Eerie. Abandoned. Famous as one of the most terrifyingly haunted spots in the world. And in West Virginia, to boot. Can you guess which infamous attraction we’re alluding to? Hint: this eerie, haunted gem is an amusement park…
Lake Shawnee Amusement Park outside of Princeton, West Virginia, of course. The history of what is now the Lake Shawnee area began over 2,000 years ago, with the Shawnee Indians, who lived -- and died -- here.
Modern archaeological digs have unearthed many artifacts bearing witness to the presence of this famous Native American tribe and proving that the earliest use of the Lake Shawnee Amusement Park property included a sacred Shawnee burial ground. What's more, many of the skeletons unearthed here belonged to children.
The earliest white settlers in Mercer County, the Clays moved to the Lake Shawnee area in 1775. Parents Mitchell and Phoebe raised their 16 children here -- three of whom were massacred by Shawnee attackers in 1783.
A stone on site still marks the graves of these young people. But there's even more: furious, Clay massacred several Native Americans himself in retaliation for the deaths of his children.
Fast forward a bit to the roaring 1920s, when Conley Snidow built an amusement park beside Lake Shawnee. Visitors flocked to the park for fun and games -- but it wasn't all fun and games.
In forty years, at least six people died at this amusement park, and at least two of those six were young children. Finally, in the sixties, the park was abandoned, as it is to this day.
All that to say, Lake Shawnee has an eerie history. According to Travel Channel, it's one of the most terrifying places in America. According to the folks at ABC News, it's one of the ten most haunted places in the world. And you can still visit it yourself, if you call ahead.
