“Discover verdant forests, majestic scenery, and cosmic terror.” That’s the tagline on this eye-catching poster for Mystery Flesh Pit National Park. Never heard of the place? Don’t feel bad. After all, this strange and intriguing park never actually existed.
Let’s start this strange tale from the beginning. In 2019, artist Trevor Roberts (StrangeVehicles on Reddit) created a Mystery Flesh Pit National Park tourism poster. The poster depicts a cavern full of a strange, red substance — the park’s eponymous mystery flesh, one would assume. Roberts shared his poster design in the worldbuilding subreddit, a community where creatives can discuss the fictional worlds they create. As Roberts explained to Snopes, he never intended for people to think the park was real.
“I am surprised that some people believe it is real, as that was never the intention. I do try my best to mimic the style of real NPS brochures and materials through layout, typeface selection, color choices, and general wording, but I had imagined that the absurdity of the basic concept would be enough for someone to see that it was all an art project,” Roberts told Snopes.
So, if Roberts never claimed Mystery Flesh Pit National Park was a real place, how did rumors about it spread across the internet? Apparently, misinformation on Facebook and TikTok helped generate confusion about and interest in the park. Rumors allege that in the 1970s, Mystery Flesh Pit National Park was an actual destination located in Odessa, Texas. A viral Facebook post elaborates on the claims, saying that the park closed in 2007 following a “major disaster with 750 fatalities.”
As Roberts explained, the absurdity of these tales should be enough for people to understand that the park is a work of fiction. Still, it’s easy to see why audiences are so intrigued by the concept. A wealth of incredible Mystery Flesh Pit National Park artwork is available on Roberts’ website, where fascinated readers can further explore the fictional world. You can even snag a Mystery Flesh Pit National Park tourism poster here.