Skull Tree: R.I.P.

(Photo from Weird U.S.)

Pennsylvania is a state known mostly for it's abundance of natural resources. Oil, coal, natural gas, and most notably timber. They all played an important role in the commonwealth's history.
With all the timber and trees spread throughout the state, it's only natural a few would sprout urban legends of their own.

One of the most famous trees in the keystone state is the skull tree. Located in a remote area, near a reputed cult house, the tree became an entity of it's own. It came to be known as the skull tree due to the erosion of ground around the roots, giving the tree a grimly look of a human skull.

The tree eventually became a nuisance to local homeowners. Young thrill seekers would often scour the back road late at night, hoping for a glimpse of the notorious tree. They would all too often leave their mark behind as well, often littering and tagging trees or street signs. The vandals had become such a disturbance that the township has since had the infamous tree removed. Another outta the way gem destroyed by a few irresponsible hoodlums!

Video ride down devil's road, home of skull tree

Outta the Way! Goes to the Movies part 1

Besides having an a fascination with visiting odd and mysterious places, I also have an obsession with watching odd and mysterious movies. Since visiting all these strange locations has inspired me to write a travel zine about them. I thought I'd share some movies that were inspired by these places as well.

The campy sci-fi classic The Blob, which was filmed outside of Philadelphia inspired us to write a zine just visiting some of the spots made famous by the film. The Colonial theatre in Phoenixville is a great place to start a "Blob" tour, or just take in an art house film the mainstream theatres don't show.

One of the most notorious places we visited was a stretch of rural by-way known as Devils road. This stretch of road is shrouded in tales of Satanism, racial hangings, and even a house of inbred mutants. These are of course just tales, but director M. Night Shyamalan was so intrigued by the area he used it in the filming of The Village. Maybe he was aware of the heinous activity which occurred in the late 1970's on this farm lane. A notorious gang of tractor thieves had four teens buried in a shallow grave nearby. The story is much too detailed for me to give you all the information here. I would advise you to take a look at the film At Close Range, which gives a good dramatization into these heinous murders.

Another film to deal with a grisly murder is Apprentice to Murder. This film delves into the murder in the "hex hollow". It's loosely based on the murder of Nelson Rehmeyer an apparent sorcerer. Donald Sutherland does a fine job portraying the imposing man but the film falls into too much 80's cheese. So grab a bucket of popcorn and take a trip outta the way through the movies.