The year is 1873; you‘re traveling through Kansas on a trip to the great northwest with the hopes of starting a new business. The elements are as deadly as the natives are and after days of travel with little water and food, you come across a young and quite beautiful woman standing outside of a charming home.

She introduces herself as Kate Bender, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Bender, but laughingly says, “everyone just calls them Ma and Pa though.” As the pleasant conversation proceeds, she asks if you need a place to stay for the night and perhaps a hot meal. Considering the next town may be days away, you accept the invitation with little thought. As you enter the home, the warmth from a cozy fire shakes your cold hands with a firm grip and the scent of a hot meal on the stove welcomes you with a devilish hunger. The feeling of home makes you bow your head and say a silent prayer for the Lord’s guidance.

After meeting Ma, Pa and John Jr., you’re seated at the table with your back turned to the room that’s closed off with a curtain. Of-course, it caught your eye as being a little strange when you entered, but the warm hospitality of the Benders caused you to class it as a family oddity of some sort. While the conversation roars like a fire out of control, you notice a trap door in the center of the floor. Once again, another oddity, one that every family probably has if you were invited in homes at random. Easily forgotten as the fire starts to die, and you think whether it would be rude to retire so early.

As you start to hint about your exhaustion, you’re knocked out of the chair with one mighty blow that lands you right in front of the trap door that had your attention moments earlier. Before your injured brain can command your body to stand up, another blow crushes your head. As the blood starts to burn your eyes, and what little vision you have left begins to escape, the final blow from Kate ends your life. Then she cuts your throat and Pa and John Jr. drag your limp body to the trap door and throw it down into the cellar.

Sound a little far-fetched? Well, it really happened to at least 11 people traveling Osage Trail between the years of 1871 and 1873. The Bender family settled in the outskirts of what is now called Cherry Vale with a group of spiritualists in 1871. The family, who only used the name Bender, was actually not related at all, with exception of Kate, who was the daughter of Ma Bender. Kate and her mother’s last name was Griffith, used from a previous marriage, Pa, or John Sr.’s last name was Flickinger and John Jr.’s real last name was Geghardt.

The Topeka Daily Capital, on January 13 1886, printed an article pertaining to the disturbing events discovered at a wayside inn in the year of 1873, in the town of Cherry Vale Kansas. These events, at the time, were unheard of for several reasons – mostly because of technology, not to mention Christian scrutiny. However, even during those times, mass media couldn’t overlook the devastating effects of serial killers and so, some like the Bender family happened to be recorded.

This is why I find myself lost at times doing this section. My girlfriend pulls serial killers out of a hat like rabbits by the hundreds for me to pick from and sometimes not even I believe they’re true. Then she prints out page after page of documentation for me to investigate until I find myself consumed with shock and awe. Positively, every document that I found about the Benders put the family in the town of Cherry Vale around 1871. One source said that they had settled there as a religious cult around that time. All the documentation I found also Indicated that the family owned a wayside inn along the Osage trail, sometimes called the Osage Mission Scott-Ford Road.

The most dominant fact in this case is that the Benders were never brought to justice. Their demise came when a young woman from eastern Kansas went searching for her husband. During her search, she stumbled across the Bender house to stay for the night, where she later found a locket that belonged to her husband lying on a stand. Before she could run away, she was taken to her room to retire for the night. With her horrifying discovery she planned to sneak out after the house was quiet. While she waited, she noticed a wagon with a lantern out in the orchard; it was then that she decided to make her escape. After making it out of the house she slept in fear until morning when she reported the family to authorities.

Their house was found empty and the Bender’s horse and wagon were found not far away. A mob was formed to hunt the family down, yet they were never found. The hammers used to butcher weary travelers were put on display at the Cherry Vale Museum in 1969. As far as I know, the hammers are still there.

So, the next time you find yourself lost on some deserted road and a nice enough stranger offers you a hot meal and a room till the next day, remember the Benders – or I may be writing a campfire tale about you in the future.