Maryland’s Cecil County is home to many interesting parks, but none more mysterious and disturbing than the Perryville Community Park, in Perryville, where around 100 trees are marked by eerie messages left by patients from a veteran psychiatric and rehabilitation center, decades ago.
Before becoming a public park, the land was owned by the nearby Perry Point VA Hospital, and some of its former patients carved their disturbed thoughts into the trees. Over time, the words and drawings etched into the tree bark have grown larger, drawing the attention of curious passers-by. Interestingly, even though the mark trees of Perryville Community Park have become quite popular among fans of eerie tourist attractions, and even gotten their own Wikipedia entry, few residents of the Maryland town know about them and their history.
Most of the carved trees of Perryville Park feature single disturbing words, like “Murder,” “Help” and “Police,” but there are also military-related words and phrases, like “Infantry,” “Armory,” “MP,” religious writings, like “King of King and Lord of Lords,” “All authority is given unto He in Heaven and Earth,”, “Battle of Armageddon,” “The gate of heaven is open,”, and even political references, like the name “Nixon” carved next to the word “Repent”.
Some of the most disturbing phrases carved into the trees are “Eddie Kenny did not want to murder George Norris but St. Ignatius made him,” “Christ said to police there was no Second World War,” and “Monks didnt Want to Murder Taylor Holly,” “October 18, 1960 The City of Baltimore has not believed yet — Saint Callender — police,” and “Baby Lindbergh was murdered by Wheedle who is a C&P Telephone man, not a Baltimore rumor, a Newark story.”
The years etched into the trees date back to 1911, but the most mentioned year is 1958, along with the name “Nelson Jonchou”, which many believe belonged to one of the veterans once admitted at Perry Point Hospital.
Unraveling the story behind every carved tree in Perryville Community Park is an impossible task for all but the most dedicated researchers, but to me, they remain a testament to the horrors of war and its effect on the human mind.
For more mysterious tree attractions, check out Britain’s coin-covered trees.
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