STEALING FROM THE DEAD: 21st CENTURY PIRATES AND THEIR BOOTY

A trend has popped up in the hunt for the Tarot Killer and it seems that I’m not the only one doing a bit of digging. No, these people aren’t digging for clues on the Tarot Killer; they are searching for treasures hidden around Indian Mounds. You might think this is weird but in the last three weeks, I’ve talked to three folks hunting for artifacts at the same mounds the Tarot Killer is visiting and it seems there is a long tradition of such activity.

Indian mounds are ancient examples of a culture long gone from these shores and hold invaluable clues to the people that lived here prior to us current dwellers. The thing is, many of them are also thought to contain treasure and are therefore often desecrated by those looking to make a quick buck. Most or all are protected now, but it’s often the case of too little, too late and many have been looted to the extreme.

So, now that the mounds are protected or robbed blind, what is the draw? Is it people like Lizzie Riley? In each of her podcasts, she mentions a location that leads to an Indian mound and then days later someone uncovers such valuables as broken records and old checkbooks. Oh the discovery! Can you even ebay this crap? Is this a new twist on geocaching, best described as a global game of hiding and seeking treasure using GPS technology?

What troubles this reporter is that many of these places are sacred sites. For example, according to the website of Mounds State Park in Anderson, they were built around 150 B.C. by the Adena and Hopewell cultures for religious ceremonies and would doubtlessly contain items of deep religious and cultural significance. Perhaps even graves.

Does this mean the TK is a grave robber as well as a killer? Is there another reason he keeps popping up at these mounds? Clearly there's some ritual he's trying to perform or something he's looking for at these places, but what's the significance? (See related article for my thoughts on this and other subjects.) It is hard to imagine that the Tarot Killer is a serial killer who simply likes to raid the dead on his "off days."

According to various sources, there are clearly other aspects to these formations than simple monuments. Some align with the sun on specific dates, other with the moon and it is these aspects that attract a wholly different group of people, ones not entirely rooted in what we might call "this world." To some people, the "treasures" contained in around these sites are not of a monetary nature but of a spiritual or mystical one.

It's much more likely that it's the "mystical" aspect of this increasingly disturbing tale that has sort of a pull on the TK as well as those intrepid young men and women who have risked life and limb to beat this fiend to those hidden caches. While the found items are not of ancient origin, they are found on sacred ground and may indeed have a far deeper meaning than their "simple" modern forms and the ban on looting these sites likely puts them at risk of a questioning by the authorities!

And lest you think that the mounds are all about ancient cultures and their artifacts, there have been some modern-day sightings near the Anderson mounds of something called a Pukwudgie, according to a site called Dark Destinations. Apparently they're small glowing, grey-skinned trolls, about the size of a toddler. They have big noses, ears and fingers and can apparently shapeshift. Here's the kicker: They're killers and are reputed to be able to control the spirits of their victims, using them to lure more unsuspecting victims to their death.

Curious. I wonder if this is what happened to the Compton boy. Some locals in Anderson were heard talking about some kid named George Compton who made a trek out to the mounds with some friends and came back a mumbling shut in. Oh...he came back alone and no trace was found of his friends. Could this be how it happens? Could something in the sounds recorded by Lizzie Riley and her scouts be what turned the TK into what he's become? Could George Compton be next? Did Chixor and the others barely avoid this fate when they risked life and limb digging around for what appears to be a little box of crap?