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Tourist Trap



Estimated reading time — < 1 minute

In rural Wisconsin, there is an old abandoned park. Built in the 1920s, it served as the town’s gathering place for everyone.

That is, until a newly developed Train and Tunnel for Tots™ ride was installed in 1932. It was an innocent looking childish train, with one main (mechanized) head car, with three small trolleys pulled behind it. It went around some loops before going into a small tunnel.

But this is where the story gets weird. There were numerous cases of child deaths that year, all of them happening after the child rode on that train system. Some kids went missing in that short tunnel (about ten feet), and others went comatose after leaving. One, upon exiting, was found to be dead. Her dress was covered in what looked like small bloody handprints. Some killed themselves by scratching at their throats until they bled out, and one of them even killed another child before hanging herself with razor wire at the family’s farm.

The park was closed, and the town’s popularity as a tourist town plummeted.

Recently, a team of scientists were sent out to the park. They taped a video camera to the train, and put a new intern in with it, before sending it on its way onto the tracks.

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When the train left the tunnel, it was empty, except for the camera.

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The last ten seconds were nothing but static, save for the sound of children laughing.


Credited to Arachne.

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Copyright Statement: Unless explicitly stated, all stories published on Creepypasta.com are the property of (and under copyright to) their respective authors, and may not be narrated or performed under any circumstance.

154 thoughts on “Tourist Trap”

  1. I found the element that it was a short tunnel in a public area from which ppl went missing or died to actually be creepier

  2. I guess the researchers put the intern on the train to hold the camera steady after they ran out of tape. Either that or they needed a live specimen and lab rats were getting expensive.

  3. Scrumptious pasta, but…
    How come the children had bloody handprints on them before any children had died? and HOW did the first child get killed? Tasty pasta, it just needs more butter.

  4. I went into that train ride. All it did was play “It’s A Small World” until my ears started bleeding. Talk about a tourist trap.

  5. do have any videos of this? im interested to learning more about this. can you give me a link to that video the team of scientist made?(well, if you can find it) i would love pictures of this location and mostly the tunnel. videos or pictures would be fine. thank you and please reply back

  6. Not bad, but it seems like you were going too much for the “shock factor” thing. If used correctly, it can be effective, but in this case it felt forced. I agree with MrsWellDone. 7/10

  7. I give it a 7/10 for effort I mean there could have been more description to the story. WHO IS GHOST DEMONS KILLING CHILDREN???? A Mediocre pasta needs a lil more seasoning

  8. Robert Sherridon

    Further talk on this subject and the site will be taken down, this subject is not one to be talked about!

  9. You havnt been there so what do any of you know, i have been there, and it is not something to be discussed about.

    Bieng the couragous 24 year old i was, me and my 3 parteners in the study thought it would be an adventure to visit this place, but on arrival all of us felt a kind of negative energy. People dont realise the horror we felt when we were there. Insomnia is now an issue for me, as what we encountered has scarred me mentally and physically. I never believed in paranormal activities or happenings until that day.

    This is not to be laughed about and im sure you will be wanting to know what happend when we were there. I wish that you will not proceed talking about this anyfurther.

  10. ReverendLostLamb

    Okay, this was short, but not too short. It was one of those 5min reads before you go to work or so and it’s still enough to scare you.

  11. \"Hey guys, what\’s up?\"
    \"Oh, not much, Intern Steve. Hey, we were just going to investigate a carnival ride where dozens of children disappeared and died grisly deaths. Wanna come ride it?\"
    \"Okely dokely!\"

    Other than that it was a good pasta. 9/10.

  12. Creepy pasta. Short, to the point, creepy, pasta. Thanks for not making it retardedly elaborate and uselessly long.

  13. theguywhoreadsthisstuff

    Thats it? So the investigators reviewed the tape and then everyone fucked of and never looked into it again? riiiiiiiiiiiiight.

