Inspired by his ventures to real western ghost towns in America, RB Coburn purchased Buck Mountain in the Smoky Mountain town of Maggie Valley, North Carolina, and began construction of his own theme park in 1960. When it opened in 1961, Ghost Town in the Sky featured 3 different lands, each at a different elevation. These were Mountain Town, Mining Town, and “Indian” Village, the top elevation being 4,650 feet. There were two ways parkgoers could enter Ghost Town in the Sky – the double-incline railway and the chairlift. The park’s main attractions were live entertainment like choreographed gunfights and can-can dancers, but decades without a thrill ride ended in 1988 when the Red Devil Coaster first opened. A few additions were made throughout the 90s, but park maintenance began to fall by the wayside, as rides were habitually breaking down. Sadly, it seemed the park’s glory days were in the rearview.
In July 2002, the chairlift malfunctioned, leaving dozens of people stranded for hours. Days after this incident, the park closed for the season and didn’t reopen for 2003, ending 41 consecutive years of operation. Ghost Town sat abandoned until 2006, when a new holding company purchased it, spending $38 million dollars to get it up and running in time for a 2007 reopening. Unfortunately, the housing crisis and the subsequent decline in tourism resulted in the park’s all-time low visitor count in 2008. By 2009, $11 million more was spent to keep Ghost Town operational, $6 million being allocated solely to the Red Devil, which was renamed and reopened briefly as the Cliffhanger. (By briefly, I do mean very briefly – it was closed a mere 2 days after opening due to a failed inspection.) By the end of 2010, Ghost Town in the Sky was foreclosed upon with over $10 million of debt.
In 2012, local businesswoman Alaska Presley purchased the park at auction for $2.5 million. The chair lift and gift shop were reopened later that year, and she offered park tours to show guests what was in the works. However, getting Ghost Town to working order was no small feat; it was especially challenging to get water to the park (and very expensive). By 2015, a new vision was announced for Ghost Town. Renamed to Ghost Town Village, the old western town would be rethemed to an Appalachian village, and many of the existing rides were to be scrapped, deemed too expensive to repair. Despite its new theme, they intended to keep the gunfights going, and a new Christianity-themed Holy Land section of the park was planned as well. Ghost Town Village was supposed to open in 2016, but by June of that year, the property was put back on the market instead.
In Late 2019, a new corporation called Ghost Town in the Sky, LLC was formed, with developer Frankie Wood having negotiated a deal with Alaska Presley, making him a managing member. Unfortunately, Presley passed away in April 2022 at 98 years old. Seeing as she and Wood each held a 50% stake in Ghost Town, this prompted litigation to determine what was to become of the park. Jill McClure, Presley’s niece and the heiress of her stake, filed to dissolve Ghost Town in the Sky, LLC, but Wood apparently has other plans. He claims he has investors and financing verbally committed to the reopening of Ghost Town as a theme park, although there is no proof of this. There have been no reports on the lawsuit since November 2023, so for now, the park continues to sit – a bona fide Ghost Town in the Sky.
I spent 3 hours hiking up a mountain in the rain for this one, but it couldn’t have been more worth it!! If you’re looking for spectacular views (and an even better workout), I couldn’t recommend Ghost Town in the Sky enough!
VLOG of the exploration!:
https://youtu.be/FdbO6-aTBU8 URBEX INSTA for more disposable photos!:
http://instagram.com/lonelystarurbex FLICKR if you’re not on insta!:
https://www.flickr.../72177720314184571 *photos taken August 7, 2023*
crazy how aptly named this place is....
how bad do y'all think the line is today??
2009 Halloween addition: House of Terrors (I wasn't even scared I swear)
fingers crossed I'm tall enough to ride!
it would've been nice to take the chairlift up, but I took the scenic route instead
I could use a shot.... or 10 (for 50 cents)
kudzu: it has a mind of its own
order your copy of Access All Areas today!
