Haunted places guide · Rock, West Virginia

Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park: The Haunted History of West Virginia's Strangest Park

A frontier massacre, Native American graves and an amusement park where children died. Lake Shawnee’s rusted Ferris wheel and swing ride have made it one of the most famous haunted places in Appalachia.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate places

4.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
1926Park opened
13Native American burials recovered

Our nearest ghost hunt: Berkeley Plantation, VAMeet the ghosts

Lake Shawnee lies in a quiet valley in Mercer County, a few miles from Princeton, beside the road to Matoaka. From the road you can see the skeleton of a Ferris wheel and the frame of a swing ride rising out of the weeds. Since the 2000s TV crews have come from all over to film here, and the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel and History Channel have all featured it.

What makes Lake Shawnee unusual is how many layers of tragedy sit on one small piece of ground: a 1783 frontier killing, Native American burials, and deaths at the amusement park built over them. The owners now keep the rides as they are and open the park for tours, overnight investigations and an October haunt. This guide sets out the history, the legends as they are told, and how to visit legally.

Lake Shawnee at a glance

4.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation5
History4
Ghost hunter access5
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
  • Address 470 Matoaka Road, Rock, WV 24747
  • History Clay family killings in 1783; amusement park 1926 to 1966, reopened briefly in 1987
  • Most haunted spots The swing ride, the Ferris wheel, the old pond and the Clay graves
  • Best-known ghosts A little girl in a pink dress, a man among the rides, chanting heard at night
  • Visiting Private property, by appointment or at events only
  • Ghost hunts Yes: overnight investigation experiences can be booked

Our nearest ghost hunt: Berkeley Plantation, VA Visit / tours

History of Lake Shawnee

Shawnee and other Native peoples lived in this valley long before European settlers arrived. In the 1770s Mitchell Clay claimed the land and built a homestead. In 1783, while Clay was away, a raiding party attacked: a daughter and a son were killed, and another son, about 16, was taken to Chillicothe in Ohio and burned at the stake. Accounts differ on what came next. Some say Clay and his neighbors hunted down and killed members of the raiding party; others say he made peace with the Shawnee chief to bury his children. A marker now notes where two of the children died.

In 1926 Conley Trigg Snidow bought the land and opened Lake Shawnee Amusement Park for the people of Mercer County’s coal towns, with a Ferris wheel, a swing ride, a swimming pool, a race track, concession stands, a dance hall and overnight cabins. It was a busy place for four decades. Records list two drownings during Snidow’s ownership, and a young girl was killed on the swing ride. The park closed in 1966, after a failed health inspection.

Gaylord White, who had worked at the park as a young man, bought the land in 1985 and reopened it for the summer of 1987, but rising insurance costs closed it again in 1988. In the early 1990s White’s crews began finding Native American artifacts, and Marshall University archaeologists spent several years excavating. They recovered 13 skeletons, mostly of elderly people and young children, from a village that predated European settlement.

Soon after the excavations White began offering paranormal tours at Halloween, and the park’s fame grew from there. It appeared on Scariest Places on Earth (2002), Ghost Lab (2010), Most Terrifying Places in America, The Dead Files (2018), The UnXplained (2019) and Portals to Hell with Jack Osbourne (2021). Today Chris White, the park’s keeper, runs it as a haunted attraction, and in 2025 West Virginia Tourism added it to its Paranormal Trail.

The ghosts of Lake Shawnee

The girl in the pink dress

The best-known ghost is a little girl in a pink dress seen near the swing ride, and she is often linked to the child killed on it. Visitors and investigators say the swings sometimes move when there is no wind. The death on the ride is recorded; whether the girl in pink is that child is a matter of belief.

The man among the rides

West Virginia Tourism and many visitors describe a man seen near the rusted Ferris wheel and swings. He is not identified in any account we have found, and different storytellers make him a ride operator, a settler or a Clay family member.

Chanting in the dark

Because Native American graves were found here, some visitors report chanting or drumming heard in the distance at night. The site’s owners and TV crews have spoken about it, but there is no recording that settles it, and many people find the idea of using burials as a ghost story uncomfortable. Tread carefully, in every sense.

Rides that move

The other common report is of out-of-service rides that seem to shift or creak on their own. Old steel in a windy valley creaks, and the park is honest that the atmosphere is part of the appeal.

Where to look

  • The swing ride: The tall rusted frame linked to the girl in pink and the most photographed spot in the park.
  • The Ferris wheel: The skeletal wheel, its cars long gone, where the man is said to appear.
  • The pond: The old swimming area, connected in stories to the drownings.
  • The Clay marker and burial ground: Where two of Mitchell Clay’s children died in 1783; visit with respect.

Visiting Lake Shawnee

Lake Shawnee is private property and the owners ask that nobody visits without permission. Trespassing and vandalism have been problems, and the only legal way in is on a booked tour or at an event. Daytime photo and history tours and overnight investigation experiences are booked through the park’s website, and visits are by appointment only.

In October the Dark Carnival runs on Friday and Saturday nights with a haunted trail, campfire storytelling and zombie paintball, and the park recruits volunteer scare actors each fall. The park is near Princeton, so it is easy to combine with a drive through the southern coalfields.

  • Visiting Private property: visits by appointment or at events only
  • Tours Daytime photo and history tours and overnight investigation experiences, booked ahead
  • Hours and season Dark Carnival on Friday and Saturday nights in October
  • Ghost hunting Yes: overnight investigation experiences can be booked

Tips for your visit

  • Book ahead; the park is not open for walk-ins.
  • Come on a daytime tour first to see the rides and hear the history in daylight.
  • Wear sturdy boots: the grounds are overgrown and uneven.
  • Do not climb the rides or take anything away, especially near the burial ground.
  • Combine the trip with the Whipple Company Store and its flashlight tours, about an hour north.

Go ghost hunting nearby

Visiting a haunted place by day is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through a historic building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and vigils, and gives you time to explore on your own. These are the nearest ones we run.

See all West Virginia ghost hunts

More haunted places nearby

Visited one of these places? Tell us what happened

We collect first-hand accounts from visitors and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your visit. We read every story before it’s published.

Frequently asked questions

Is Lake Shawnee Amusement Park really haunted?

It has one of the strongest reputations in Appalachia. Visitors and TV crews report a little girl in a pink dress near the swings, a man among the rides and chanting at night. The deaths and the burials are documented; the ghosts are reported experiences.

Can you visit Lake Shawnee Amusement Park?

Only on a booked tour or at an event. It is private property, and visits are by appointment through the park’s website.

Who died at Lake Shawnee?

Three of Mitchell Clay’s children were killed in a 1783 raid. During the amusement park years, a girl died on the swing ride and two people drowned.

When did Lake Shawnee close?

The amusement park closed in 1966. Gaylord White reopened it for the summer of 1987, but it closed again in 1988.

What is the Dark Carnival?

The park’s October haunted attraction, held on Friday and Saturday nights, with a haunted trail and campfire stories.

Where is Lake Shawnee?

At 470 Matoaka Road in Rock, Mercer County, near Princeton.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

Get new haunted places guides by email

New guides, haunted places to visit and ghost hunt dates near you. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.