Warlock Country

Warlock Country, also sometimes referred to as Warlock Woods - and lesser known as Morlock Country, was a name given to the large patch of undeveloped land, formerly known as Thompsonville, that covered the areas north and south of Lavallet subdivision to north of Wimbledon Drive, then east of the then-unpaved, red clay Spanish Trail to west of Scenic Highway. The name became popular during the mid-1960's, and lasted until the late 1970's or early 1980's, when development divided the area into smaller pieces of wooded acreage, roads were marked, and the first signs of residential development were made visible.

How the area got its name is subject to conjecture, but most likely a hoax. There were no serious reports of actual, effective witchcraft that took place, although a few groups of black-hooded, late night candle burners were rumored to have gathered there. Somewhere along the line, a rumor was started that a train carrying a number of people with diminished mental capacities and tendencies toward aberrant behavior derailed, and the occupants escaped into the nearby area. Hence the lesser-known name of Morlock Country (from The Time Machine story). In spite of the tales, it was mostly used as a getaway for teenagers who needed a place to illegally consume alcohol, race cars and motorcycles, and just act wild. Another common practice was to tell a person unfamiliar with the area some of the stories concerning it, then drive them out there and abandon them.

The early-years proximity of a local bar known as The Chimney Restaurant may have provided many an audience or even participant in local shenanigans. It closed some time around 1964.

What could have added to its mystique was the fact that much of it was on a rolling, hilly terrain, and had many winding trails and one-lane dirt roads that once led to Thompson family homesteads. It's northeast portion, located near what is now Scenic Highway and Langley Avenue, was a swamp. This was also when there was still much wildlife such as foxes, coyotes, and maybe even a few wolves (as late as the 1980's, there were actual reports of wolves in that area).

All in all, it was mostly just a large undeveloped patch of woods that the frequenters didn't want any little children, especially their younger siblings, going to.