Was there ever a snake bite death at Kennywood in the 1940s???
Norman H Samuelson
I was talking with an old friend today about roller coasters
(what else would you talk with an old friend about).
He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He remembers
hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child who was riding
the carousel, the kid told its mother that the horsie had bit it.
The bite was from a baby snake. The child then died.
Can anyone tell me if this story is true or false?
- Norm -
Jonathan Waltz
In article <318181...@samuelson.com>, Norman H Samuelson <n...@samuelson.com> wrote:
>Can anyone tell me if this story is true or false?
>
>- Norm -
I don't know about Kennywood, but I do remember a snake incident at Knoebel's
a couple of years ago where a child was bitten in the ball pit. When they
empied that balls after the incident, many snakes were found.
TonyG Jr
Norm,t hat's a bit of urban folklore, sorry. sort of like alligators in
sewers, or the neat stories about coaster trains coming back with every
rider's neck snapped. Even the Crystal Beach Cyclone never went THAT
far!!!
Tony G
"Bring back the Crystal Beach Cyclone!!!"
73157...@compuserve.com
Norm writes:
>I was talking with an old friend today about roller coasters
>(what else would you talk with an old friend about).
>He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He
>remembers hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child
>who was riding the carousel, the kid told its mother that the
>horsie had bit it. The bite was from a baby snake. The child
This is an old urban legend. I've heard it with several
different park names inserted in place of Kennywood. Don't
believe everything you hear...
Derek Gee
Jim Barrick
> I was talking with an old friend today about roller coasters
> (what else would you talk with an old friend about).
>
> He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He remembers
> hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child who was riding
> the carousel, the kid told its mother that the horsie had bit it.
> The bite was from a baby snake. The child then died.
>
> Can anyone tell me if this story is true or false?
The story of the snake in the carousel is another one of those (false)
urban legends.
DRRounds
>He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He remembers
>hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child who was riding
>the carousel, the kid told its mother that the horsie had bit it.
>The bite was from a baby snake. The child then died.
I have not heard of this at Kennywood but it happen on a different kind of
ride at Silver Dollar City.
From what my brother told me, it was 10-12 years ago.
Apparently a coral snake bit a child on the "Fire In The Hole" ride.
Dave
David Rounds - drro...@aol.com
Shawn Mamros
Derek Gee <73157...@CompuServe.COM> writes:
>Norm writes:
>>He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He
>>remembers hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child
>>who was riding the carousel, the kid told its mother that the
>>horsie had bit it. The bite was from a baby snake. The child
>This is an old urban legend. I've heard it with several
>different park names inserted in place of Kennywood. [...]
Not to mention that it would be particularly unlikely to happen at
Kennywood, given the fact that poisonous snakes are not native to
western Pennsylvania. (There are some non-poisonous snakes around,
but nobody's going to die from being bitten by those.)
The closest place to Kennywood where you might find poisonous snakes
is at the Pittsburgh (Highland Park) Zoo, which is over ten miles
away from Kennywood and separated from it by two of Pittsburgh's
three rivers.
(Ob. coaster comment: Wouldn't surprise me if this urban legend
resurfaces at some point as the reason why certain Six Flags coasters
have a snake-related name... :-)
-Shawn Mamros (western PA native - you just knew I had to chime in... :-)
E-mail to: mam...@ftp.com
Hollister Bundy
: > He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He remembers
: > hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child who was riding
: > the carousel, the kid told its mother that the horsie had bit it.
: > The bite was from a baby snake. The child then died.
: >
: > Can anyone tell me if this story is true or false?
: The story of the snake in the carousel is another one of those (false)
: urban legends.
They way I heard it it was a water moccasin at Kings Dominion on
one of the water rides. Almost certainly an urban legend...
Tim Melago
jaw...@epix.net (Jonathan Waltz) wrote:
>In article <318181...@samuelson.com>, Norman H Samuelson <n...@samuelson.com> wrote:
>>
>
>I don't know about Kennywood, but I do remember a snake incident at Knoebel's
>a couple of years ago where a child was bitten in the ball pit. When they
>empied that balls after the incident, many snakes were found.
