The Haunted Snail Ride was the coolest looking amusement park ride of all time. Located at the Dreamland Amusement Park in Kent, UK, this attraction operated during the 1920s and looked like something from a surrealist painting.
Before rides were made of plastic, they were hand-crafted with wood, plaster, cement, and paint. The creativity and love that went into building old rides like this was trulyapparent, compared to many of the average looking carnival attractions of today.
I've seen this image before and it always stops me in my tracks whenever I come across it. The detail and humanoid features on the snail's face are completely striking, and slightly unsettling in a way that I love. This ride looks like an absolute dream. I wish there were more artistic carnival attractions like this one today.
From Instagram
Back in the day the figural additions to rides and amusements were much creepier what's also great about these figural creations is that there was no molded plastic back then. It was all wood, plaster and cement.
