Random Details about Cursed Amusement Park With A Bloody History (10 items)

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  (#9) Conley T. Snidow Was Unaware Of The Land's Bloody History When He Opened The Park In 1926

  Conley T. Snidow had no knowledge of the many tragic events when he purchased the land where the Clay farm once stood. Snidow opened Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in 1926, and the site quickly became a favorite destination for many local coal miners and their families.

  The park featured Wild West shows and a pond where guests could ride down water slides and rent a bathing suit for 15 cents. Additionally, the park gained a dance hall and carnival rides in the 1950s, attracting even bigger crowds.

  More and more people came to play, and the park's success looked like a sure thing. However, when people began dying there, visitors had understandably less desire to patronize the park. After operating for 40 years, Lake Shawnee shut down in 1966, after as many as six people died on park attractions.
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  (#2) A Girl In A Bloody Dress Allegedly Wanders The Grounds

  A little girl who died on the swing ride is probably Lake Shawnee's most famous ghost. She often appears in the bloody pink dress she was wearing the day she died. Her presence is often felt near the swings, and people have noticed them moving by themselves with a warm spot in the middle of the seat, surrounded by cold-blowing air.

  Sometimes she's spotted walking around enjoying other areas of the park. Gaylord White II - son of Gaylord White Sr., who bought the park in 1986 - ran into her and remembered, "She looked at me, and as long as she looked at me, I couldn't move."

  He also claimed his father used to feel a weight on his shoulders when mowing the grass with a tractor; one day, his father turned to find the little girl riding along with him. He decided she wanted the tractor and left it for her, where it still sits today.
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  (#7) A Young Girl Was Killed On The Swings When A Truck Backed Into Her

  In 1966, a girl was riding on the swings when a large soda delivery truck backed into the ride's path. The unfortunate girl was killed when a truck slammed into her. Witnesses remembered seeing her pretty pink dress stained with blood.

  After the pool incident and rumors about the estate's haunted past, the girl's death sealed the park's reputation as a place where children were unsafe. Forced to close down, Lake Shawnee left a few small structures standing, a creepy marker of what took place there.
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  (#6) After A Boy Mysteriously Drowned In The Park's Pool, It Was Filled With Sand And Never Mentioned Again

  According to owner Chris White, a young boy died on July 3, 1966. The boy's mother dropped him off at the park in the morning, but was unable to find him when she returned. Workers eventually discovered his body in the pool.

  Some stories allege he was found floating in the water. Others claim one of his arms got stuck in the drain and he was unable to come up for air. After the accident, Lake Shawnee closed the pool and filled it with sand. The boy's death wasn't talked about after the incident, but it was unfortunately not the last time death visited the park.
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  (#3) Visitors Have Heard Chanting, Seen A Man On The Ferris Wheel, And Been Trapped In The Ticket Booth

  Visitors to Lake Shawnee have reported seeing rides moving on their own and glowing orbs floating around. Several people claim to have heard Native American chanting, and more than one person has seen an apparition sitting in the same Ferris wheel car.

  ABC's Scariest Places on Earth filmed there in 2005, and both the crew and the psychic they were working with refused to enter the park grounds at night due to the intense energy.

  Discovery Channel visited as well for an episode of Ghost Lab, and one crew member claims she was trapped inside the old ticket booth. Despite pushing on the door, it wouldn't open, and she had to scream for help to escape. She was so panicked, she went to the hospital once she was freed.
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  (#4) In 1783, Native Americans Murdered Three Members Of The Clay Family On The Same Land

  The Clay family were immigrants from Europe and settled on their piece of West Virginia land in 1775. Unfortunately, they had no idea it was actually a Native American burial ground, and local natives were upset by their arrival.

  One day in August 1783, Mitchell Clay left the farm to hunt while his two sons, Bartley and Ezekial, built a fence and one daughter, Tabitha, washed laundry. A small group of Shawnee ambushed the two boys, shot Bartley dead, and stabbed Clay's daughter to death when she tried to run toward the house.

  Clay's wife escaped by running with the remaining children to a neighbor several miles away. With no one left to attack, the Shawnee headed home with Clay's other son, Ezekial, as their captive, later burning him alive at the stake. Clay returned to find his family either massacred or missing, and vowed revenge on the Shawnee. 

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