  14. Theconversationalist

    When it comes to investigating weird paranormal sites linked to multiple deaths,ALWAYS send in an intern.A new one preferrably.(You’ll miss him less)

  15. It…was quite interesting, to say the least. The length was perfect for this kind of story, as too many details can make it seem drab and overdone. However, I wish that more detail had been put into the description of the recording.

  16. 8/10

    Nice, short, creepy story. I want the classic picture of the abandoned clown train to be forever associated with this.

    @Some Girl You\’ll Never Know: Simply coming into contact with blood infected with those diseases would have infected you and there was no mention of people getting any of those illnesses in the orginal story.

    That comment was stupid and so are you.

  17. For the updated version: So nobody thought of throwing dynamite at it and blowing it up? I would like to see spirits fuck with that…

    Awesome pasta. I find most of the pasta on this site at least decent, actually. Guess I have yet to become jaded :D

  18. Fish and chips guvnah

    Meh, was just an intern. Not like we can\’t get more, amirite?

    Oh also pasta is quite good. I\’d give it an 8/10.

  19. Oh wow. Malaria, the Plague virus, etc. are not extinct, haha! Before going round telling silly stories, educate yourself “Girl”.

    Anyway, this story was ok. The creepy factor is there, but it needs better structure. Maybe if it was written in the form of a journal… or a news story… or more details, or… something. It’s just too short and simple the way it is now. It doesn’t quite get you into it enough.

  20. Okay, I read this pasta, and totally loved it.
    The mystery and how vauge it is made it even more eerie.
    Even though it could have used a little more explination, it truely gave me a chill.
    9/1O!
    Tastey pasta!

  21. Some girl you'll never know...

    I’ve been to this place, I’m not joking in the slightest. My best friend dared me to go through the tunnel – and i did. It was the weirdest thing. At first, you hear the sounds of young childhood, you know, kids running, playing, laughing, and enjoying life. As you go through deeper, the sound gets louder, it drags you in. Out of nowhere, tiny, bloody, bony hands are felt all over your body. ALL OVER. I was lucky, i got out alive, but when the ambulance came, they tested some of the blood on my shirt, it had at least 40 deadly – extinct – diseases. Malaria, the bubonic plague, and several others. What? Don’t believe me? Just ask my dead friend, Jaceon Ray Greene. R.I.P. Jace. <3

    —Some—–Girl——You’ll—–Never——–Know…——–

  22. To add to my previous post:
    @Herpderp ” credited to the author with the alias of Arachne. ” Unless they added that in later, you missed out on that part.

    @Everyone saying about tearing the thing down: Yeah, I know. I asked Phone to please update this story with the one in my thread ( https://creepypasta.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12986&p=53396#p53396 ), but I don’t know if she can really do that…
    >_<
    But in that version, I said that any attempts to remove the ride proved futile. Also, the intern was removed (replaced with other kinds of recording equipment.)
    *shrug*

  23. left some questions
    why was the tunnel all scaryshitfuckkiller in the first place?
    and what would happen if i t was demolished or taken apart?

    still good pasta, small in portion as it is
    8/10

  24. A user from Funnyjunk has posted this story and has not given the author any credit :/
    Its a very good story btw :]

  25. The writing is actually pretty decent, so 8/10. Lost a point for the tunnel being implausibly short, but then gained it back for the disturbing/hilarious way that the researchers casually screw the poor intern over.

  26. @TastyCakes

    Yeah, but if EVERYTHING made sense, there also probably wouldn’t be anything dangerous/scary/supernatural in the first place in an entirely empty tunnel that is TEN FEET LONG.

  27. Charlotte Mander

    For this to be the first pasta I read when I come back is nice.

    I liked it.

    Like so many others say, short but sweet, and I agree.

    You don’t have to read too far into it, and it delivers.

    I’d like to see it as an animation.

    –Char Mander

  28. … You would think that after the first child’s death the ride should have been shut down immediately. Because, you know, that’s what happens in the real world, even if it was an accident.

