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BET MVM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Come walk down the winding path. Don't mind the spooks and monsters they stay hidden within the trees. There are mysteries in this world that you need to know and paranormal truths that need to be told.
Come step up into the caravan while we share tales of old as well as new accounts about things you thought only existed in your nightmares. Good evening lore folks and welcome back inside the Caravan. With tomorrow being a holiday, I thought we could celebrate tonight. Yep, you guessed it.
National Ferris Wheel Day. Alright, so maybe you didn't guess that, but it is actually a thing. And I thought, you know, there's no better way to celebrate February 14th than by celebrating National Ferris Wheel Day and by telling spooky carnival and amusement park tales. Now, according to the National Day Calendar's website, this unofficial national holiday is is held on this day to honor the birth of the inventor of the Ferris wheel, George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.
Preparations for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition began in earnest. In 1891, Director of Works for the fair, Daniel Burnham, laid out the Create a centerpiece to the show that will rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Erected the year before, the Eiffel Tower was quickly becoming a world attraction. Ideas were tossed about, plans presented and plans rejected.
George Washington Gale Ferris was inspired. He contemplated several ideas, but it wasn't until one evening in a Chicago chophouse that he struck on an idea that could fit the challenge. After sketching out the design on napkins, he proceeded to develop his plans. When presented with the concept, Burnham walked, doubting it could safely carry people to such heights.
Ferris persisted, spending 25,000 of his own money. He paid for safety studies, obtained 600,000 more from investors, hired engineers and built the 250 foot diameter wheel and hoisted it up between 140 foot twin towers. It was a colossal success at 26 stories tall and making a whopping $726,850. And in 1893, that was a hefty profit for the fare.
Despite the whale's success, fair struggled. After the fair lawsuits over who owned who bankrupt him. His wife left him. Then, in 1896, a few short years after the fair, he died at the age of 37 from typhoid fever.
The original wheel suffered a similar fate. In 1906, it was destroyed with dynamite for scrap metal. The idea has lived on, and wheels continue to be enjoyed around the world. So come with me as we journey first to three different amusement parks and learn how they got some of their now permanent residence.
Our first story takes us to southern West Virginia, to a park called Lake Shawnee, where the very land is said to be cursed, Dating all the way back to 1783, when a farmer had left hunting for the day. It was said the pioneer did not get along with the local tribe of Native Americans, and upon returning home, he found his entire family dead. In a fit of rage, the farmer enlisted the help of others within the community to seek revenge and killed several members of the very tribe that killed his family. It was then, in the 1920s, this very property was purchased and turned into an amusement park.
The park consisted of a Ferris wheel, a swing set, and a swimming pond. However, a total of six deaths would occur, closing down this amusement park for good. In 1966, two notable deaths were that of a little girl said to be on the swing set when a truck accidentally backed into her and a little boy who drowned in the open pond. It has been said since then, you can hear and see the old swings move on wingless days, as well as sightings of a little girl in a bloodstained dress.
These days, the grounds are a hotspot for paranormal investigators and has even appeared on different TV specials. During the month of October, you can attend their dark carnival where they open their gates, giving you a chance to take a stroll around the lake and take photos of the abandoned rides, including spooky stories from the park itself around the campfire. Now let's head over to Pennsylvania, where we have Dorney park, which dates back to 1860. It is said there is a ghost that haunts the park near the building which housed the arcade and restaurants.
Just below the surface of this old building, there is a mine. And at the entrance to this mine, it is said you can see a man standing there who suddenly vanishes. And now to Ohio, we have Kings island, which was meant to be their version of Coney Island. However, it changed hands on multiple occasions between the years of 1984 and 2006.
It is said there are actually five different spirits that haunt these grounds, two of the most seen being that of a young man who had come to the park to celebrate his graduation, but he had been drinking and he decided to climb a tall tower only to fall to his death. Another is that of a small boy who can be spotted behind the games. And perhaps the most curious occurrence are the reports of glowing eyes that are seen near a fountain. While looking around online for stories and locations to share, I knew I had to include carnivals because really, is there anything creepier?
