Cossart, Pennsylvania

Cossart Road is a small, windy stretch of road that cuts through a rural section of Pennsbury Township, PA. The road and surrounding area have been the subject to many urban legends throughout the years, ranging from satanic cults, demonic appearances, secret security and the Dupont family. The stories of Cossart Road have have been featured in many publications. It is the lead story of the book, Weird Pennsylvania [http://books.google.com/books?id=G5VdDdAd5rMC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=weird+pennsylvania+cossart+road&source=web&ots=_arlQUXxnX&sig=TOX_D8RaHgMJGq2UrVOM5pnkAXo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result] written by Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman and has been mentioned in manyPennsylvania and Delaware newspapers during Halloween. The legends have become so popular that vandalism and trespassing have become major problems for the township. On some nights, over 100 cars travel up and down this small rural road in search of the cult house. Because of this, the township had closed the road for a year [http://www.pennsbury.pa.us/supervisor_meeting_minutes/Supervisor%20Meeting%20Minutes%202000-04-03.htm] . While the road is now back open, it is illegal to park or stop on the road. State police also patrol the road heavily and will fine noisy thrillseekers. According to Pennsbury Township, the vandalism along cossart road has cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars as numerous signs must be replaced each month and sometimes even weekly.

Legends

Cult House

The legend of 'The Cult House' is also widely known as 'Satanville', 'Devil's Road', 'Skull Tree Road' and 'Cult House Road'. As the legend states, the "Cult House" is located off Cossart Road in Pennsbury Township. What the 'cult house' actually is varies on who is telling the story, but the two most famous variations are that it's either used as a place of ritual for a satanic cult or it belongs to the estate of the Du Ponts, an extremely wealthy family who have been known to have deranged family members.

KKK on Cossart road

It is also rumored that the Ku Klux Klan have had several meetings on this road. On the particular bend where the trees lean away from the road, is supposedly where the group have committed several lynchings.

kull Tree

Also on the road is a specific tree known mostly as the "Skull Tree", though other names such as the "Fetus Tree" and the "Devil's Tree" have been given. It is given this name because the tree's roots have grown or eroded in such a way that it now appears to take the shape of a human skull. According to Legend, local police had once discovered a dead (or abandoned, in some stories) infant left in the skull-shaped roots of the tree.

Vehicle Chasing/Cossart Security

There are hundreds of accounts of people traveling on Cossart Road that end up getting their car followed at tail-gate length, usually by a Red Pick-Up Truck or SUV. Though the vehicle's type may change, the story remains usually the same. They are followed by another vehicle with their headlights off, very close to the car. They will usually get followed for the entire road, and sometimes a little on other roads. Most, if not all, can and usually are dismissed as teenage pranks. However, it is also rumored that the trucks often seen intimidating people off the road belong to the security on the road, of who they are hired by and why they practice such unsafe and unprofessional security is unknown. There are also many accounts of the "security" trucks being able to turn around in the middle of the very small road, which leads to rumors about secret paths or supernatural vehicles, as well as no one being able to clearly see the drivers face.

Truth/Debunk

Explanations for the different legends have been given and many of the myths of been debunked by various different people [http://steveinmaine.blogspot.com/2007/10/if-i-ever-manage-to-get-totally-random.html] . The most notable debunking of the legend was a documentary done by the Delaware Valley Paranormal Association(Formerly BBH Productionz) [http://www.delvalparanormal.org/culthouse/cultdocumentary.html]

Movies

M. Night Shyamalan's film, "The Village", was shot in a field off Cossart Road. The spot was chosen because they could not find any other location in their preferred spots, not, as some might have you believe, because of the many urban legends on the road.

The Delaware Valley Paranormal Association's(Formerly BBH Productionz) documentary entitled, [http://www.delvalparanormal.org/culthouse/cultdocumentary.html "The Truth About Cult House"] , was released on Halloween 2007. The video covers the all the different legends of cossart road and claims to prove/disprove the different stories.

Reputedly, parts of the movie "At Close Range," based on the true story of the Johnston Gang, were filmed on Cossart Road, and three teenaged murder victims of the Gang were shot and buried in a field nearby. See the Wikipedia article "Bruce Johnston (criminal)".

References

External links

1. The official Website Of the Delaware Valley Paranormal Association [http://www.delvalparanormal.org] .2. Link to a 500 post forum topic on Cossart Road [http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52529]