    And if it happened EVERY time the train went in the tunnel it would have been shut down that very day and no good, loving parent would let their child on a ride that kills them.

    Unbelievable, predictable, bland. 1/10

  29. This was good. It just had the atmosphere of the old-style pastas – and, yeah, I liked it. It was good.

  30. @Anon: I think it was with Lolwhat’s comment about the Doritoes.

    Thats when it became official to me, at least. :D

  31. “Well, Eric, maybe you shouldn’t have stolen my fucking Doritos. Get in the train with the camera.”

    Kind of how I imagined it going down.
    Anyway, I really liked it. Children fucking creep me out.

  32. 8/10

    Not very original, but very well written. Don’t misunderstand me; I can’t write myself, so I’m not complaining at all. Good one! ^^

    Maybe Eric should’ve been okay after all? It only affected children, right?

  33. Imperfect, but I liked this much better than other recent posts. Brief and simple, didn’t employ excessive description or background information to make it creepy. It gave me a chill, that much is certain; it’s a refreshing step in the right direction.

  34. It was a great pasta, but the Hades ride in the Wisconsin Dells was also dark, and no one died there, so maybe the ride was cursed/there was something in it.

  35. @Rabbit: haha. I live in the northwoods, so we get alot of tourists up here for the hunting. I feel your pain.
    @lol *shrug* Its still pretty rough imo. People on the forums wanted me to suggest it, so I did.
    @Charles Bronson *shrug* cabin fever maybe? And since Phone approves all of the messages, I could assume she has some sort of IP address thing to tell her who is posting multiple comments. I am not doing that.
    @Wat originally, it was supposed to be 30 or something, but i type-o’d it, but never remembered to change it. It was removed in the new version that can be found on the forums.
    @Cheryl waiiiiit. Aunt Cheryl? ._. :D Thanks anyway.
    @ChairCry *shrug* like i said before, its rough. I don’t honestly like it all that much either.

  36. i feel there could have been more testing of the tunnel, like with just a camera, nothing happens, all lit up and explored, nothing happens, then on a whim some scientists ride and get taken, or go all ‘Contact’ and the cameras have way longer footage on them than the tunnel ride could possibly be… idk. but i like the short ones. some of these creepypastas have been straight up novellas.

  37. Uhh, how could you be scared by this story? There was absolutely nothing original or frightening about it.

  38. charles bronson

    lol @ “rural wisconsin” why does all the fucked up shit have to happen in hick areas? obviously the author is making all these comments. shit sucked.

  39. I love this. It’s espicially creepy considering I live near the tourist trap known as the Wisconsin Dells.

  40. Too all of the people commenting about the intern (Eric? hehe. Maybe he DOES like doritoes) and the tunnels length, I accidentally posted the wrong version of it on the forums. I’ve edited the main post, so i hope Phone is kind enough (<3? ;-;) to update it here for me.

    Either way, you can read the updated version here:
    https://creepypasta.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12986

    ~Arachne

  41. You know it’s a great pasta when it actually doesn’t get that many comments! There’s no snarkers going “this is shit, I would rather die than read this again, 2/10.”

  42. Gave me the chills. I’m never going to a rural Wisconsin town.

    What’s my reason to go to that state, anyway?

  43. Oooh~
    There’s something really classic about this! Short, to the point, has creepy children and darkness… Wow. I wanna cry happy tears now that I know that the essence of creepypasta has yet to die.
    Bravo, I say.
    9/10!

  44. Beautiful! This captures the spirit of what creepypasta used to be… short, creepy and vague… Well done.

  45. Why all the positive remarks? This pasta sucked ground gopher balls through a dick. People died in a dark area. Absolutely no explanation given. Is the laughter of children supposed to be frightening? Weak.

  46. Am I the only one who is bored by this? It’s great that it’s short and all, but it wasn’t that interesting.

  47. I like short stories better. This one’s very good, but if it was looonger, the ending would have been disappointing… you know what I mean?

