lifestyles
The devil was a no show on Halloween night, but the legend still lives on.
Story by Carlos Tejada Photos by Julianne Peter
STUALL — Since moving to Lawrence four years ago, I've heard all the stories about the old cemetery in the tiny unincorporated town of Stull, about 10 miles west of Lawrence. It's the place where, on Halloween night, the Gates of Hell open and Satan peeks out to check on the developments in the O.J. Simpson case.
It's been written about in books about haunted places and even inspired a song by the 1970s-wannabe rock band Urge Overkill. Being a journalist and a naturally curious person, I always have wondered about the myth. Is that decrept old graveyard really a Gate to Hell? Does Satan really appear? And is he interested in reading Nicole Brown Simpson's secret diaries?
So I volunteered to stake out the cemetery Halloween night as part of the University Daily Kansan's continuing effort to bring the news to its readers. I checked it out last week, just to get a hint of what I could expect Halloween night. Carefully stepping over the "no trespassing" sign, I took a hike up to the cemetery to see what warranted such attention. The gravestones were covered with autumn leaves, and the rotting church reminded me of student housing at the University of Kansas — rather pretty and serene but short on Satanic hikins
But the proof in the pudding was being there at the stroke of midnight. I had plans to spend the night there with my townie friend Josh Hummert and a couple of sleeping bags, a boombox full of Motown compact discs and a case of beer. And if Satan popped up ... well, I promised Steve Martino, Kansan editor, that I'd say "hi" for him.
The caretaker had other ideas, however. He said in no uncertain terms that if I got close to the church he'd see to it that I spent the night in the Douglas County Jail. He also said that he would not talk about the matter. And to give产妇 bias
about the matter. And to punctuate his point, he hung up in the middle of the interview.
I wasn't going to offer him a beer anyway.
Deputy Jeff Nelson of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department was much more receptive to questions. Nelson is a veteran of all-night stakesouts at Stull, and he said he was constantly amazed at the number and resourcefulness of people trying to get close to the cemetery on Halloween.
But what's fun and games for the curious can be hurtful to the local heritage. Visitors have been known to paint on or even steal headstones.
"Some people will go to any extreme to get into the cemetery," he said. "People will park a mile away and crawl in on their elbows."
"The people who have had loved ones buried there have lost their sense of humor about this." Nelson said.
That last part made me feel bad about my original plan, even after the caretaker hung up on me.
But the question still begged to be answered. Is Stull where Satan hangs out on Halloween Night? And if so, why couldn't he have picked some place in Missouri instead?
First, a little research was in order. Steve Jansen, director of the Elizabeth M. Watkins Community Museum in Lawrence, was able to help with the tales of evil shenanigans. It was an easy task. He said no records existed of evil shenanigans.
The Stull church began its life as the Evangelical Church in 1867. It became the Deer Creek Mission Church in 1885, which conducted its services in German until 1908, when it became the Stull Church of Christ. The congregation changed locations when it built a new church across the street in 1922, and eventually it ran out of the money needed to maintain the original building.
of my closet. And I'm reasonably sure they're not haunted.
"I personally think it got started as a sorority and fraternity thing," he said. "We haven't been able to find anything on it on our own."
The countryside isn't exactly rife with folk tales of Satan at Stull, Jansen said. As far as the locals are concerned, nothing unusual happened at Stull until KU students and out-of-towners started the visiting frenzy sometime in the past 40 years.
So the church didn't explode in a cataclysm of Satanic fire. It wasn't the sight of a ghastly crime. It simply wore out its usefulness, like the old pair of sneakers in the back
And I'm reasonably sure they're not haunted. But the time came. And instead of studying for my media law test like I should have, I drove out to Stull. The night was cold and foggy — the perfect Halloween night. The bored-looking sheriff's deputies even let me linger for a few minutes at the property's edge.
But by the time Jen Ruf, the disc jockey on KJHK, announced Halloween was over, Satan hadn't appeared. His infernal fire did not glow over the edges of the church's crumbling walls, and the loud clang of his arrival did not echo past the headstones. I waited 10 more minutes, just in case he was fashionably late, but still nothing happened.
This was it. The moment of discovery. Journalists live for times such as this.
In the end, the myth of Satan and Stull didn't seem to hold water. Such legends add to the heritage of any area, and debunking them only takes some of the mystery out of its culture. But this one seems to be misleading, the result of greek hazing from years gone by. It's a draw for losers who have nothing better to do.
And I'm sad to say that, on Halloween night, I was one of those losers.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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EXHIBITIONS AND LECTURES
Cultural Calendar
Exhibition-Kansas Metal smithing: History and Influence, Oct. 31-Nov. 18 and the Art and Design Building Gallery.
Exhibition-Sculptural Concerns: Contemporary American Metalworking, begins Saturday at Spencer Museum of Art.
Tour du Jour- Steve Goddard, curator of prints and drawings, on Netherlandish paintings in the collection, today at 12:15 p.m. at the Medieval Gallery in Spencer Museum of Art. Symposium-"Crafts in Transition: A Critical Discussion of Issues Affecting Contemporary Jewelry and Metal smithing," 9 a.m. Saturday at Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition- Land and Its Uses: Photographs from the Collection, Sept. 3-Dec. 31 at Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition-Spooner Hall Architectural Drawings, Sept. 17-Nov.13 at Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition- American Arts & Crafts: Virtue In Design, Oct. 8-Nov.27 at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St., Kansas City, Mo.
PERFORMANCES
Concert-University Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m.Friday at the Lied Center. Tickets $6 public, $3 students and senior citizens.
public, $3 students and senior citizens. KU Opera presents "The Medium" and "The Telephone," 7:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Inge Theatre. Tickets $6 public, $3 students and senior citizens. Faculty Recital- Scott Watson, tuba, 7:30 p.m. Monday at Swarthout Recital Hall. Chamber Music Recital-University Camerata, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Swarthout Recital Hall. Honor Recital- Undergraduate Music, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Swarthout Recital Hall. Visiting Artists Series-John McCloud, violin, and Janice Wenger, piano, 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Swarthout Recital Hall.