The Kings Island Amusement Park located in Mason Ohio, provides its patrons with a wide variety heart pounding moments. The Roller coasters, arcade games, and artery clogging nachos are more than enough to raise the blood pressure of most patrons, however Kings Island has a unique attraction that appeals to the most hardened of thrill seekers; ghosts.
The 364 acre theme park has all the makings of a great ghost story: built on a cemetery. Check. Mysterious equipment malfunctions, check. Shadowy apparitions that hover around specific attractions, triple check. King’s Island’s storied history of specteres makes it a go to poaching ground for ghost hunters. Let’s take a trip down the murky rabbit hole that is Kings Island.
Dog Hill Cemetery and Missouri Jane
Currently owned by Cedar Parks, Kings Island was first built in 1972. Before being annexed by Mason Ohio, parts of the Kings Island property existed under the township of neighboring Deerfield. A small plot of land on the North end of the parking lot, provides the final resting place of 70 Deerfield residents who died between 1803 and 1880. JD Hoff Cemetery , commonly known as the Dog Street Cemetery, displays 50 of the surviving headstones. Due to the ominous inscription, one headstone in particular has a ghoulish legend of its own. Missouri Jane.
The headstone of Missouri Jane reads Born June 27th 1840 and died March 10th 1846. Not much is known about this 6 year old girl, other than she was the daughter of Nancy and Steven Gaylanor. According to research performed by youtuber HNX Media, she likely died of cholera or drowning. Due to the Dog Street Cemeteries’ proximity to the parking lot and park entrance, many of the shadowy apparitions have been attributed to Missouri Jane. Guests have reported her stepping aside for them near the American Heritage Music Hall, and appearing on International street, hovering inside and outside of the gift shops.
tower johnny
When your product includes tossing 50 people 200 feet in the air with the promise of bringing them down to earth safely, accidents come with the territory. Kings Island had no reported accidents for the first 19 years of operation. Strange equipment malfunctions at the park are nicknamed “Tower Johnny” by the Kings Island Staff after an infamous malfunction that may or may not have taken the life of John Wesley Harter on Friday the 13, of May 1983.
As with most ghost stories, the details are murky and rather conflicting. According to reditt and youtuber Heather Shouse, John Harter was a 17 year old high school student, visiting the amusement park on a school field trip. He and 3 fellow students took the lift to the top of the 1/3 replica of the Effiel Tower that ornates the town square in the center of the park. Johnny reportedly had been drinking and climbed out of the lift to scale the service shed at the top of the tower. No screams or noises were reported, however his classmates reported blood oozing down the elevator shaft. He may have jumped or fell, no one is sure, as his disregard for safety regulations by climbing out of the lift voluntarily did not warrant an investigation in 1983.
The gIRL IN THE BLUE DRESS
Although some ghost hunters attribute the “girl in the blue dress” to Missouri Jane, others consider her to be a completely separate arbitration. One of the most popular King’s Island hauntings, “the girl in the blue dress” is said to predate the park and its origins are associated with the land itself.
The specter has made more cameo appearances during operating hours than any of her associate ghouls. She has been witnessed by both patrons and staff on multiple occasions. She is described as a young girl about 4 feet tall, aimlessly wandering around the parking lot, and main gate in a 19th century blue dress.
She appears most often around the admissions counter, and the Old International Restaurant above the front entrance.
rACER bOY
The spectre nicknamed Racer Boy has been witnessed by both guests and park employees. Described as a little boy dressed in white, he is said to be so clear and realistic, that many guests have alerted park employees of a child wandering too close to the operating ride.
Legend has it that two of the four cars on Racer were imported from the legendary Shooting Star coaster from New York’s Coney Island. As the story goes a child was found dead on the tracks during operation, having fell out of one of the shooting star’s cars. These cars were the same shipped to Ohio years later to accommodate the Racer’s burst in popularity, and the ghost , well.. came along for the ride.
Racer boy has been seen in the Racer’s tunnel, in the tracks valleys, between the two racing trains, and at various loops throughout the course.