The Haunted Amusement Park Revisited Photo Gallery by Karen Stuebing at pbase.com

The Haunted Amusement Park Revisited

I went back to the site in July, 2005. I spoke to the owner about the property. He is convinced that it is haunted by Indians because the white man took their land. He is trying to reopen it to the public by hosting catfish tournaments and other events. He is committed to preserving it's history. He wondered if it was wise to allow public use given the many paranormal happenings he's experienced there.

All I can say is it creeps me out. I have personally had strange things happen while I was there as well. Carrillion bells playing, an owl standing in the roadway in broad daylight which took off over my head, the smell of smoke with no fires around, rustlings in the brush behind me as I walked along and a feeling of being watched.

So two years later...

Please note. This site is privately owned land. You must contact the landowner first to get permission to visit.

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wv_hokie		29-Sep-2007 21:40
Please, everyone, this haunted Lake Shawnee nonsense has been taken way out of context. I've lived here for all of my 28 years. The way this place was portrayed on World's Scariest Places is an embarrassment to everyone that lives here. This is nothing more than a money making opportunity for the owner of the delapitated park. If you want the real history of this area, go up on the hill across from the lake, which looks down on Lake Shawnee. There is a very large memorial to the Clay family and all the individuals involved with the Indian Attacks. The monumnet is set up almost in a Stonehenge fashion with marble rock outlining a celtic cross. The names of everyone involved, and their stories, are engraved in stone. It is by far a much more dignified way of remembering the victims of the massacre than what is happening now with one of the "world's most scariest places".

JStogdale		20-Aug-2007 17:25
Visited Park on Saturday night, did not know of fishing tourney. It was 4 of us brave enough to go. We walked around and while we were walking the owner drove up. There were probably 100 people fishing but, the owner knew somehow we were there for some other reason...very Erie Feeling , especially at the swing . I wonder if the spirits take a break during the Fishing tourny?

DESIREE		09-Jul-2007 19:30
I JUST WENT THERE FOR THE CATFISH TURNY.MY SISTER INLAW GOSE ALL THE TIME.SHE HAS TOLD ME ABOUT THESE TWO TRAILERS THAT A FAMILY WAS SLAUGHTERD IN AND NO ONE LIVED ,IF THIS IS TRUE WHERE ARE THE PICS OF TRAILERS . I DID NOTICE THAT IT IS ALWAYS COLD THERE AND A REAL HEAVY FOG ROLLS IN ON THE LAKE ABOUT 11:00 PM ,NO WIND WHAT SO EVER,I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE LAKE.

Jennifer		16-Jun-2007 04:55
There was a episode on some reality show where a group of people went here to investigate. It was awesome, lots happened on tape. Does anybody by any chance recall waht that was! Let me know PLEASE!

lindsey		13-May-2007 22:51
lindsey, This place is really haunted i'v been there when they had hauntedhouse at halloween this place is really haunted.It freaks me outand every bodt that goes there

terena and timmy		24-Apr-2007 04:52
Has anyone looked close enough at the pictures above to realize that one of the ferris wheel seats are half-way open in one pics but closed in the other???? Can someone explain that??

joanne		30-Mar-2007 00:21
Where is this park located? I would love to go here to take some photos for a photo class. If anyone else has any ideas about closed amusement parks I would like to hear them :) joanne_gervais@yahoo.com

Brian		20-Mar-2007 19:27
This is very interesting. I bought the old kiddie rollercoaster from this place a few years back. That coaster had sat there along time. Would you believe when my friend cut the power line to this ride that the power was still on? It is really a wonder that he did not get hurt. That was scary and after reading this article makes me really think. I have since sold the coaster but when it was in my backyard I really had some strange sensations. Once I was walking back to the house from the backyard (in the dark) and I had a sensation that something was flying after me and swooped down above me. I have never felt that before and it made me run like a scared kid. I have not had any sensations like that since I sold that thing.

Amy		24-Dec-2006 03:21
If any of you who have been to Shawnee Lake know how to contact the owner, please email me with any information, my husband and I are very curious to go and see this place, Beautiful Pics btw, thanks! Amy, Parkersburg, WV

Michele		04-Nov-2006 05:23
can anyone tell me who the owner of the park is and how to contact him/her? I would greatly appreciate it.

heather balcom		30-Oct-2006 01:58
I have been doing some research on haunted houses and places and this on has caught my attention. If anyone has information on this story please let me know. I have always been into the huantings and ghosts, my brother died when I was 10 and seen his ghost ever sense I have been doing research on hauntings around the US. If you know of any other hauntings besides this one please contact me at johnnys_hot_girl@yahoo.com thank you very much!!!!!

