A helter skelter is a funfair or amusement park ride with a slide built in a spiral around a high tower. Users climb up inside the tower and slide down the outside, usually on a mat or hessian sack. Typically the ride will be of wooden construction and, in the case of fairground versions, designed to be disassembled to facilitate transportation between sites. The term is primarily (but not exclusively) found in British English. In the US, they are sometimes called a "tornado slide".
The ride inspired the Beatles song of the same name and is also mentioned in the songs "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" from Genesis, "Ball and Chain" by XTC, "Fade In-Out" by Oasis, "Fat Gal" by Merle Travis, "Wild Child" by Enya, "American Pie" by Don McLean, "Bloodbath in Paradise" by Ozzy Osbourne, and "Black Curtains" by Megadeth. In March 2010, The Shapeshifters also released a track called "Helter Skelter".