When you think of “10 twisted ways” people have entertained themselves, you probably picture modern true‑crime podcasts or horror‑themed escape rooms. In reality, our ancestors had a far more macabre taste for spectacle, and they turned everything from murder mysteries to public hangings into must‑see events. Buckle up, because we’re about to tour the eerie amusements that once filled crowds with equal parts terror and fascination.
Why the Past Loved a Good Shock
10 True Crime
Long before the era of streaming documentaries, criminals themselves were the first celebrities. Readers hungrily chased every headline about outlaws, bank robbers, and murderers, devouring serial accounts in the hope of snagging a gruesome sketch or a fresh‑blood photo of a crime scene.
Pat Garrett, the lawman who finally put an end to Billy the Kid, even felt compelled to pen his own version of events after the public devoured fifteen dime‑novel pamphlets glorifying the outlaw. Garrett’s memoir attempted to remind the nation that Billy was nothing more than a thief and a murderer.
The infamous ambush that felled Bonnie and Clyde turned the site into a chaotic shrine for true‑crime fanatics. One woman fled with a lock of Bonnie’s hair to sell, while another desperate onlooker tried to slice off Clyde’s trigger finger.
The coroner later reported, “Nearly everyone had begun collecting souvenirs such as shell casings, slivers of glass from the shattered car windows, and bloody pieces of clothing from the garments of Bonnie and Clyde. One eager man had opened his pocket knife and was reaching into the car to cut off Clyde’s left ear.”
Compared to streaming a podcast, that level of hands‑on gore doesn’t sound so terrible after all.
9 Le Grand Guignol
When Oscar Metenier threw open the doors to Le Grand Guignol in 1897, he invited a mix of prostitutes, petty criminals, and society’s outcasts onto the stage. Defiant, Metenier and his partner André Antoine told the authorities to keep their beers, and the theater soon earned a reputation for pushing the envelope with graphic bloodshed and visceral gore.
Plays such as Le Laboratoire des Hallucinations and Le Baiser dans la Nuit routinely packed houses of around 250, drawing in royalty, artists, and curious onlookers alike. Audiences were treated to scenes of dismemberment, acid‑etched revenge, and other perverse spectacles that left them both horrified and enthralled.
One production featured a doctor who discovers his lover’s paramour on the operating table, while another revolved around a man exacting vengeance on a woman who had disfigured him with acid. The shock value was intentional, and the theatre thrived on it.
A particularly infamous tableau showed a man strangling a woman to death, only to slice off her arm and discover she was still alive. The audience watched the macabre drama unfold in full view, gasping at each gruesome twist.
Le Grand Guignol survived until 1962, when dwindling crowds forced its closure. While the director blamed World War II, many observers pointed to his decision to soften the gore as the true cause of the decline.
8 Dark Rides
Today, “dark rides” usually conjure images of cartoon‑styled attractions and cutting‑edge technology. Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll uncover a time when these indoor journeys were steeped in horror, featuring mad scientists, demonic entities, and terrifying dragons.
Venturing beyond the big‑name amusement parks and into state fairs reveals that more than half of these rides embraced themes of madness, ghosts, and monstrous creatures. The atmosphere was deliberately unsettling, designed to make riders’ hearts race.
The Pretzel Amusement Ride Company rose to fame in the late 19th century by crafting the tracks that powered these eerie experiences. While the company supplied the mechanics, it was up to individual owners to devise the chilling narratives that would haunt riders.
Carnival proprietors quickly realized that a good scare translated into higher ticket sales. The trend peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, when slasher films dominated pop culture, and even visionary artist H.R. Giger designed a personal dark ride to showcase his signature biomechanical nightmares.
Dark rides persist today, backed by a devoted fan base that fights for their preservation. After all, who wouldn’t want at least one night in a rickety cart, hurtling through a shadowy chamber under the watchful eyes of carnival‑seasoned operators?
7 Slum Tourism
Imagine a billionaire pausing mid‑drive, thinking, “I really need to put my mansions and sports cars into perspective.” That fleeting self‑reflection sparked a bizarre industry: slum tourism. Beginning in 1884, affluent travelers paid handsomely to be guided through the poorest districts of major cities.
Neighborhoods such as White Chapel in London, Five Points in Manhattan, and the bustling streets of Mumbai became hot‑ticket destinations for the well‑heeled. Promoted as a charitable eye‑opener, the tours quickly morphed into a morbid curiosity for the elite, who wanted to glimpse life on the other side of the economic divide.
While the original marketing claimed the tours would inspire aid, the reality was a voyeuristic itch being scratched. Visitors snapped photographs, while locals were reduced to living exhibits for a day.
And contrary to the belief that this practice died out, it persists. Today you can still book guided walks through Dharavi, Charleroi, South Central Los Angeles, 8 Mile, Belfast, parts of South Africa, the Bronx, and even active disaster zones.
Kenyan activist Kennedy Odede summed it up in a New York Times op‑ed: “They get photos; we lose a piece of our dignity.” The sentiment still rings true.