Nick		27-Jun-2006 09:37
Hi my name is Nick. I'm with a local paranormal group here in the New River Valley. We would like to know how we can get in contact of the landowner so we can investigate this location ourselves. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks you

mathew cole		16-Jun-2006 13:52
Three of my friends and i went to lake shawnee yesterday. after getting a hold of the owner , he came down and told us a few stories about all the people that have died there. then he told us we could look around as long as we were respectful so we entered....then shut the gate behind us. then the owner did a burnout when leaving in his truck and we walked bout 20-30 yards in and i looked behind us and the gate was mysteriously wide open and no one was around and there was no wind and it naturally shuts not opens. second we get to the ticket stand when we look into the lakes and a fish was floating ont the top of the water very slowly wringing back and forth not splashing just kinda rolling over and then it turned over and a lage mass was either eating it or was being eaten then it dissappeared with a small splash. next we walked to the ferris wheel and noticed the eye level seat is six and is marked on 3 sides with 6's next we looked at the old carnival swing and my buddy said "spirits reval yourself" 3 times and we look around to see the 50's era paddle boat rooster-tailing water until we got closer then it stoped. finally as we looked at the monuments to the original owner the cows in the field across the road bolted off like their was an explosion. keep in mind this was all in broad daylight and with 4 witness' there was no one else there after the owner left. now if this place is rigged then they are pretty smart hillbillies cause they dont charge (except for the catfish tourney on sat nights)and there is a spooky aura to the place...must be the 5-10 people that have died there (most kids)all in all i say its worth a trip just to experience being there ps the owner said hes trying to get groups to camp there on full moon nights if anyone has the balls!!!

Dawn		16-May-2006 02:49
I am very interested in this place and would like to know the complete history also I dont understand why that person that said they lived there all their life and its not haunted why are they so upset? maybe they can tell us what really happend there and what didnt since they know everything.

Aaron		30-Apr-2006 13:24
i drove by the amusement park a week ago and then heard that it was haunted.so i asked a friend of mine and he says that the amusement park has been haunted since the 1800s and that the peice of land itself were cursed but wether the plane is haunted or not it still is a pretty cool story to tell

Kendra		20-Jan-2006 00:07
This story amazes me because 19 years ago I visited this amusement park when it was running. We attended a mud sling there and rode all the rides. We went on the farris wheel and we rode on the paddle boats on the lake. Nothing out of the ordinary happened while we were there. It is sad that it has grown up because the pictures I have the lake are beautiful.

Krystal		15-Nov-2005 04:14
I heard that a little girl died on the swings and a boy drowned in the lake. Can someone please confirm this? I would really want to know more on the park's history. I saw the episode of "The Scariest Places On Earth" and Shawnee Amusement Park really facinates me. My search still continues on information. Thank you.

wouldtellyoubutuwouldbemad		11-Nov-2005 02:32
I think all the old people should be quiet. You don't know if its haunted or not. I just think your not brave enough to go there chicken poo!!! Please write back....

Jessica		11-Nov-2005 02:29
Awesome pictures! Visited but too scared to get out of the car! Should open again-would be nice!!!!!

Brandon Alisha		11-Nov-2005 02:26
We have no idea if lake shawnee is haunted or not? Were very curious but were too scared to get out of the car. We will visit again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We might be brave one day. Santa Maria!!!! Beckley West Virginia

Miller		03-Nov-2005 01:25
FairmontI found your site. Enjoyed looking at the wonderful pictures. We hope to come that way and see it for ourselves sometime. I'm sure it was a neat park in it's day but I'm sure there is alot in store for it now too!!! B. Miller - Fairmont

Cheryl Hawkins		01-Nov-2005 20:14
Very Cool! I barely made it home in time to see you on TV last night. I may have missd the first few minutes of your interview. It was great to see you "live" instead of in a photo. Your voice is very nice.

Dan		01-Nov-2005 04:11
This place isn't haunted. It reminds me of an amusement park up in Hudson, NH called "Playworld" It closed in the 80's and was left abandoned, ferris wheel, buildings, rides....the whole park all rusted out. It looked scary, but was it honestly a scary place? No. Of course, it wasn't built on an Indian burial ground either. I'll tell you what. How about a bunch of us volunteer to move that ferris wheel a few hundred yards from the burial ground and with a nice new motor we'll have that baby up and running in no time. Sure, it'll squeak a little, but a few cans of WD40, some good old rag time music in the background. You could just cover the rust with a few coats of red paint and it'll be like new ;)

becky mays		31-Oct-2005 18:31
I have lived nearby lake shawnee all my life, I am 62, have been there many many times , this is a bunch of hog wash about being haunted, I think the owner wants recognition so hhe can make some money, money, money money

Lake Shawnee local		29-Oct-2005 10:18
I have lived within two miles of Lake Shawnee all my life, and as child visited there when it was in it's heydey with the rides functioning and a large swimming pool. I can asssure you the place is not haunted, perhaps the owner is !!! The large lake has been drained to save money on insuring the place,(I hear) and the beauty of the place has gone down hill. Catfish touneys in a lake the size of a small swimming pool. Let's get real, the only "haunts" there are the locals who drank too much beer while trying to catch a non existant cat fish on Saturday nights.

Guest		25-Oct-2005 15:13
does anyone know he name of this park?

Guest		25-Oct-2005 07:54
This place creeps me out. I would never go there at night. I saw Scariest Places on Earth yesterday and I had trouble sleeping afterwards. Anyways, cool pictures. I was very curious about this place and I like the photos.

Gary Winters		13-Aug-2005 15:56
I just stumbled into these galleries, Karen. Amazing pictures, of a very amazing place. I once lived briefly in a building converted to a "house" that had been part of an amusement park 50 years ago -- a "dinosaur" park. All long since abandoned, but I could still find "dinosaur eggs" in abandoned weedy fields (actually, just carved rocks the shape of eggs).

laine82		13-Jul-2005 22:31
Superb gallery Karen.

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