Fringe Society

I really get a kick out of the strange twists and turns that research on the fringe can provide. A few days ago, I noted that Silent Hill: Revelation 3D featured the Lakeside Amusement Park. Years ago, there was both a Lakeside and a Lakewood Amusement park in Barnesville, PA. Given that the first Silent Hill movie featured other PA locations less than 20 miles away (Ashland and Centralia), I thought there might be a connection.

Research proved that I was mistaken.

But I pressed on for the history, thinking that the structures on the grounds might well make for good fringe fodder. I mean…the decaying ruins of an amusement park that has been closed for over thirty years? Fun times await!

Notsomuch.

It’s a no trespass zone for Lakewood Park. I can respect that. Lakeside park on the other hand…well…hosts backyard wrestling and 12 gauge shotgun shoots. Even the ballroom refuses to be haunted. Yeesh.

So we’re pretty much back to square one, right?

Wrong! While going through the various sites, I stumbled upon a gem: Peddler’s Grave. The story I’d heard growing was fairly cut and dry: this is the grave of the first murder victim in Schuylkill County. But I’d never heard the legend quite like this:

“According to the legend, on August 11, the ghost of Jost Folhaber appears riding his horse. When he approaches his grave site, he lets out a scream and falls off his horse and they both disappear.” —The Pennsylvania Rambler

I know where I’m going to be this August 11th. And it’s all because the research took a serious left turn somewhere along the line.

Go find something unexpected.