These Photos of an Abandoned 'Wizard of Oz' Theme Park Are Truly Haunting

Seph Lawless
When you think about the Wizard of Oz, it's safe to say you generally don't picture a cracked, abandoned yellow brick road, or Dorothy's house covered in graffiti — but that's exactly what you'd find if you went to the shut-down Emerald Mountain Land of Oz, a theme park in Beech Mountain, North Carolina that operated from 1970 to 1980. That's what photojournalist Seph Lawless did, and the photos he took as part of his book, Bizarro: The World's Most Hauntingly Abandoned Theme Parks, are downright eerie.

Seph Lawless
Seph Lawless
Seph Lawless
Back in its heyday, visitors could check out Dorothy's farmhouse, be thrilled by a "tornado experience" attraction, and hang out with their favorite characters, like the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow. The park was considered fairly successful, raking in 40,000 visitors in the summer of 1970, according to Hello Giggles. But broker Cynthia Keller says that the park owner, Grover Robbins, passed away from bone cancer six months before its opening. That, combined with a fire, led to the parks total abandonment in 1980. 

Seph Lawless
Seph Lawless
But the park isn't completely shut down. They still open up once a year in October (well-timed for Halloween, don't you think?), and Keller writes that parts (like a few gazebos or Dorothy's farmhouse) gets renovated and restored each summer. And if you want to book a birthday party, weekend getaway in that farmhouse, or a personal tour, you totally can. 

"It's a really unique place," Seph told Redbook. "It sits hidden on top of a mountain, one of the highest mountain peaks in the eastern U.S., so being there was almost like entering another planet. It was surreal and completely beautiful."

The abandoned Land of Oz is now reopened for Halloween and sold out twice as fast as last year and the Wall Street Journal reported recently it was because my images of this place went viral earlier this year. There are now talks to reopen it more days possible seasonal once again. Pretty cool images alone can do something like that but that's a sober reminder of how powerful art can be. #CNN #nationalgeographic #nationalcomicbookday #pravana #limecrime #lifeisbeautiful

A post shared by Seph Lawless (@sephlawless) on

Looks like we know where we're going next October.  

From: Redbook


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