  48. Good, but not sensible, lolz.

    10-foot-long tunnel? And the “last” ten seconds of what – of getting through the very long tunnel? Honestly, you take a few strides and you’re through. Anon had it right when they questioned the length of the tunnel.

    Good, but non sensible, lolz.

    LOLZ.

  49. Sounds like it belongs on the SCP Foundation website. I agree with the 10ft comment, but that’s the only problem I really had with it. It was excellent, otherwise.

  50. Wonderfully creepy, but ultimately directionless. There was no real climax and no real explanation, or even an attempt at one. Still, it’s great because of how pleasantly short it is. We need more pasta like this.

  51. I’m going to be honest. I felt like it could maybe use a little editing, especially in the end. The ending was sorta scary for a second, and then I thought, “wait, haven’t I read this before…?”

    I think this is a great pasta, and it’s got a lot of potential for being super creepy, but I get the feeling it’s not QUITE there yet. I’m too picky, though.

    All in all, refreshing and delicious pasta.

  52. Well, Eric, maybe you shouldn’t have stolen my fucking Doritos. Get in the train with the camera.

    That ruined the pasta for me. It’s like adding too much sauce.

  53. Yay! I didn’t recognize the pasta at first because i asked them to come up with a new name.

    Thanks for the comments guys! :D

  54. Frankly, I liked this pasta. It’s short and sweet, not too wordy, and leaves the reader to guess at what’s actually happening. Though I do think it was stupid of the scientists to send in an intern, I mean, how stupid can you be? I agree with Anon that they should have just lit up the tunnel, but that could have shown nothing. Perhaps the tunnel only killed if it was dark or something. I don’t know.

    9/10

  55. I can’t help but imagine that clown train that’s used for the ‘locations’ header.

    Interesting story, but a little short.

  56. Ahahahaha it’s been a while since a pasta has sent a chill down my spine. Very refreshing! Thankyou, author.

  57. Sir Shoop Whoopington

    Finally, a pasta that will get no tl;dr! I do read every pasta though, to be frank.
    This one was exactly what a creepypasta should be.

  58. This was actually quite good. A little chilling. Not nerve-bendingly horrifying but enough to make me shudder. Nice work.

    also….
    BUT WHO WAS BLOODY HANDPRINTS?

  59. I like it when I don’t think about it.

    If the tunnel was only 10 feet long, why not just illuminate it with something completely? Why not just light it up where you could see everything and walk in.

    But I’m nitpicking, it was actually creepy and a decent enough read. 8/10.

  60. SuperDannyGlover

    Eh, alright. Would you not send the camera alone first? I don’t think you’d send in an intern too. “Oh yeah, we need to investigate this tunnel where a bunch of children died. So we’ll run the train through with a camera running. Oh and Eric you go too.”

    All in all, vagueness can be your friend in writing creepypasta, but I need more than children laughing (read: generic creepy).

  61. Yep, send an intern into a tunnel which has been linked to the deaths of multiple children, sounds about right. Aaaanywayz, was still fun to read.

    1. Interns are the red-shirts of the science world. A lot less money and paperwork if they die than an actual researcher. Easier to replace too.

  62. excellent! Finallt this site is getting back to the basics. I wouldn’t have minded some more details, but tasty pasta overall.

  63. Commissar Tzeentch

    @0_O

    Basically the children that went in the ride killed them self because of something in the tunnel.

    So recently a team of scientists went there to see what caused these children to kill them self so they taped a camera to the train and sent it in.

    When the train came out the tape was empty exept for the last 10 seconds where there was a sound of children laughing.

    Also its great to see a pasta that is actually interesting enough to read till the end of it.

    1. It was a train that went through a small tunnel, the problem with it is children died from who knows what. That being the scientists put a camera on the front which let them see or HEAR the thing inside. Once the train went into the tunnel it record over the static the dead children’s soles inside the tunnel.

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