6 Dime Museums
Marketed as “edutainment” for the working class, dime museums were actually low‑cost carnivals that offered a taste of the macabre. Unlike the refined museums of the upper middle class, these venues packed freak shows, “Fee‑Gee” mermaids, and a medley of oddities into a single, affordable building.
Visitors could marvel at bizarre performers, watch vaudeville acts, and even catch the early stages of future legends such as Harry Houdini and Maggie Cline. The museums served as a launchpad for many entertainers who later achieved worldwide fame.
Although their golden era peaked around the turn of the 20th century, the spirit of dime museums lives on in modern institutions like the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine, the Museum of Death in Los Angeles, and the Monroe Moosnick Museum in Lexington, Kentucky.
5 Cemetery Picnics
Among the darker amusements, cemetery picnics stand out as oddly wholesome. In the early 19th century, people craved any diversion from the drudgery of daily life, and the well‑kept graveyards offered a scenic escape.
Back then, public parks were scarce, and mortality hovered closer to everyday conversation. Families would stroll among the manicured lawns, tend to loved ones’ graves, and spread a blanket for a modest picnic, turning a solemn space into a communal gathering spot.
Today, most cemeteries enforce strict rules against picnicking, deeming the practice disrespectful. The shift reflects modern sensibilities about the sanctity of burial grounds.
4 Asylum Tourism
While it could be lumped together with the slum‑tourism phenomenon, asylum tourism gradually evolved into a more constructive curiosity. In the 1800s, pamphlets advertised visits to local mental‑health facilities, capitalizing on the public’s appetite for the eerie.
By the early 1900s, the tours had taken on a new purpose: showcasing the evolution of psychiatric care. Rather than merely gawking at the afflicted, visitors were guided through treatment rooms to witness the progressive methods being employed.
Some institutions discouraged the tours, fearing they turned patients into spectacles or distracted staff. Others embraced them, hoping to educate the public, dismantle stigma, and build confidence in mental‑health practices.
These divergent attitudes highlight how asylum tourism straddled the line between exploitation and enlightenment, reflecting broader societal shifts in how we perceive mental illness.
3 Witch Hunts
Witch hunts have haunted humanity ever since societies needed a scapegoat for misfortune. Though early medieval courts treated witchcraft as another capital crime, the phenomenon truly blossomed as public entertainment during the 16th century.
Fears of disease, famine, and the fierce rivalry between Protestant and Catholic factions created fertile ground for hysteria. Charismatic “witch hunters” like Matthew Hopkins traveled town‑to‑town, whipping up fear and turning trials into lucrative spectacles.
Hopkins and his cohort made a living by stoking panic, staging dramatic accusations, and turning the courtroom into a circus where innocent lives were sacrificed for the thrill of the crowd.
Across the Atlantic, American colonies adopted the same fervor. Whole towns flocked to courthouses to witness alleged witches cast spells, watch witnesses writhe in feigned agony, and even hope for a glimpse of the infamous “devil’s mark.”
These events turned civic duty into a morbid pastime. Thousands perished under the weight of superstition, all because the public craved a chilling show.
2 Dogfighting
The roots of dogfighting stretch back to the Roman conquest of Britain, when legionaries observed the fierce native war dogs and began importing them for betting spectacles. The blood sport quickly embedded itself in local culture.
By the 12th century, “baiting” – releasing a dog onto a larger, often chained animal – became a regular diversion for English nobility. Across continents, dogfighting, rooster fighting, and other animal duels evolved into a worldwide pastime.
Legislation caught up in the 1860s, with most U.S. states outlawing the practice as awareness grew about its cruelty. Many other nations soon followed suit, criminalizing the sport.
Despite legal bans, dogfighting persists in pockets around the globe. Countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, China, Albania, and even certain prefectures of Japan still permit the brutal contests, while law‑enforcement agencies worldwide continue to raid illegal rings.
1 Public Executions
Pinpointing the exact origin of public executions is tricky, but historians agree they began as a stark demonstration of governmental power. Over time, the grim ritual morphed into a carnival‑like gathering, drawing massive crowds eager for a morbid spectacle.
As Frances Larson notes in Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found, London in the early 19th century could attract up to 5,000 spectators for a standard hanging, while famous felons could pull crowds of 100,000. In 1936, an estimated 20,000 onlookers watched Rainey Bethea meet his end, marking the last public execution in the United States.
People arrived at the town square to hear final words, purchase snacks from vendors, laugh at side‑shows, and simply enjoy the communal experience of witnessing a death.
Although many nations have abandoned the practice, some still staged public executions as late as 2012, according to Amnesty International. France’s final public execution took place in 1939.
One notorious case involved serial killer Eugen Weidmann, who was guillotined before a crowd that included a teenage Christopher Lee. The governor, alarmed by the throngs scrambling for souvenirs, declared it the last public execution in France.
Lee Drake, a writer and 3‑D artist based in Orlando, now shares his fascination with horror on YouTube, keeping the legacy of these dark entertainments alive in a new medium.