This was when I came across a post on the no Sleep section of Reddit titled After Hours Carnival. Wish I just stayed home, it reads. Every year my town hosts a carnival. It's a big deal.
Carousels, fair games, hall of mirrors, and that stupid twirly swing ride that makes you want to vomit. They really pull out all the stops for this one weekend in October. Growing up, I would get sugar sick, as my mama liked to call it, from all the cotton candy and funnel cakes. I'd only feel the symptoms after the night was done.
While lying in bed clutching my prizes, I ignored the malaise and played back all the festivities in my head. I skipped the carnival. Now it doesn't do anything for me anymore. So imagine my dismay as my girlfriend who helps work the carnival dragged me along one night after all the crowds had left no lines, she squealed.
I even know how to turn on the ferris wheel. I tried to look excited. She yanked me over to the shooting gallery and sat down in front of a counter lined with water pistols. Several bullseye targets hung about 15ft away.
We fired away, but of course I let her win. I jumped the counter and make my way over to the prize rack. Huge stuffed animals, baseball caps and T shirts line the wall. Which one do you want?
I yelled back. Hmm. She tried to look like she was making a life altering decision. I'll admit now it was kind of cute.
Before choosing, I see her whip out her cell phone and snap a picture of me next to the prizes. I'm stuck between picking you or the stuffed octopus next to the clown head dollar. I'll take the octopus. I rolled my eyes and reached past the clown head doll for the octopus.
From there she pulled me over the carousel. I watched her disappear into the engineer's control room and a few seconds later the pipe organ started and the carousel cranked into motion. During the ride, she felt it was time for another picture. I really tried to smile.
We only stayed in the hall of mirrors for a few minutes. It was pitch black in there. Kept bumping into the mirrors and each other. Of course she snapped a picture in there too.
The blinding flash didn't help our disorientation. After the terrifying hall of mirrors situation, we decided to leave. She told me she was going to go home and post pictures of the great knight. The next morning I got on Facebook and noticed a small album sheet uploaded.
I started reading through the comments. Wow. You're lucky. Carnival all to yourself.
Nice. What struck me off guard were the next comments. Love the photobombing clown. Who is that dressed up as a clown?
Wait, what? I looked through the pictures again and sure enough, there it is. In the carousel picture, there was a tall clown in the background. The speed of the ride somewhat blurred his image, but I could see him just standing there, arms at his sides.
In the hall of mirrors. The flash illuminated the face of a smiling clown in one mirror in the corner of the picture, there was something chillingly twisted about his expression. How many times have I glided to him thinking it was my girlfriend? And lastly, there was the picture of me standing next to the shooting gallery prize rack.
There he was, next to the octopus that I had grabbed for my girlfriend. I thought he was a doll. The realization made me absolutely sick. I was a hair's length away from him.
His warm breath probably grazed my skin. What sort of sick delight did he get from doing this? I called up my girlfriend, who was still asleep, and asked her if she knew the clowns that were hired for the carnival. Her reply made me shudder.
They got rid of the clowns five years ago when parents complained they were scaring the kids. And there we have it folks. Enjoy your trips to the amusement parks and carnivals if you still are brave enough to go. And make sure to email me any spooky senses that you [email protected] youm can also find us on Facebook as TheCaravanOflore and join the group where we have weekly readings and lots of fun interactive posts.
I've also been adding a bunch of exclusive photos over on our Instagram, so you should pop on over there. Last but not least, we also have a patron. Different rewards include your name on the show, notes on our website thanking you for your patronship and advertising your business. Another reward is a monthly intuitive reading.
How these differ from the weekly card polls that I do on our Facebook group page is it's more in depth and it's three to four cards that are pulled and depending on the outcome, I may also use my Pendulum or Angel board. The readings for now will be sent via email, so if you are interested, just head on over Patreon Funds from Patreon or donations go to providing you with a higher quality show and bringing you more content. All our social links as well as our Patreon link will be provided on our show page. Thank you so much for listening and I'm definitely excited to have you guys back next week when I share stories from the ghost log from McMinimon's Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, Oregon that I recently had the pleasure of touring.
So we'll see you again next week. Bye.