West Virginia has its fair share of ghost stories. If you grew up anywhere near Mercer County, you’ve heard about the place. It’s a rusted skeleton of a dream sitting in a field near Princeton. Most people call it the "cursed" amusement park. Honestly, that's a heavy label to put on a patch of land, but when you look at the timeline of Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, it’s kinda hard to argue against the idea that the soil itself holds a grudge.
It’s quiet now. Most days, the only sound is the wind whistling through the rusted frames of the swings. But back in the 1920s, this was supposed to be the ultimate escape for coal mining families. Conley Snidow bought the land in 1926 with a vision of a lakeside paradise. He built a ferris wheel. He put in a swing ride. He added a dance hall. For a few decades, it actually worked. People laughed here. They swam. They fell in love. But the ground beneath the popcorn machines and the ticket booths had a history that started long before the first carnival ride was ever bolted down.
A History Written in Blood
You can't talk about Lake Shawnee Amusement Park without talking about the Clay family. This is where the "cursed" narrative kicks into high gear. Back in 1783, long before electricity or roller coasters, Mitchell Clay and his family settled on this land. It was a brutal era. A group of Shawnee Native Americans, who naturally saw the land as theirs, attacked the farm while Mitchell was out hunting. Two of the Clay children were killed immediately. A third was taken and later burned at the stake.
It was a massacre.
When Mitchell returned, he led a retaliatory raid. More blood was spilled. Eventually, the land was vacated, but the trauma remained. Fast forward over a hundred years to when Conley Snidow arrived. He probably thought the stories were just old frontier lore. He was wrong. The park opened, and for a while, the tragedy seemed buried. But the 1950s brought a string of "accidents" that were too specific to be ignored.
A young girl was riding the swings. A delivery truck backed into the ride's path. She died. Not long after, a boy drowned in the pond. Some say his arm got caught in a drain; others claim something pulled him under. By 1966, the park was shuttered. It sat rotting for twenty years until a man named Gaylord White bought it in 1985. He wanted to reopen it. He tried. But then, while digging for a new attraction, workers found something that changed the park's legacy forever: an indigenous burial ground.
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The Reality of the "Haunted" Label
Is it actually haunted?
If you ask the paranormal investigators who swarm the place every October, the answer is a resounding yes. It’s been featured on Ghost Adventures and Most Terrifying Places in America. They talk about "shadow men" and the sound of children laughing in the woods. But if you look at it from a historical perspective, the tragedy is more grounded. Lake Shawnee Amusement Park is essentially a memorial built over a graveyard.
The swings are the most iconic part of the park today. They hang there, orange with rust, swaying slightly even when there isn’t a breeze. It’s creepy. There’s no getting around that. But the owners today—the descendants of Gaylord White—treat the land with a sort of weary respect. They aren't trying to hide the past. They lean into it. They offer "dark history" tours. It’s a weird mix of local tourism and genuine mourning.
You have to wonder why anyone would want to keep it. The rides are beyond repair. The wood is soft with rot. But there’s a magnetism to it. It’s one of the few places where the layers of American history—the indigenous presence, the frontier violence, the industrial boom, and the eventual decay—are all visible in a single 20-acre plot.
What Travelers Get Wrong About the Site
Don't just show up and jump the fence. Seriously.
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A lot of urban explorers think Lake Shawnee Amusement Park is just abandoned property they can sneak into for a TikTok. It’s private property. The White family lives right there. They are actually pretty welcoming if you book a tour, but they don't appreciate trespassers.
Also, it's not a "spook house" in the way a commercial haunted hayride is. There are no actors in rubber masks jumping out from behind trees. The horror here is quiet. It's the realization that you're standing on the site of a 200-year-old war zone while looking at a rusted ferris wheel.
- The Burial Mounds: Archeologists from Marshall University did surveys here. They found evidence of a circular village that likely housed hundreds of people hundreds of years ago.
- The "Cursed" Swings: The swing set where the girl died is still there. People leave dolls and toys at the base of it. It’s a bit macabre, but it’s how some visitors process the sadness of the location.
- The Pond: It’s mostly overgrown now. You can’t swim in it, and honestly, given the history of drownings and the stagnant water, you wouldn't want to.
Why the Park Never Truly Reopened
Gaylord White really did try to make it a family destination again in the 80s. He cleared the brush. He painted some of the rides. But the energy was off. People didn't want to bring their kids to a place where they knew children had died. The discovery of the burials was the final nail in the coffin. You can't put a cotton candy machine on top of a grave and expect people to stay for the afternoon.
So, it transitioned into what it is now: a "ruin."
In the world of travel, we call this dark tourism. It's the same impulse that drives people to visit Chernobyl or Gettysburg. We are drawn to places where the veil between the past and the present feels thin. At Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, that veil is nonexistent. You are walking through three centuries of grief all at once.
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Visiting Lake Shawnee Today: Practical Realities
If you’re planning a trip to this corner of West Virginia, be realistic. This isn't a theme park experience. It’s a historical site visit.
- Book Ahead: You need to contact the owners via their official social media or website to schedule a tour. They do overnight paranormal investigations if you're into that sort of thing, but the daytime history tours are often more insightful.
- Wear Boots: The ground is uneven, swampy in places, and covered in tall grass. This is rural West Virginia. There are bugs. There are snakes. Dress accordingly.
- Respect the Land: Remember that this is a burial site. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it’s a place where people are buried. Keep the volume down. Don't take "souvenirs" like rusted bolts or rocks.
- Photography: It is a photographer's dream. The contrast of the rusted metal against the green Appalachian hills is stunning. Just don't spend the whole time behind a lens; take a second to just stand there and feel the stillness.
The park is located near Princeton, WV, off Route 19. It’s easy to find, but easy to miss if you aren't looking for the rusted peaks of the rides poking through the treeline.
Final Insights on the Lake Shawnee Legacy
Lake Shawnee Amusement Park isn't just a "haunted" spot. It’s a reminder of how we treat the land and how the land sometimes remembers us. The tragedy of the Clay family and the Shawnee people shouldn't be overshadowed by ghost stories, but the ghost stories are what keep the history alive.
If you go, look past the rust. Look at the layout of the old park and try to imagine the music playing. Try to imagine the smell of the fried food and the sound of the lake water splashing. Then, look at the soil. The park is a graveyard, a playground, and a museum all wrapped into one. It’s a heavy place, but it’s an honest one.
Actionable Steps for Your Visit
- Check the Calendar: The park is most active in October for "Dark Carnival" events. If you want a quiet, historical experience, aim for late spring or summer.
- Research the Clay Family: Read the local historical markers in Princeton before heading to the park to get a full sense of the 1783 events.
- Support Local: Princeton has some great local diners and a growing arts district. Make it a full day trip to support the community that keeps this history accessible.
- Stay Safe: Never enter the structures. The rust is one thing, but the structural integrity of 70-year-old abandoned metal is nonexistent. Stay on the ground.
Don't treat the site as a joke or a cheap thrill. Approach it with the same gravity you would any historical landmark. The stories of those who lived and died at Lake Shawnee deserve that much.