We met at Boling Park and ran the trails back to New Hightower Church and back. We ended up seeing an Armadillo, 8-10 deer, and a wild hog!

Hightower Baptist Church was founded in the 1830’s and when Canton was home to farmers, gold miners, and Native Americans. The cemetery has around 900 Graves, the earliest dating back to 1844.

It’s been told that in the 70’s and 80’s there wwas satanic worship rituals performed here. In the 1980’s a boy was found behind the church in the woods dead. It’s been said he was a human sacrifice. The tree in front of the cemetery is called the “Bleeding Tree” which guards over their eternal rest and has been said to be the hanging tree for human sacrifices.

In March 1990, vandals burned down the church. The fire was started by Michael Douglas Priest Jr. He and his friends were trying to punish Jack Howard Potts for kidnapping and killing his father Michael Douglas Priest 16 years prior. He damaged over 40 tombstones, burned hymnals,  and vandalized the church causing over $100,000 in damages.

To this day, the church is said to be haunted. People have reported hearing organ music, seeing figures and lights in the church and on the church grounds when no one is there.

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We did get lost on the trail back… Lt. Dan thought he knew the trail, but it got thicker and thicker into brush and trees. We had to turn back and go back to the church and head back the trail we went out on instead. In the thick brush, we did see a wild hog, so it wasn’t all for nothing.

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Once we got back to the flag, I told the whole story:

Other stories are out there that debunk the “haunting” rumors.  There are claims that all of these rumors started in the 1970’s, when the church became a haven for underage parties.  Teenagers were hanging out and drinking on the grounds, and they started seeing and hearing things.  Their imaginations ran wild after they started hearing music late at night and seeing eyes in the windows.  What they didn’t realize was that a homeless man had taken residence in the woods and the church, and he was making the noises to try to scare people off.

So, don’t always believe the rumors. Yes, there are really satanic worshipers and demons. Satan wants us to believe in them and fear them, but we don’t have to fear because “Perfect love casts out fear” and that perfect love is Jesus Christ. Who was the one and only human sacrifice that could perfectly pay for our sins on the cross. And God loves us so much that He would send His Son, Jesus, to die and pay for our sin penalty. Just like the “Bleeding Tree,” Jesus died on a tree for you and for me. And it’s His blood that forgives and redeems us from the wrath of God. John 3:17-18 says that “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

We ran past 900 tombstones, each one had to make a decision. To believe in Jesus or not. Only God knows your heart. There is only one way to eternal life, and that is through believing in Jesus and his death, burial, and resurrection. We are not garunteed another day on this earth, so what is your choice? Will you believe in Jesus? I would hate to build a friendship with you at F3 and not spend eternity with you in heaven. If you’ve never confessed your faith and belief in Jesus Christ and surrendered your life to Him, make your decision today!