Helter skelter

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This article is about the fairground ride. For other things with this name, see Helter Skelter (disambiguation).

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 is primarily (but not exclusively) found in British English.

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. According to witness testimony and the theory put forward by the prosecution, convicted murderer Charles Manson saw the song, among others, as a prophecy of a future race war.