The abandoned Lake Shawnee Amusement park has a long and sordid past that has lead many of its visitors to believe that the land it sits on is perpetually haunted. The park is normally closed to the public but it is occasionally opened for tours, paranormal investigations, and during October its annual “Dark Carnival”.
The southern West Virginia park was abandoned in 1966, after the accidental deaths of two of its young patrons. But it seems Lake Shawnee’s haunted history reaches much farther back.
History of Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park
The sordid tale of the abandoned Lake Shawnee Amusement Park begins in 1775 when the Clay family became the first white settlers in the area. Several years later, in August of 1783, the Clay’s property was attacked by the Shawnee Native American tribe.
Although Mitchell led a group of men to take revenge on the tribe, the incident left its mark on this land according to local residents. Nothing much happened on the site after that until 1926 when entrepreneur Conley Snidov expressed a desire to build an amusement park there. He felt that the nearby lake complemented his design beautifully.
Oblivious to the location’s bloody past, C.T. Snidow opened the amusement park at Lake Shawnee to cater to families of local coal workers. He built a ferris wheel, rotating swing set, and opened a pond for swimming. However, thins went wrong: a little girl died on the swings. Several years later another disaster struck, when a young boy drowned in the amusement park’s pool.
All told, roughly 6 visitors died during the amusement park’s brief history. This negative reputation led to the official closure of the amusement park in 1966. Since then, it has remained abandoned; the colorful attractions are now rusty and overgrown with plants.
In the 1980s, another businessman approached Lake Shawnee. In addition to purchasing a Ferris wheel, he found a swing ride that seemed to be just like the swings that once thrilled guests. Unfortunately, high insurance prices forced the White family to close their doors for the second and final time after a few short seasons, forcing them to pivot to other activities to keep the land active.
White decided not to risk it and forgot about his idea to build a new amusement park. Instead, this place is now drawing in visitors as one of the most haunted places in the world. The rusting skeletons of the Ferris wheel and swing ride still stand at Lake Shawnee
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How To Get To the Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park
Make an appointment and drive to 470 Matoaka Rd, Rock, WV 24747, USA.
