I was thinking today about the new additions in Trimper's Haunted House from Bill Tracy's defunct Phantasmagoria as well as the Ghost Ship installation in 1988. The Ghost Ship stunts were welcomed in to Trimper's Haunted House in 1988, exactly 24 years after the ride was built in 1964. The Phantasmagoria stunts were being welcomed into Trimper's Haunted House exactly 24 years after the Ghost Ship stunts were installed in 1988. Add the two together and that makes 48 years, the exact age of Trimper's Haunted House this year. As of the current age of the ride today, the Ghost Ship stunts were installed halfway through its lifetime. We seem to be on some sort of 24 year cycle. I wonder what will happen in 2036? An installation and expansion including stunts from Waldameer's Whacky Shack? Hmmm?
Stay tuned for updates regarding the placement of the Phantasmagoria stunts as well as some other major changes!
February 20, 2012
Check out an awesome advertisement from The Deadline featuring the famous animated talking door knocker that adorns the wall above the entrance door. The Deadline was a company set up as a joint venture between V.P. Productions and Boneyard Productions. Although, whenever service or parts are needed for the effect, the management calls V.P. Productions directly. Special thanks to Randy Skalos, caretaker of Waldameer’s Whacky Shack for sharing this piece from his collector’s vault!
February 18, 2012
Oh, how I love the smell of progress! ... or fresh paint.
So far this year, several key things have received a fresh paint job in Trimper's Haunted House:
The floor (ceiling) of the Upside-Down Room
The floor of the first room (if you can remember, practically all of the paint was worn off)
The Lobby floor
The HVAC unit above the Torture Chamber
The HVAC duct work above the downhill area
The front wall in the Wave Room that was showing a lot of screws and washers from when it was reattached to the wall after being vandalized.
The door and trim for the lobby ticket booth was replaced and repainted, as well as the entire interior of the ticket booth.
In addition, we spent a considerable amount of time combing the ride and painting any miscellaneous pipes or wires black that would have otherwise stood out. Part of the agenda for the remainder of this winter is to start repainting floors on the second level. We might get there, we might not. Either way, we are making great progress!
February 16, 2012
Artifacts in Trimper’s Haunted House? Oh Rats!
While the installation of the newly-acquired stunts from Phantasmagoria was taking place, we also spent a lot of time cleaning the ride and collecting a decade of trash. Attention was given to places in the ride that otherwise would have been ignored, and as a result, we found an artifact that is incredibly interesting!
While contemplating the relocation of the Mermaid on the second story, we were cleaning the diorama where it was originally located and in a far corner found something odd. It didn’t really look like anything at first glance other than a melted pile of rubber. I picked it up and realized it was a rubber Rat that apparently melted as a result of multiple summers of hot beach weather. There was also a possibility that the Rat melted during a small fire that took place in the Mermaid area some years back.
I turned the Rat over and realized it was hollow and stuffed with newspaper to keep it “full” in its prime. Out of curiosity, I pulled out the piece of newspaper inside and discovered it was a New York Times issue from July of 1964, the same time period that Trimper’s Haunted House was being installed!
So, since we know the Rat is dated back to the ride’s inception, the question is, where was the Rat located and how did it end up in the Mermaid?
Back in the 1990s, I vividly recall a Rat of similar dimensions (sans the melting) being mounted in the Falling Barrel room on one of the timbers. There was only one Rat in there, but it always stood out to me. One day, the Rat disappeared and I always wondered where it went. My guess is that some rider grabbed it, held on to it until the Mermaid area, and then threw it in the diorama afraid that he or she would get caught with it. And, there it stayed for almost 20 years.
The only other place in the ride where I remember a similar prop was in Body in the Cellar before entering the Falling Beam hill. But, my logic tells me this Rat did not come from that effect as the water in the stunt would have deteriorated the newspaper within minutes. The Rat we found clearly came from a “dry” area.
As this historical ride continues to make millions of people smile, we continue to piece together the mysteries of the mysterious! Awesome find!
February 8, 2012
Okay, I'm about to drop two gems on you. I hope you're sitting down...
This video is the first of its kind; a ride through Trimper's Haunted House in 1986 when it was one level. It was expanded to two stories in 1988, only two years later. The video also contains shots of Morbid Manor on the Pier, and the interior of Marty's Playland. Credit for this exclusive goes to Chris Evans, historian of all things retro and nostalgic.
Although this video was shot prior to night vision on cameras, you can still make out a lot of your favorite features and their sound effects. Although the effects were clearly in different locations back then, it's awesome to see the original placement of the stunts when they were installed in 1964. Most visible is the Rat, Crooked Timbers, Upsidedown Room, Old Mill, Knit Wit, Torture Chamber, Franenstein's Monster, and Last Drop effects. Back then, it appears the interior sound effects were actually played at a faster speed, making them sound different. But don't be fooled, they are indeed the same! Enjoy!
Below, check out an awesome video featuring a ride through of Trimper's Haunted House in 1991, only three years after the second story was added which included installation of Bill Tracy gags from Ghost Ship at defunct Ocean Playland Park on 65th street. In this video, you can see several long lost stunts including the Wolfman, Body in the Cellar, Wine Cellar, Mermaid, Crab, Attic Stairs, and Mad Scientist. You can also see the original location for the Birthday Party before it was moved to the downhill area. It's awesome to see how fresh the paint is on some of these effects! Credit for this video goes to Chris Evans, historian of all things retro and nostalgic. He allowed Trimper's Haunted House Online to show this exclusively.
February 6, 2012
WHOA! Check out a video just added to our YouTube Channel of Trimper's Haunted House and the Ocean City Boardwalk from 1986 shot while riding on the boardwalk train! A one-story Haunted House can be seen at the very end of the video, complete with the organ music playing in the lobby! Special thanks to Chris Evans for sharing!
February 3, 2012
I posted some old photos from 1991 of the Crab and Headslinger on the Facebook page. Check them out! Also, I have been in touch with someone who might have video footage of inside of the ride from 1986, back when the Haunted House was one level! Stay tuned.
The installation of the new "old" effects will take place in about a week. I'll be updating the Facebook page with the progress. Check back for updates!
