Nostalgia Trip
I got to thinking today about when I was little and every year my family and I would go up to Wildwood, NJ for a week and visit the boardwalk and the beach. Man, I used to love the boardwalk like nothing else. It was FULL of cool shit. This was the mid-80's so everywhere you looked, you could buy those obnoxious plastic pony charms with huge neck chains, and then there was Lime Ricky's, Curley's Fries, Sam's Pizza, and....I forget the names but you could get steamed clams, taffy, and frozen custard as well.
But the rides were the best part, by far. Off the top of my head, I can recall the ladybug kiddie ride, the fish kiddie ride, the swing ride, the scrambler, the sea dragon, the wipeout (*HUGE* slide...), the hot air balloon ride, the ginormous ferris wheel, the funhouse, the jumping clown, the jumping frog, and...
Dracula's Castle.
Drac's Castle was always a place of intrigue for me. You could HEAR the castle long before you'd actually find it because it was continually blasting eerie organ music and an electronic dracula was perched on a balcony, reciting his speech to the crowd below. The employees seem to remember him saying:
Welcome to my Castle,
Come in, don't be afraid. The dead men inside will...no longer hurt you.
Meet my friends, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Hunchback, and the Phantom of the Opera.
In Castle Dracula you can see your reflection disappear in the Mirror of Death. You will see torture chambers, and Dungeons, and Human sacrifices.
Then, if you dare, sail on a sea of human blood, deep beneath the Castle walls...See the Catacombs of Death...
but now I must return, to entertain my guests!
Join us! We would love to have you...for Dinner!!
Now that may seem really corny, but pretend you're five years old for a minute and that its dark outside. Now pretend that this castle is lit up in the most frightening greenish-red light from the various ambiances they're trying to get going, that Mr. Dracula is shrouded in mist from his boat ride down below, and you can hear people somewhere in that castle screaming as they take the tour.
You also have no idea what's going on in there. Did I mention the eerie organ music? I would scare myself shitless just trying to imagine what went on in that place.
Let us not forget also that Drac's castle was completely out-of-place. Here, surrounded by the jovial lights and sounds of a summer-long carnival, is a gray stucco gothic castle right in the middle of the boardwalk. That alone was disconcerting enough as it was. Added to the fact that god-only-knew what went on in there and it was a place that frequently haunted my nightmares.
I got to thinking about it today after skimming X-E's article on the place and I had the thought cross my mind "Gee, you know, I'd really like to go back to Wildwood for a vacation one of these days and finally find out what went on in that castle and maybe put some old childhood fears to rest"
Alas, due to two dumbshit teenagers starting a fire in Castle Dracula in 2002 and burning it to the ground, it looks like I'll never get that chance. ;_;
But, but, BUT....!!!
I found a site that has lots of pictures of what went on inside. It even goes so far as to have the floorplans and describe the scenarios, which I personally find to be awesome.
http://www.darkinthepark.com/Dracula/cdHome/cdhome.htm
Its not as good as going, by any means, but at least it answers some questions. And it affirms for me that, yes, if I had actually mustered the courage to go on this thing when I was young and tender, I likely would have pissed my pants. Just reading about the thing makes me sort of glad that its no longer here. With how eager people are to scream "LAWSUITE!!11one" these days, it would only be a matter of time before some moron tried to sue for emotional scarring or some other bullshit reason.
But one thing's for sure. Lookit those pictures of the gore and nastiness. I know its just hokey dummies and statues, but still...lookit it. You'd never get away with building a haunted house in a public area like that these days. *sighs*
But the rides were the best part, by far. Off the top of my head, I can recall the ladybug kiddie ride, the fish kiddie ride, the swing ride, the scrambler, the sea dragon, the wipeout (*HUGE* slide...), the hot air balloon ride, the ginormous ferris wheel, the funhouse, the jumping clown, the jumping frog, and...
Dracula's Castle.
Drac's Castle was always a place of intrigue for me. You could HEAR the castle long before you'd actually find it because it was continually blasting eerie organ music and an electronic dracula was perched on a balcony, reciting his speech to the crowd below. The employees seem to remember him saying:
Welcome to my Castle,
Come in, don't be afraid. The dead men inside will...no longer hurt you.
Meet my friends, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Hunchback, and the Phantom of the Opera.
In Castle Dracula you can see your reflection disappear in the Mirror of Death. You will see torture chambers, and Dungeons, and Human sacrifices.
Then, if you dare, sail on a sea of human blood, deep beneath the Castle walls...See the Catacombs of Death...
but now I must return, to entertain my guests!
Join us! We would love to have you...for Dinner!!
Now that may seem really corny, but pretend you're five years old for a minute and that its dark outside. Now pretend that this castle is lit up in the most frightening greenish-red light from the various ambiances they're trying to get going, that Mr. Dracula is shrouded in mist from his boat ride down below, and you can hear people somewhere in that castle screaming as they take the tour.
You also have no idea what's going on in there. Did I mention the eerie organ music? I would scare myself shitless just trying to imagine what went on in that place.
Let us not forget also that Drac's castle was completely out-of-place. Here, surrounded by the jovial lights and sounds of a summer-long carnival, is a gray stucco gothic castle right in the middle of the boardwalk. That alone was disconcerting enough as it was. Added to the fact that god-only-knew what went on in there and it was a place that frequently haunted my nightmares.
I got to thinking about it today after skimming X-E's article on the place and I had the thought cross my mind "Gee, you know, I'd really like to go back to Wildwood for a vacation one of these days and finally find out what went on in that castle and maybe put some old childhood fears to rest"
Alas, due to two dumbshit teenagers starting a fire in Castle Dracula in 2002 and burning it to the ground, it looks like I'll never get that chance. ;_;
But, but, BUT....!!!
I found a site that has lots of pictures of what went on inside. It even goes so far as to have the floorplans and describe the scenarios, which I personally find to be awesome.
http://www.darkinthepark.com/Dracula/cdHome/cdhome.htm
Its not as good as going, by any means, but at least it answers some questions. And it affirms for me that, yes, if I had actually mustered the courage to go on this thing when I was young and tender, I likely would have pissed my pants. Just reading about the thing makes me sort of glad that its no longer here. With how eager people are to scream "LAWSUITE!!11one" these days, it would only be a matter of time before some moron tried to sue for emotional scarring or some other bullshit reason.
But one thing's for sure. Lookit those pictures of the gore and nastiness. I know its just hokey dummies and statues, but still...lookit it. You'd never get away with building a haunted house in a public area like that these days. *sighs*