Helter Skelter (amusement park ride)
|
|
In British English, a Helter Skelter is an amusement park ride with a slide built in a spiral around a high tower. Users climb the tower and usually slide down on a mat. It is thus similar to a waterless hydroslide.
The term gained notoriety during the late 1960s. In 1968, The Beatles released the song Helter Skelter. Although to Britons the song clearly referenced the ride with its lyrics ("When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide"), this meaning was unknown to many in the United States. Among them was Charles Manson, who mistakenly interpreted the song as a message to go on a killing spree. This infamous episode has also been referenced in Don McLean's "American Pie" where he sings "Helter Skelter in the summer swelter" - clearly a reference to Charles Manson's summer killing spree.