The Creepiest Abandoned Roadside Attractions Ever

What does one do with a plot of land that has the dual history of being both the scene of a pioneer massacre and a burial ground? Why, build an amusement park there, of course! Chalk this one up to the worst idea in the history of... well, ever. In 1966, after two children were killed on its rides, Lake Shawnee Amusement Park closed forever, becoming the playground for no one but ghosts.

For all of its purported holiness, the creepy quotient of the desolate and neglected Holy Land, U.S.A. seemed to be on par with that of hell. Closed to the public since 1984, the 18-acre religious theme park has long been rumored as haunted, but the 2010 rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl there sealed its legacy.

Modern ruins are hella creepy, and even more so when they are littered with the fiberglass carcasses of forgotten dinosaurs. This theme park in Irish Hills, MI opened in 1963 to great fanfare, but was closed and abandoned in 1999.

Built over 70 acres as a replica of the country, Splendid China was an experiment in creating a completely different kind of theme park. Open from 1993 to 2003, it was funded by an agency of the Chinese government and sparked controversy with locals fearing it was an act of communist propaganda. Many of the Chinese performers who worked there defected and sought asylum in the U.S. When the park closed, vandals took over and stole everything that wasn't nailed down.

An escaped lion, excess monkey dung, and balding swine eventually led to the downfall of the Jungleland Zoo in Florida, which began as Alligatorland Safari Zoo in the 1970s. The rows and rows of empty cages which once housed over 1,600 species of birds, reptiles, and animals have been derelict since 2002.