No Cottage #13 for Lake Shawnee!

Lake Shawnee (2024)

“Somehow they [hotel guests] feel that to occupy room 13 would be to invite fate to make them the principal ingredients in a murder mystery, with hotel towels used for strangulation purposes.”–Conley T. Snidow

Happy Friday the 13th! Today is a day that I love to share strange superstitious and quirky coincidences regarding Friday the 13th, and the number 13 in general being feared and thought ‘unlucky.’ Today’s post was especially fun to share because it directly ties to one of West Virginia’s most famous haunted locations: Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in Mercer County! 

Lake Shawnee has been on my mind a LOT lately, as I prepare for the first ever Haunt Fest on June 21st. Haunt Fest is an amazing paranormal and vendor convention, hosted by Appalachian Ghost Tours. Dozens of vendors, speakers, workshops, ghost hunts, and much more await those brave enough to spend the day at the site of the former park. For those who are REALLY brave (or just really tired) overnight camping will be available for an additional fee (please register with Lake Shawnee beforehand). But, unfortunately, things will look a little different than they did nearly 100 years ago. You will have to bring your own tent, as opposed to staying in the state-of-the-art vacation cottages that were such a draw when the park was in its early years. 

Lake Shawnee, or Shawnee Lake as it was more popularly known, opened in the summer of 1926 under the ownership of Conley T. Snidow and his family. Both a lake and a swimming pool were the main attractions, with a few rides added in over the years. Nightly dances were a staple and many, many groups held meetings, picnics, and other events at the park. Visitors came from miles around, and many rented out a cabin or cottage on-site to make the most of their vacation. 

The Virginian Hotel Princeton, WV

By 1936, the park boasted thirteen…yes, THIRTEEN cabins or cottages on the property. However, in the Bug Dust column of the Beckley Raleigh Register, Snidow makes it a point to ensure potential guests that they never had to stay in the ‘unlucky’ Cabin 13. You see, the Snidow family reserved two of the cabins for their own use, leaving only eleven rentable cabins. 

The column further goes on to explain that this was a conscious decision on Snidow’s part, due largely to Snidow’s experience as a hotel owner and dealing with superstitious guests. In addition to Lake Shawnee, Snidow also owned and operated the Virginian Hotel in downtown Princeton, WV. He quickly learned that guests did not want to stay in a Room 13. To quote the article: “Somehow they [hotel guests] feel that to occupy room 13 would be to invite fate to make them the principal ingredients in a murder mystery, with hotel towels used for strangulation purposes.”

Ironically, 60 years later another cabin, Cabin #13 at Babcock State Park in Fayette County, WOULD become central to a murder mystery when a preacher from Nitro, WV, Michael Flippo, murdered his wife Cheryl and tried to blame a mysterious intruder. Today, many believe that cabin to be haunted. But…that story is for another Friday the 13th. There’s also a blog post in the works further exploring some legitimate bad luck associated with the Virginian Hotel, and how one tragic event may have led to a popular ghost story connected to the park. 

If you’d like to learn more about the history and the hauntings of Lake Shawnee Amusement park, you can check out my Lake Shawnee page here on Theresa’s Haunted History, which will be updated significantly this summer. You are also cordially invited to come join Appalachian Ghost Tours on June 21, 2025 for the first annual Haunt Fest!  Learn about the history and the hauntings and then join us at 8pm to midnight for a ghost hunt of the park to uncover its secrets for yourself! Please see the AGT Facebook Page or Haunt Fest Event Page for more information. 

The Raleigh Register 21 July 1936