From Darkness It Comes
Port Chupal Settlement
The site once know as the Chupal Settlement, and now home to Northern State University, had a long and dark history. Even before the early settlers moved into the area in the 1620's the history of the area was filled with tales of murder and death. Since the natives never kept written records little is known of what the Indian legends tell of this area before the settlers came. All that is known is that a tribe known as the Shupal resided in the area and all other Indian tribes gave the valley a wide berth.
It is said that the Shupal were believed to be in league with the Raven, only they took their worship so deep that even the Raven turned away from them in fear and disgust. They became creatures of shadow and darkness, leaving their human skin and souls behind. They captured those who wandered into their area, or even sent out raiding parties to take people from farther out, and sacrificed them in the name of Raven. Beyond this little is known of them since nearly none who wandered into their land ever came out again.
European settlers in the area heeded the local tribes' warnings about the Shupal for many years, but were soon running out of good land the form settlements and valley of the Shupal was prime riverfront property. In the middle of 1625 settlers, with the aid of a small armed force, moved in and wiped out the Shupal. The tribe fought them with everything they had and would not stop until all were dead on one side or another. In this case the local settlers defeated the tribe and raised their land, but did not feel like moving in after what they saw there. The remains of Shupal tribal village was filled with items made of human remains and violent imagery, with the Raven image prominently displayed everywhere.
It was over two years before anyone reentered the area. Late in 1627 some new settlers to the area ignored the warnings of the locals and moved into the valley, forming a small settlement on the site. In defiance of the locals they named it the Chupal Settlement, not knowing they had the spelling and pronunciation wrong. None of the locals would have anything to do with the settlement, so it grew very slowly, gaining less than ten new permanent residents in the next 20 years.
In the early days of the settlement the leader was a religious man known as Elder Charles Monroe. He not only blessed the land when they formed the settlement, but he was in charge of cleansing the evil spirits of the valley left by the natives. As the years went on he become more active in this charge, which started to take a toll on the rest of the settlement since he ignored the rest of his duties as leader. His obsession got the best of him in 1642 when one of his congregation found him dead in his church, having hung himself naked from the rafters after carving several religious symbols in his flesh.
With Elder Monroe's death the settlement sought new leadership and chose a young man by the name of Frances Dorman to take the position. He was more of a leader and less of religious zealot, which allowed the settlement to grow more rapidly and form strong trade agreements many other local settlement and villages.
Having grown so much in the next 20 years under Dorman's leadership the settlement became an official organized village, called the Port Chupal Settlement, in 1661. Growth continues and the village became a major port of call for travel up and down the river. Dorman's leadership was pristine and everything seemed so good that it was putting the dark times behind them. But they soon came back.
In 1670 a boat of travelers arrived in the village and without warning started murdering people in the streets. They appeared to be crazed with a bloodthirsty lust for death and destruction, but some of the local religious faithful said they were possessed by demons. Before they were all killed or captured they managed to murder 13 locals and wound 27 others. 6 of the wounded died of the complications within the next week. The only murderous traveler captured alive said he didn't remember doing any of it and was put to death after a quick trial a week later.
For both protection and political standing the village formed an official township in 1674. Dropping the Settlement part of the name, Port Chupal officially became a part of the local government and was added to the official maps. As such it was assigned a local Governor and had a new local government created. Dorman was given a position in this new government, but it was more as a gesture to the locals since he held no actual power any more. He died two years later in his sleep.
The Township grew steadily, but slowly, over the next several years and saw trade increase steadily as well. Port Chupal became of the most regularly used stops along the river trade routs and taxes made its wealth grow just as fast. The politicians grew rich and the church stepped in to take the power. Together they led the port as a bastion of faith and trade.
Some did not like the control the Governor gave the church and started to work against them, mostly trying to use legal means of changing the government but also forming a secret society with the sole purpose of removing the restrictions. They called themselves the The Freeport Five.
It didn't last long though because the church and local government used what they saw happen in Salem the year before and started their own Witch Hunt. In 1663 the leaders of the community outted the five leaders of the FF as witches in league with the devil and had them publicly executed. They didn't stop there though, supporters were also arrested and many of them also executed. Before the Governor, under pressure from his superiors, put an end to the hunt there were 13 executions and 36 other arrests. Most of those arrested weren't released for nearly a year even after the end of the hunt.
Although the Witch Hunt was over the perpetrators of it were still in power and Port Chupal saw a large decline in the following years. People moved out for fear of the government and trade declined due to the ever growing taxation imposed to keep up the income the Governor came to expect. Even his replacements continued this trend and ties to the church, so by 1710 the population of Port Chupal dropped to less than a quarter of what it was at its height.
In 1719 a large number of locals started to disappear mysteriously. At first it was just some of the local transients but then some more prominent residents started to disappear from the streets at night. A curfew was put in place, but that didn't stop the disappearances. Armed forces that were set to patrol at night were even starting to disappear, but when one of them was finally found they put it down as an animal attack. The body was mangled and torn apart.
In revenge the townsfolk sent out an armed militia to hunt down every bear and large animal in the area. 17 bears and 33 wolves and other dogs were killed. The disappearances ended, so they believed the creature to blame was taken care of in the hunt. Unfortunately this did not appease the locals who kept leaving the area in even larger numbers now.
In 1732 Port Chupal lost its standing as a township and the Governor was moved out. Control was returned to the locals and it was reduced to settlement status again. In the power void the church took complete control and all non-believers left within the next year for fear of what the leaders might do to them. By 1739 the Port Chupal Settlement became a true church settlement and closed itself off from most outsiders for anything except the occasional trade deal.
Little is known what went on there from this point forward since the church didn't allow outsiders within the walls of the settlement. And nothing was ever found out later since something mysterious happened in 1746 that wiped out the entire population.
The next time one of the trade groups took their wares to Port Chupal they came across the grizzly sight of what was left. The vague reports say the village was nearly all burned down and coated with dried blood and body parts. Those who went to the village could barely talk when they returned and several of them committed suicide soon after returning. The rest had to be committed or restrained as it caused them to go crazy. Nothing they said about Port Chupal was ever taken at face value. Despite this no further trips to the site were taken for fear of what would happen to them.
The legend of the site only grew in coming years as tales of not only Port Chupal spread but the Indian tales of the old Shupal tribe returned. The site was said to be cursed and that ghosts and demons walked the land. Time didn't diminish the legends and site of the settlement remained clear and unsettled for nearly 100 years.
In 1832 the land was purchased for less than $100 from the local government, even after several warning against it, by an educational organization led by Gabriel Satterholm. Two years later they opened Northern State University, which still stands on the spot. As a side note Gabriel Satterholm, first Dean of the school, disappeared in mysterious circumstances in 1840. Some say the darkness of the place still resides in the site, due to fires, deaths and disappearances over the years, but the locals say none of these events are anything more than normal accidents and human acts common to all large colleges over the years.