Urban legends about snakes in carousel horses and snakes in the ball crawl
resurfaced at Idlewild Park two years ago after a guest claimed they saw a snake.
I don't remember exactly what the story was but television stations came and
questioned management about it. I don't think there was any evidence to back up
the claim. There are snakes in the area but they are not a problem at the park.
If you hear stories about bears they probably are true. Don't be afraid to go to
the park though because the park knows how to take care of bears that wander onto
park property. One time they had to transport a tranquilized bear across the
creek on the train.
--
***********************************************
* Tim Melago | H O M E P A R K S *
* roll...@sgi.net | Idlewild - Kennywood *
***********************************************
Please e-mail replys because Stargate's news server is really
experiencing problems.
Richard Bonner
*** My home park (Upper Clements Theme Park) here in Nova Scotia is in
a highly wooded area and many small woodland creatures can be found
within the park's limits including snakes. However, those creatures are
only too happy to stay away from humans (except the squirrels and
chipmunks who will venture close for food).
I have never heard of any incident like the one described that didn't
turn out to be false.
Richard Bonner
Managing Director:
The Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/CEC/CEC.html
Glenn Stauffer
I would be surprised if this happened at Kennywood. The only
poisonous snakes in that part of PA aren't really all that poisonous -
copperheads and rattle snakes, both not really that common.
drro...@aol.com (DRRounds) wrote:
>>He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He remembers
>>hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child who was riding
>>the carousel, the kid told its mother that the horsie had bit it.
>>The bite was from a baby snake. The child then died.
>I have not heard of this at Kennywood but it happen on a different kind of
Flume1
This urban legend has been haunting amusement parks for decades. The
snake in the carousel story is still going strong after nearly 50 years!
It has been pointed at nearly every amusement park in the US by now, and
sometimes requires massive PR efforts to defuse the rumor.
A professor in folklore at Penn State University has cited this myth just
as often as the cat in the microwave or urinating on the third rail of an
El. Everybody seems to have a friend of his neice's sister-in-law 's
cousin that saw a story about it in the paper. And it indeed occurs in
the paper, but only as debunkment.
I personally have an Urban Legends comic book from about 4 years ago that
beautifully illustrates the slithering dangers of riding a merry-go-round.
Please dismiss this story. BTW, it has never happened at the Knoebels
Ball Crawl either.
Rick Knoebel
Knoebels
Mania
In article <4m2h6s$s...@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU> mam...@athena.mit.edu (Shawn Mamros) writes:
>From: mam...@athena.mit.edu (Shawn Mamros)
>Subject: Re: Was there ever a snake bite death at Kennywood in the 1940s???
>Date: 29 Apr 1996 13:46:04 GMT
>Derek Gee <73157...@CompuServe.COM> writes:
>>Norm writes:
>Not to mention that it would be particularly unlikely to happen at
>Kennywood, given the fact that poisonous snakes are not native to
>western Pennsylvania. (There are some non-poisonous snakes around,
>but nobody's going to die from being bitten by those.)
>The closest place to Kennywood where you might find poisonous snakes
>is at the Pittsburgh (Highland Park) Zoo, which is over ten miles
>away from Kennywood and separated from it by two of Pittsburgh's
>three rivers.
This is not True. In years gone by, the 50's and 60's, copperhead snakes
were native to this area, and one was found in the Old Mill at Kennywood. No
one had gotten bit, but the snake was found and killed. My mother was at the
park the day and time that this occurred.
Mania
ROLLER10
>
>He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He remembers
>hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child who was riding
>the carousel, the kid told its mother that the horsie had bit it.
>The bite was from a baby snake. The child then died.
>
>Can anyone tell me if this story is true or false?
