A Tompkins County community is forced to relive some painful memories as a result of a new documentary series.

"Village of the Damned" is based on a string of horrific events that took place from the late 1980s through 1990s in the small town of Dryden and surrounding areas. The first of five episodes aired Tuesday on the Investigation Discovery channel.

According to the documentary, 13 victims were affected by tragedies and murder over the course of a decade. It began with the murder of the Harris family in 1989. Then years later, two cheerleaders were house sitting before they were attacked, abducted and taken to a nearby cabin where they were killed. Police found their remains scattered throughout different locations in Chenango County.

And the last incident happened in 1999 where former cheerleader Katie Savino died in a car accident.

In between those years, there were other incidents such as shootings and car crashes. None of the incidents were related, but many outsiders believed the town was cursed.

Residents, on the other hand, say that’s the wrong depiction, and many want to leave that chapter behind them.

“The people who are still here that were affected by that, their families and their extended families, want to leave it in the past," said Dryden Mayor Randy Sterling. "It’s a wound that has healed, and this is like tearing the scab off. People have turned to their faith. We’ve got about six churches here in the village, and people have recovered. It’s still in the past, so let’s leave it in the past."

The mayor says the first episode was fairly accurate, but some parts were not. Many just hope the documentary doesn’t paint a bad picture of their community.