10/31/2020
A murder and ghost tale for the day before All Hallow's Eve. We are traveling just off the edge of the geographical Ozarks by a few miles to tell a tale forever burned into the psyche of the Western Ozarks, perhaps more so because the villains may have disappeared amongst our midst to elude capture. The Bloody Benders were not America's first serial killers, but touted as the first serial killing family in 1873 in Cherryvale, Kansas. Their fame was renewed 24 years later as another serial killing family in the Ozarks became one of the trials of the century--the Stafflebachs. The difference- the Benders were never caught. Their roadside Inn revealed a murder factory where guests were seated over a trap door in Sweeney Todd fashion and 11 bodies were found buried in the yard. Pa Bender spoke no English, Ma Bender reluctantly did so, but had a reputation for consorting with evil spirits due to her Spiritualist beliefs. John Jr appeared a "half-wit", but investigators concluded that this was an act to not draw suspicion to their crimes. Then there was Kate, who many believed master minded the criminal activities. The Benders- who may not have even been related--escaped after a priest discovered the macabre trap door and murder chamber, just ahead of the posse coming to investigate the disappearance of a wealthy traveler. The posse split and rode in four directions, 3 groups returning empty-handed The 4th claimed to have overtaken the Benders and killed them but did not produce the bodies. It was believed that they escaped, likely deep into the Ozarks, never to be apprehended.
It would not be an All Hallow's Eve tale without a spectral sequel. Some 33 years later, it was widely reported that the Benders' ghosts were seen at the old Inn, which then still stood. The ghosts were said to prowl at night and farmers avoided the old homestead, culminating in a storm that uprooted trees by the roots around the Bender place, but none of the neighbors' places. Then there were the calls of a rain crow noone was brave enough to investigate. More unsettling was the fact that the house was in good repair despite sitting empty for three decades. Locals began reporting the ghostly figure of a woman, and the old-timers who knew the Benders personally were sure it was Kate Bender. Some feared Kate had returned to continue killing. Others claimed it was the image of a still-living Kate and the image was an omen of her soon to come death and justice for her victims. Whichever the case may be, eventually the spectre faded, the house was eventually torn down, but the chill up the spine at the mention of the Bloody Benders remains to this day for those in the Ozarks borderlands who have heard the old tales. If you are the reading sort, we suggest you peruse Neil Gaiman's "American Gods", where if you recall the tale we have just told, you will recognize the Benders in a passage, even though not mentioned by name. But isn't that how facts move into folklore....
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 17, 1906; www.kshs.org; www.smithsonianmag.com