>
>
About 18 years ago, a "snake scare" occurred at SFoT. Bruce Neal, PR
guy, did a lengthy trace to find the source of the story. It was followed
back to a family from Louisiana several days later who supposedly saw
a snake. The best part of this was an editorial comic that ran in local
papers. The Shockwave coaster had just opened. The cartoon was of
a snake in the shape of SW's double loops. Heh! Heh!
Robert Reagan
epw...@hotmail.com
> Derek Gee <73157...@CompuServe.COM> writes:
> >>He mentioned growing up in the area near Kennywood. He
> >>remembers hearing a story from the 1940's about a small child
> >>who was riding the carousel, the kid told its mother that the
> >>horsie had bit it. The bite was from a baby snake. The child
> >>then died. Can anyone tell me if this story is true or false?
>
> >different park names inserted in place of Kennywood. [...]
>
> Kennywood, given the fact that poisonous snakes are not native to
> western Pennsylvania. (There are some non-poisonous snakes around,
> but nobody's going to die from being bitten by those.)
>
> The closest place to Kennywood where you might find poisonous snakes
> is at the Pittsburgh (Highland Park) Zoo, which is over ten miles
> away from Kennywood and separated from it by two of Pittsburgh's
> three rivers.
>
> resurfaces at some point as the reason why certain Six Flags coasters
> have a snake-related name... :-)
>
> -Shawn Mamros (western PA native - you just knew I had to chime in... :-)
> E-mail to: mam...@ftp.com
The northern copperhead is Pennsylvania’s most common venomous
snake. Found in all but the northernmost counties, it prefers abandoned
foundations, rock walls, and rocky hillsides.
epw...@hotmail.com
Surf Dance Chris
> On Monday, April 29, 1996 2:00:00 AM UTC-5, Shawn Mamros wrote:
1998)
kat...@aol.com
> About 18 years ago, a "snake scare" occurred at SFoT. Bruce Neal, PR
> guy, did a lengthy trace to find the source of the story. It was followed
> back to a family from Louisiana several days later who supposedly saw
> a snake. The best part of this was an editorial comic that ran in local
> papers. The Shockwave coaster had just opened. The cartoon was of
> a snake in the shape of SW's double loops. Heh! Heh!
>
> Robert Reagan
Ken Simmons
katthe...@gmail.com
distor...@gmail.com
> About 18 years ago, a "snake scare" occurred at SFoT. Bruce Neal, PR
> guy, did a lengthy trace to find the source of the story. It was followed
> back to a family from Louisiana several days later who supposedly saw
> a snake. The best part of this was an editorial comic that ran in local
> papers. The Shockwave coaster had just opened. The cartoon was of
> a snake in the shape of SW's double loops. Heh! Heh!
>
> Robert Reagan
My mom told me the exact same story about Playland, San Antonio. A child bit "by the horse" on the carousel, turned out to be a snake, and child died. Of course it's likely untrue, but HOW in the world does an urban legend like that start going around to amusement parks in the 1970s?!? Without the internet? Crazy.
distor...@gmail.com
>The Shockwave coaster had just opened. > Robert Reagan
Didn't Shockwave open in 1978? An almost 40 year old steel coaster still IMO completely awesome.
Coasterfreak
asked. My great grandmother used to tell us as kids in the 70's about a
girl who was bit by a poisonous snake while riding a roller coaster. We
lived in NY, so it's not a stretch that she could have heard about
something like this happening in PA, although she never specified what
roller coaster or where. I've always wondered if it was true or if she
was a little senile. Seems now like it may have been true.
On 7/27/2017 10:59 AM, katthe...@gmail.com wrote:
> I grew up and spent most of my life in this steel valley. There are poisonous snakes indigenous to the area! They are called copperheads! I don't know if story is true or not but I also heard a snake in roller coaster cause the teenager that was killed to stand up! There are poisonous snakes in this area ! Both stories are very plausible!
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ukebe...@gmail.com
mhrp...@gmail.com
. May wanna do some research .
tyl...@gmail.com
> Um excuse me but copperhead snakes are quite poisonous and very native to western pennsylvania...
> . May wanna do some research .
Unpleasant, yes.
Fatal, no.