California Fun House Operator Used Real Corpse To Scare Folks

Funhouses are supposed to be fun. What would you say if I told you that the operator of a California oceanside attraction once propped up a real mummified corpse and displayed it to paying customers and children?

I've walked through my share of fun houses in my days. Most of them feature crazy, curved mirrors, slides, prop jump scares, freaky lighting, and other decorations that raise anxiety in young ones.

Get our free mobile app

It's crazy to think that kids passing through the funhouse brushed up against a real corpse for years and had no idea. It must have been quite a shock for employees of the attraction once they realized they'd been handling a dead body as part of the setup process.

Long Beach is a coastal city in California that is 25 miles southwest of Los Angeles. Back in the seventies, the Pike Amusement Park operated along the Pacific Ocean ocean on Shoreline Drive. One of the attractions was the Laff in the Dark funhouse.

The park was shut down in 1979 after the city refused to allow the property to be leased for such usage, according to slate.com. A few years prior, some amusement staff contacted Long Beach police over a prop that appeared to be a little too lifelike. A coroner was called to the scene and it was determined that the decoration was indeed a mummified human body.

Tests determined that the individual likely died from a bullet, according to information online. The corpse was later identified as being an outlaw whose body was preserved and obtained by the owner of the funhouse and mistakenly used as a prop.

It's crazy to think that kids passing through the funhouse brushed up against a real corpse for years and had no idea. It must have been quite a shock for employees of the attraction once they realized they'd been handling a dead body as part of the setup process.