9 Ghostly Photos of Abandoned Amusement Parks

There is something immediately creepy about abandoned amusement parks. Once places of joy, they've been transformed and ravaged by the passage of time. The 9 amusement parks chosen today bear the scars of age, going from a place of family fun to something far more sinister in appearance.

This is arguably the most famous of the abandoned amusement parks featured today. The Chornobyl disaster in 1986 essentially depopulated the surrounding Pripyat overnight. What was once a bustling town is filled with silence and the specter of nuclear fallout. The Ferris Wheel of this amusement park looms over the horizon, like a carcass picked clean and left to bleach in the sun.

The colors and paint have faded and cracked in the years since the closing of Conneaut Lake Park. This once delightful ride is just a shell of its former self, devoid of life and laughter. It makes for a striking image of one of many abandoned amusement parks in the United States. Conneaut Lake's heyday has long passed.

New Orleans is still recovering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. It was once home to a Six Flags theme park, which has become one of the creepiest abandoned amusement parks you'll see. It becomes unsettling when you realize just how modern this park is, and the licensed characters have started cracking and peeling in the sun.

Germany is home to its share of abandoned amusement parks. This gaping mouth was once part of a roller coaster at the Urbex Spreepark. These days, it is home to rust and decay, resembling some more monstrous than its origins. Still, it would be a great setting for a horror movie.

Some abandoned amusement parks are sadder rather than creepy, like Trinity Loop. This amusement park was located in Newfoundland, being little more than a playground and a handful of rides. Time has taken a toll on this place, and the old playground equipment has fallen into disrepair.

You can only imagine the hustle and bustle of one of a handful of abandoned amusement parks in Illinois. Somehow, the coat of rust and cracked paint gives an eerie air to Chippewa Lake. These are decidedly old-fashioned rides, and they've been left to nature outside of Chicago.

Eagle Park was open for almost 40 years before finally being left to rot. This is one of the creepier and odder abandoned amusement parks you'll find. It doesn't have a standard list of entertainment, being home to rusting rides, abandoned homes, and a wealth of other bizarre attractions.

One of the unfortunate side effects of the explosive economic growth in China is just how disposable things have become. Honey Lake was once a place of joy for residents of the surrounding Shenzhen. The rusted-out rides of one of many abandoned amusement parks in mainland China are decidedly modern but are far more ghastly at night.

Closing out our list is a return to Germany, for Spreepark Berlin. This is one of the most striking abandoned amusement parks I've seen. The structures have started to collapse and the Ferris Wheel almost looks skeletal set against the winter snow. Nothing of its old self remains, merely a ghost of what it once was.