When I was a kid, I loved The Wizard of Oz. Despite the fact that I found the flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch of the West utterly horrifying, I watched the movie over and over every chance I got. It was my first experience with loving the feeling of being scared, which now manifests itself in my love of the horror genre. It felt exhilarating to watch something with the underlying tone of terror, which came from Dorothy’s feeling of being lost and alone. The set itself reflected the hopeless fear of her journey. Remember that super scary forest and the witch’s creepy castle? Keeping that haunting set in mind, think about how terrifying it would be to encounter it in real life.
Photographer Seph Lawless’s new book, Bizarro: The World’s Most Hauntingly Beautiful Abandoned Theme Parks includes hauntingly beautiful photographs of the abandoned ‘Land of Oz’ park in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. An abandoned ‘Oz’ theme park seems like something straight out of a modern horror movie, but Lawless manages to capture an unexpected beauty. Take a look.
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Images via Seph Lawless
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