The Mysterious Abandoned Playground In Mississippi That Will Send Shivers Down Your Spine
By Daniella DiRienzo|Published October 29, 2018
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Daniella DiRienzo
Author
Though Daniella was born in New York and has lived in a couple of other states, Mississippi has been her home for more than 30 years. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Daniella began to hone her writing skills through various internships. In the years since, she’s had the privilege of having her articles appear in several publications, such as the Mississippi-based Parents & Kids Magazine. She’s also had the honor of interviewing actress Sela Ward for The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience.
Vicksburg is home to some great historic sites, attractions, and restaurants. It’s also home to an abandoned playground that, depending on who you ask, is a favorite of Bigfoot. Full of old equipment and overgrown grass and shrubbery, the abandoned park is definitely a bit on the eerie side – whether or not Bigfoot makes an appearance. Read on to learn about the mysterious playground.
This is New Mt. Elem Church in Vicksburg. It appears to be a typical church, and it is. It’s what lies just beyond the church’s parking lot that makes it special.
The church is located at 3014 Wisconsin Ave., Vicksburg, MS 39180.
Just a short walk from the church’s parking lot, you’ll find an abandoned playground. A dirt path leads from the parking lot, around a corner, and straight to the park.
Though the playground seems to be long forgotten about, it’s made national headlines in recent years. And that’s because two men, on separate occasions, claimed to find evidence of Bigfoot in the park.
According to Childers, an investigator for Delta Paranormal Project, the sighting took place in November 2013, while he was in the park searching for evidence of paranormal activity.
He went on to say, "There was definitely a shaggy coat to it, like a grayish-brown color. When it made the noise that spooked me, I looked over, and it looked like it stood up and just bolted off."
In August of 2014, Peyton Lassiter was working near the park when he came across something unusual - a 9" X 6" print with "ridges similar to human prints."
Regarding the ridges, Lassiter noted, "There are only two species that have that. Number one, humans, and primates. Bears don’t have fingerprint-like impressions on the skin of the foot, so that kind of changes the game a little bit." Even stranger, Lassiter found strands of gray hair near the footprint, which lines up with Childers account.
After his experience, Lassiter began doing some research and quickly learned that stories of Bigfoot have long been associated with the area. The earliest sighting was reported by a priest in Natchez in 1721.
