The Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers who owned a small general store and inn in Labette County, Kansas from 1872 to 1873. The family consisted of John Bender, his wife, son, and daughter Kate. They say, Kate was very attractive and outgoing, and thus became a large draw for the Benders’ establishment. She proclaimed herself to be a healer and psychic who could cure sickness and contact the dead. Kate is believed to be the driving force behind the Bender family killings. Now thats some GOOOOD healin’ if ya ask me!

Now if you’ve been paying attention to ‘da media’ or horror movies in general you might see that this ‘type of family’ has been written and re-written in films such as - ‘American Gothic’, Tales from the Crypt (the one starring Tim Curry, he plays all roles too, Mom Dad and even da’Daughter!), House of 1000 Corpses and quite a few I can’t remember at this moment. Those crazy holly(magicalwooden) people and their silly fascinations with dead people!

The Bender’s Killing Method

The Bender family’s home had a large room which was divided by a curtain. If a guest appeared to be wealthy, they would give him a seat of honor with his back to the curtain. Kate would distract the guest, while John Bender and/or his son would come from behind the curtain and strike the guest on the skull with blunt object such as a sledgehammer. The body would then be dragged behind the curtain and thrown down a trap door into a cellar. Once in the cellar, the body would be stripped and then buried somewhere on the property, often in the orchard. Well ya gotta survive out in the middle of nowhere somehow eh?

The Benders Downfall

In the spring of 1873, Dr. William York arrived at the Benders’ Inn. York had visited previously on his trip west and had told his brother, a colonel, about the inn. Dr. York never returned home.

On May 4, 1873, a short time after Dr. York’s disappearance, Colonel York arrived at the inn, explained to the Benders that his brother had gone missing, and asked if they had seen him. They said they had not and suggested the possibility that he had run into trouble with the Indians. Colonel York agreed that this was possible and was served dinner.

The story goes that after dinner, Colonel York was sitting in the front room when he noticed a gold locket under one of the beds. He opened it and was surprised to see his brother’s wife and daughter looking at him. He slipped out and returned the next morning with the sheriff and several deputies, only to find that the Benders had fled. After a search of the Bender property, 11 mounds of earth in the trees and as many as two dozen bodies were reported to have been found later. The first grave revealed the body of Dr. William York. - Well call me presumptious but, I think the Colonel was a bit too’nosey for his own good, he coulda got himself killed

It is not known what happened to the Benders after they fled. Colonel York used his military status to organize an extensive search but found nothing. Several groups of vigilantes were formed to search for them as well. Many stories say that one vigilante group actually caught the Benders and shot all of them but Kate, whom they burned alive. - Yeah I bet they did, or atleast fantasized about doing it after raping her to death

The story spread and the search continued on and off for the next fifty years. Often groups of two travelling women were accused of being Kate Bender and her mother. Two women in Detroit were reportedly extradited on this charge, but the case was never brought to court. - Damn, they woulda made for a good public killin’

Order of Disappearances of Victims:

1869 Joe Sowers - not proven as victim # 1871 Mr. Jones - body found in Drum Creek # 1872 2 unknown men - found on prairie # 1872 Henry McKenzie - body mutilated * 1872 Ben Brown * 1872 W.F. McCrotty * 1873 George Loncher & little girl * 1873 Johnny Boyle * - found in well 1873 Dr. William York * ? John Greary * ? Unknown female * ? Unidentified man * ? Dismembered parts of several victims ** Discovered in Bender’s apple orchard # Found with crushed skulls and slit throats

Three of the Bender hammers, remaining artifacts from the Bloody Bender Inn, were gifted to the Cherryvale museum by the Dick family in 1967. They are displayed in the Museum along with a certified Notary by Cornelius P. Dick, son of LeRoy Dick.

Yes they actually have a museum dedicated to a group of serial killers!
In my opinion, this might take a bit of insanity itself.

The Cherryvale Bender Museum

The Cherryvale Bender Museum opened in May 1961. The museum building was an authentic reconstruction of the clapboard Bender homestead located along the bleak, isolated countryside of the Osage Mission trail during 1871-1873. The museum was located 2-blocks from US Highway 169 in Cherryvale seven miles southwest from the original 1871 Bender southeast Kansas frontier “store and inn”. The black and white picture is from the promotional postcards that were sold to help preserve and maintain the museum. I’m thinking someone might be a little bit obsessed. To take a tour of the Bender Museum Click Here

Source: Wikipedia

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