom showed an interest in the occult, the house boasted stained-glass murals of Baphomet, demonic statues, books on Satanism, human skulls from Scudder’s tenure at Loyola, and a pink gargoyle perched atop the gazebo. At the entrance of the property, guests of the couple were greeted by a posted sign saying, "Beware of the Thing." While this was most likely a reference to "The Addams Family," some locals believed that Scudder had summoned a demon to patrol the grounds.

The Floor Plan: Through my research, as well as hand-drawn sketches provided online, I was able to construct a conceptual floor plan of what the first floor may have looked like. As is apparent, there were two large rooms at each end of the house; a kitchen and a study. These rooms were divided by a wide main entrance and hallway. At the end of this hallway, and directly in-line of the front door, was a spiral staircase leading up to the second floor. The second floor contained another hallway and two large bedrooms, one for each gentleman.

Sources:

Dimuro, Gina; Silverman, Leah, "The Corpsewood Manor Murders: A Story of Satanism, Sex Parties and Slaughter. www.allthatsinteresting.

com. Accessed 14 July 2026.

Fitzgerald, Andrew. (Podcaster). "The Corpsewood Manor Murders: Satan, Secrets, and a Savage End." Scary Mysteries, 2025.

Gregson, Luke, "The Corpsewood Manor Murders." Oxford American, 2024.

Harman, B.T., "The Corpsewood Murders: 40 Years Later." Atlanta Magazine, 2022.

Kazek, Kelly. "The Murders of ‘Devil Worshippers’ at Corpsewood Manor." 2019. www.kellykazek.com. Accessed 13 July 2026.

Kent, Leland . "Corpsewood Manor." 2019. www.abandonedsoutheast.

com. Accessed 14 July 2026.

Mystery Archives. "The Untold Story Of Corpsewood Manor-Georgia." 2025. www.youtube.com. Accessed 15 July 2026.

Petulla, Amy, The Corpsewood Manor Murders in North Georgia. Arcadia Publishing, 2016.

Summers, Ken, "Haunted Horror: The Corpsewood Murders." 2018. www.moonspenders.com. Accessed 13 June 2026.

WGGSTV. "Corpsewood, 1982." 2016. www.youtube.com. Accessed 14 July 2026.