Lake Shawnee Amusement Park is an abandoned 1900s family fun park along Shawnee lake in Princeton, West Virginia, U.S.A. The amusement park was abandoned later in the 1980s after misfortune followed it as if it were haunted.

Becoming of Lake Shawnee Amusement Park

Lake Shawnee Amusement Park began operations in 1926 when an investor, C.T Snidow purchased the property by the lake and began construction of an amusement park. Initially, the idea was not to build an amusement park but after accessing the vast property, he saw a good investment as a park rather than a homestead. By the end of the construction, the park had a swimming pool, a Ferris wheel, a swing ride, and other recreational facilities that locals loved.

The park did not however have all happy operational years. In 1950, a local girl was crushed to death by a truck that was backing up and failed to see her. Not long afterward, another death was recorded when a young boy again drowned in the swimming pool. These and many other stories that locals were told made them believe the park was cursed. This did not slow business at the park though, thousands of thrill-seekers still flocked to the park for a fun time.

Too many misfortunes

After the two unfortunate deaths that were recorded in the area, inspections by local authorities became more frequent. The park management was required to adhere to all the safety regulations and up-to-date facilities to prevent further accidental deaths. This meant that the park had to reduce the number of visitors to a level that they could manage and ensure their safety.

This did not only lower the motivation of frequent visitors who were barred from entering the property but also reduce the amount of profit that the park made. Lake Shawnee Amusement Park was closed in 1967 after 41 years of operations after several failed health and safety inspections. The owner of the property lost motivation to keep the park running and sold it to one of his employees who still had hopes for the park.

A second chance at life

In 1985, the park was reopened by the new management. They never expected a huge number of visitors a second time but were surprised by the thousands that crowded the park only a week after reopening. The park did not run for long though and the park closed after 3 years of re-run due to high insurance prices. It was at this period that human fossils were discovered forcing the owners to close it permanently as a research field for the local university.

Many believe that the property is haunted. Visitors at the site say several paranormal activities are common, possibly of the young girl and boy that died at the park years back. Some also believe that since the property where the park is located was once a battlefield between natives and white settlers, the bloodshed and several lives that were cut short are the cause of these paranormal activities. Lake Shawnee amusement park is open to tourists at any given time offered by the owner and the family.