Haunted Castle.

[shark]

Hi, I just read the article on the front page about the Haunted Castle and the fire. Has anyone ever been on it? If you have could you tell me about it? Thanks.

[robert]

I was never in the Haunted Castle at SFGA but I was through Castle Dracula in Wildwood about 8 times total in 95, 96, and 98. Castle Dracula was a full castle unlike the SFGA castle which had a false front with several truck trailers in the back. Castle Dracula had several rooms like the front room, cellblock hall, dark maze, blood laboratory, execution room, maze, ramp up, hallway, stairs down and crush room. It was the last remaining example of classic 70's horror in NJ it opened 1977 over the 1919 old mill which became the Dungeon boat ride, it burned Jan 16, 2002 by arson. Two young males broke in and lit matches to see, similar to what happened at SFGA in 1984 but without other guests and the two guys escaped unharmed and were arrested. The castle was a total loss. I still miss it. There's a Castle Dracula in Niagara Falls, ON Canada which was also built in the 70's and has dark hallways, scenes, actors, glow in the dark paint/lights, and stairs up and down. It's the next best thing now that WW's castle is gone probably forever. Plus there's also House of Frankenstein, Haunted House, and a couple more, etc. Trust me, NJ will never see the likes of any of these types of attractions ever again!! There's too much red tape with state laws, etc., to open up a new haunt in NJ. We're lucky that the Haunted Manor (formerly of Seaside) is able to operate. Lake George, NY is another place with a few good haunts. Dr. Morbid's Haunted House, House of Frankenstein Wax Museum, Alien Encounter. There is an article on here (dark in the park) about the Niagara haunts and www.darkridethrills.com has articles on Wildwood, Lake George, NY, Laffland in NY, Jenkinson's Fun House at Pt. Pleasant Beach, and Knoebel's Haunted Mansion. Note that the now-demolished Dr. Blood's is shown on the site. It was razed January 2007. Most of those other haunts on the site have a secure future for now.

[shark]

robert said:

I was never in the Haunted Castle at SFGA but I was through Castle Dracula in Wildwood about 8 times total in 95, 96, and 98. Castle Dracula was a full castle unlike the SFGA castle which had a false front with several truck trailers in the back. Castle Dracula had several rooms like the front room, cellblock hall, dark maze, blood laboratory, execution room, maze, ramp up, hallway, stairs down and crush room. It was the last remaining example of classic 70's horror in NJ it opened 1977 over the 1919 old mill which became the Dungeon boat ride, it burned Jan 16, 2002 by arson. Two young males broke in and lit matches to see, similar to what happened at SFGA in 1984 but without other guests and the two guys escaped unharmed and were arrested. The castle was a total loss. I still miss it. There's a Castle Dracula in Niagara Falls, ON Canada which was also built in the 70's and has dark hallways, scenes, actors, glow in the dark paint/lights, and stairs up and down. It's the next best thing now that WW's castle is gone probably forever. Plus there's also House of Frankenstein, Haunted House, and a couple more, etc. Trust me, NJ will never see the likes of any of these types of attractions ever again!! There's too much red tape with state laws, etc., to open up a new haunt in NJ. We're lucky that the Haunted Manor (formerly of Seaside) is able to operate. Lake George, NY is another place with a few good haunts. Dr. Morbid's Haunted House, House of Frankenstein Wax Museum, Alien Encounter. There is an article on here (dark in the park) about the Niagara haunts and www.darkridethrills.com has articles on Wildwood, Lake George, NY, Laffland in NY, Jenkinson's Fun House at Pt. Pleasant Beach, and Knoebel's Haunted Mansion. Note that the now-demolished Dr. Blood's is shown on the site. It was razed January 2007. Most of those other haunts on the site have a secure future for now.

I hav been to niagara falls plenty of times, is castle dracula in Niagara falls anything like the one from NJ?

[verminsnot]

shark said:

Hi, I just read the article on the front page about the Haunted Castle and the fire. Has anyone ever been on it? If you have could you tell me about it? Thanks.

I have alot of fond memories of The Haunted Castle.At the time I did'nt appreciate it as much, since it could'nt compare to the L.B.Haunted Mansion,but it did have it's own unique ambiance.
A few of the best rooms....
The first room had a rat covered corpse in a coffin, under a strobe light.An old lady,who was also covered it rats,would pop out of the wall,then chase the patrons.Their muffled screams would effectively chill everyone waiting outside the castle.
The Spider's lair was a web covered cavern,filled with a dozen 2 foot long spiders.Several victums were strewn about,bound in the strands.One of the bound humans, was spinning from the ceiling with an arachnid, eating him alive.In latter years they protected this set with plexiglass.
The longest room had a hudge spinning roller with several screaming people chained to it.One additional victum was being spun on a medevial wheel.The chamber was watched over by a skull headed phantom.
One hallway got smaller and smaller until you had to squeeze past,what looked like,a giant grey nose.This one was definately not handicap excessible.
The last room(if you entered from the left entrance) was a graveyard set filled with cloaked actors.They would chase you down a winding wooden walkway until you exited.Since this area never seemed to be air-conditioned,the actors often got over-aggresive.Expecially to a bunch of obnoxious 13 year olds(my buddies and me)who would go through 8 times in one day ;D

[mclunatic4evr]

My favorite room was the Janitorial closet, I remember the werewolf chased the werechicken into that room and did horrible things.

[laffinthedark]

I went through it in 1978 and in 1981. I recall many of the stunts one of the posters described above. Also, there were long lines for it both times I was there. Yes, I also recall some the actors being overly aggressive. In 1981, I went through with some players from my softball team after we had played in a Trenton tournament. Some guy dressed as a zombie must have had a death wish, pardon the pun. He told the biggest guy on our team, wearing a NY Jets jersey, that he looked like a "Christmas tree" -- must have been referring to the green and white colors. Anyway, our big guy starts chasing the zombie who made like a real ghost and vanished into the darkness. Later, at dinner in the western-themed section of the park, we told the big dude's wife that her husband "kicked some skinny zombie's ass" or some fabrication like that.

[1992]

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