Stephen King, the mystery woman and the unlocked window: Methodist Church burglarized in Durham

In the Durham Historical Society archives is an old newspaper photo of author Stephen King giving a sermon at the Methodist Church not far from his childhood home.

In that photo, several items can be seen. Among them: a flag, a cross and a memorial plaque hanging on a wall. All of those items are gone now after a series of break-ins at the church on Runaround Pond Road — break-ins that culminated Tuesday with a mysterious woman walking out of the locked church in the dark of night. Among the items taken was a plaque, hung on the the front of the building in 2003 to designate the 214-year-old church as listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Some items seemed to be targeted so specifically Wilson cannot help but think that it is somehow related to King and that 1984 photo of the famed author at the pulpit. King fans, of course, are known to be passionate about collectibles, although most would likely balk at stealing them from a place of worship. “I think there’s something morbid going on,” said Tia Nadeau Wilson, chairwoman of the Durham Historical Society.

“I sent out over a hundred emails today to historical societies, pawn shops, antique stores, scrap metal businesses,” Wilson said. “I reached out to anybody and everybody I could, really.” Her curiosity was also piqued by a neighbor’s story about seeing a lone figure walking out of the church Tuesday night. When the neighbor called out to the figure, a woman’s voice answered back before that woman got into her car and drove off. The thefts were discovered a short time later.

The church, standing not far from the corner at Route 9, has always been a cherished landmark, and not only because of the King connection. The church was built in 1805 and modernized in 1867. The congregation for which it was built grew out of a Methodist revival meeting held at the site in 1804, according to Wikipedia. It was one of the first Methodist congregations in the state and it is said to be the second oldest in all of New England.

https://www.sunjournal.com/2019/07/11/stephen-king-the-mystery-woman-and-the-unlocked-window-methodist-church-burglarized-in-durham/

A 1984 Sun Journal photo of author Stephen King
delivering a sermon at the Methodist Church in Durham.