A Psychiatric Diary Carved into the Trees of Perryville (11 photos)

Perryville Park in Maryland, located near the Perry Point Veterans Hospital, is home to about a hundred mature trees.





But they're not silent like their regular counterparts. They whisper.



Their bark is covered in writing that could easily be called the graffiti of madness.





This land once belonged to a military rehabilitation center, where soldiers broken by the war lived out their final days.



When going for a walk in the park, patients left messages. Not in the "Johnny Was Here" style, but a real cry from the abyss.



Some have a brief, desperate message carved into them, like a gunshot:

"Help."

"Murder."

"Police."



Other trees became pulpits for mad preachers:

"King of kings and Lord of lords."

"The Battle of Armageddon is already here."

"Christ personally told the police: World War II never happened."



But the most chilling inscriptions are the "confessions," carved in a trembling hand:

"The monks didn't want to kill Taylor Holley."

"Eddie Kenney didn't want to kill George Norris, but Saint Ignatius made him."



The name "Nelson Joshnu" (with the date "1958") is repeated over and over. This makes me sad. Perhaps this is one of the most active "writers," whose name has faded into history but remains etched in the bark.



Now, decades later, the trees have changed. The scars on the bark have partially healed, the letters have blurred, becoming, however, even more frightening.



Locals try to keep tourists away, but the inscriptions remain. They await those who wish to hear the voices of those betrayed even by their own bodies and minds.