To Tread
Among Serpents
by Benjamin Nunnally
I
t’s not often that a play happens to be based on local
lore for Calhoun County residents, but JSU’s upcoming
production of “To Tread Among Serpents” is at least one
case.
The Southern Playwrights Competition-winning play takes a
loose look at one of Calhoun County’s most infamous tales,
the grisly 1959 Rabbittown murders, using the story as an
opportunity to explore the effect of irresponsible journalism
on high profile criminal cases. Though the fictionalized version of events is sure to be entertaining, it might be that the
truth is stranger.
THE HISTORY
Though it’s known as an axe murder to most, Viola Hyatt
killed Lee and Emmett Harper with a double-barreled shot
April 2015
INSIGHT