FantasticLand

Adam Jakes introduces his nonfiction book project on the infamous events at FantasticLand, addressing an audience familiar with the Florida amusement park’s global notoriety. Hurricane Sadie, described as the most powerful hurricane in history, struck Florida’s eastern coast on September 15, 2017. By November 1, thousands of people had died, and the government’s response to the hurricane was already dubbed “America’s Shame” before news of FantasticLand had even emerged.

When details of the park’s tragedy were revealed, the nation became fixated on the horrifying events. Of the 326 employees who stayed behind, 207 were evacuated, but “the fate of the 119 missing souls may never be known, though evidence of death and slaughter was immediately apparent” (2). Trapped in the park for 35 days, employees formed seven “tribes” that descended into brutal violence.

With his work, Jakes aims to correct irresponsible journalism and humanize those trapped in FantasticLand, urging readers to “remember the children they used to be. Because while many of them are still children, for a few weeks they were monsters. Most likely, you would have been too” (6). The book includes streamlined interviews with individuals connected to the park, omitting Jakes’s questions for better