Sacramento, CA — It was another normal Saturday for Sacramento woman Jess Hamilton and her daughter Emma. All week, her 8-year-old reminded her mother that she promised a trip to Fairytale Town in the southern part of the city. When the day came, both hopped in their Hyundai and drove south from their Natomas home towards the children’s park.
“Emma had been so good all week,” said the single mother of two. “I convinced her Father to take her older brother for the weekend so Emma and I could go to Fairytale Town. But be we got to the park, I have to be honest, I was freaked out.”
When the two arrived, Emma was filled to the brim with excitement. And nothing pleased her mother more than that. Money had been tight for the past year, with Jess working two jobs to pay the rent on their modest two-bedroom apartment.
“I had to drop out of school when Dan [her ex-husband] and I got divorced,” continued Ms. Hamilton, “and get another job to support myself and the kids. So that didn’t leave the time nor the money for doing anything fun like this.”
At first, as Jess made her way through the park, she didn’t notice anything out of the usual.
“I mean there seemed to be a lot more people just standing around, but I didn’t think much of it. I was more worried about finding parking.”
However, as they drove around the corner and approached the main Fairytale Town gate, they were confronted but hundreds of people “just standing still and staring,” according to Jess.
“I thought it was some theater thing. You know, some weird, silent flashmob. But when we came around the corner, there were hundreds of people. Somewhere not still, but shaking. You know, like they had some seizure or something. My brother has epilepsy, so I know shaking. Anyhow, I pulled out my camera and started to film.”
As the two made their way towards the gate and got out of their car, both sprinted towards the entrance to report the incident. They ran into the gift shop and asked to speak to the manager. Jim Madison, who has been managing Fairytale Town for over 15 years, said the two were quite scared.
“They were both out of breath,” recalled Mr. Madison. “They were saying something about zombies or something. It sounded a bit crazy to me. So I told them I would go outside and have a look. But when I did that, there wasn’t a single soul in the entire park. So who knows? Carbon monoxide or something in their car, I suppose.”
Although Mr. Madison was polite, Jess became even more concerned when he told them that there was no one outside but a few squirrels.
“I couldn’t believe it, to be honest,” said Ms. Hamilton. “So I went out and looked for myself. And sure enough, everyone had vanished. Like it never happened. I’m just glad I have it on my phone.”
Authorities have reviewed Ms. Hamilton’s cell phone footage, and have not released comment.
