As soon as you enter the Anaheim, CA, Theme Park you notice the change. Once “the happiest place on earth,” Disneyland is now the merriest as well. It has been a custom ever since the park opened to decorate the park for the winter Holidays. Even the animations in rides like It’s A Small World are redressed for the season. The Disney people have stayed ahead of their competitors by changing or enhancing attractions and promoting them as new. The latest overhaul, new for 2001, is the beloved Haunted Mansion. Just 2 years after the ride celebrated its 30th anniversary, the ride was put through the most drastic temporary re-themeing of any ride in the park. In early September the ride closed, and for the next month a transformation was performed. When completed, the Haunted Mansion Holiday was born. The grounds and the whole ride turned into Halloweentown from the Tim Burton/Disney Studios movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

As you approach the wrought iron gates of the property, you see hundreds of glowing pumpkins all around. Jack Skellington himself sets on top of the gates and ponders over the snowflake he holds in his hand. The Mansion facade is covered with garland and hundreds of candles. Jack brought two things with him from Halloweentown, a coffin-shaped sleigh that is parked on the roof of the building and the giant clock that counts down the days until “XMAS.”

The Mansion foyer has been decked out with garland and skulls, and the Ghost Host has a new, holiday spiel. When the foyer is full and the doors to the outside have closed, you are off on your holiday adventure. The doors to the stretching room open and, walking in, you notice that Jack has decorated this room as well. The four paintings that usually hang on the walls are replaced with four stained glass windows, with each window depicting a nice holiday scene. Then the doors of the room close and the lighting grows dark. All of a sudden, the smashing of glass rings out. Black lights dim up to reveal that the stained glass windows have shattered to reveal new paintings behind them. This new art features some of the new Halloweentown toys. When the full lengths of the paintings are revealed, the frames, which were not really frames at all, open their monstrous eyes. Thunder and lightening flashes and the ceiling disappears to reveal a giant head of Jack Skellington!

Then the room goes completely black and a child’s voice is heard singing a dark refrain of “ Fa La La La Laaaaaaaaaa.” The door opens and the loading hallway comes into view. It has also been decked out with garland and skulls. All five of the changing pictures have been redone as well and now reflect the Nightmare Before Christmas theme. The part of the hall with the following busts now has spider webs with the words “Noel” and “Ho Ho Ho” spun into them. A sign that reads “Free Sleigh Rides” indicates that your “Black Christmas Sleigh” is waiting. Across the Doom Buggy track from the loading conveyer is a giant Christmas card that reads “Merry Christmas.” No…wait, the first 3 letters of Merry are changing; it now says “Scary Christmas.”

Your Doom Buggy ascends the stairs where piles of evil presents cover both sides of the path. One stack has a vampire teddy bear on top. Around the corner you see the suit of armor, still on guard. In the Endless Hallway where the floating candelabra usually are, you see Jack’s dog Zero flying to his present of bones. In the conservatory, the raven is missing and in his place is a manic plant choir. The coffin has been wrapped with a bow and a tag that reads “Do Not Open ‘Til XMAS.” Entering into the Corridor of Doors, you pass underneath a wreath whose vines have run amok and reach out for you.

In place of the floating instruments in the séance circle are giant tarot cards featuring the 13 Days of Christmas. These cards were given out as a gift to those who attended the Haunted Mansion Haunted Evening promotion (which commemorated the opening of the Haunted Mansion Holiday), and Madame Leota recites the 13 Days of Christmas from her crystal ball. Turning out onto the balcony you get the first view of the ballroom. The table that used to hold a wedding cake and plates has been replaced with a demented gingerbread house and a giant bone Christmas tree with spider decorations. The dancers still dance, but to a haunting version of “Carol of the Bells,” and the raven makes his only appearance here. Above the balcony, a doorway that is normally curtained off has the drapes pulled back to reveal a Library, never seen on the ride before. In the room are a few shelves lined with books and a spinning tree made of books. The existence of this “new” room was hinted at on the Disneyland website. Each day after the opening of the Mansion Holiday, a new riddle was posted about various things to look for in the ride.

The music dies down as you enter the attic. It seems that all of the presents Jack plans on delivering are being kept in this room. With scary toys everywhere, the sudden pop up of one or two provides a good fright. While traveling through the attic, you can see what seems to be a very large snake; its tail is curled up into the shape of a Christmas tree with a star on top. Strewn about the attic are Sandy Claws’ giant gift lists, and around the bend of the attic you come face to face with the snake, chomping away on the list of children’s names!

Turning out into the graveyard you will notice that it is covered in snow. Quoting the Ghost Host, “Sandy Claws’ work is magic both outside and in, one final touch made his bony face grin. Now what better gift on my friends to bestow, than a graveyard that’s covered in ghostly white snow?” Drifting off of the roof you come to meet Jack, dressed as Sandy Claws with Zero by his side, taking the place of the Caretaker and his dog. The entire graveyard is singing a new song. Crypts are tied up with bows and many of the graveyard ghosts are wearing Santa hats. The Singing Busts have left for the winter and new Singing Pumpkins take their place. The Mummy and Executioner ghosts have their own Christmas Trees, and giant snow angel statues line the Doombuggy’s path.

Entering the crypt, you see that the hitchhiking ghosts have been replaced by Lock, Shock and Barrel. Turning into the framed mirror hallway where the ghosts used to follow you home, you now see one of Jacks presents beside you in the reflection. Most of the Mansion’s residents have gone away for the holiday, and Little Leota has gone too, replaced by Sally, who waves good-bye to Jack as his silhouette passes over the moon.

In addition to the ride itself being changed, all of the audio tracks are new as well. The new “Ghost Host” is voiced by Corey Burton, and is a close match for the original Paul Frees. Madame Leota had to be re-voiced and re-filmed as well. Kim Irvine, the daughter of Leota Toombs Thomas, who was used for the original, does the honors. The music tracks were re-mastered to give it that holiday charm, yet keep the true feeling of the Mansion. A problem came up when the first recordings were being done for the ballroom music. Former Imagineer X. Atencio stepped in with Gaylord Carter and fixed the score by playing sharps where the flats should be and vice versa. The Disney people also introduced an interactive “Scream Along” to the ride. The lyrics “Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize!” were added to various soundtracks, and when the patrons hear it, they are supposed to scream! The screams can be heard from the waiting area all the way to the graveyard.

The Haunted Mansion Holiday was a major success, and we can only hope that other attractions in the park will undergo similar re-theming in the coming years. The Nightmare Before Christmas theme was the perfect choice, as there was no evidence of resistance to the changes to the ride from the throngs of devoted Haunted Mansion fans. The transformation was immaculate and complete thanks to the creative genius of Tim Burton. The ride returned to its normal condition February 8th, 2002, and the most drastic ride re-themeing in the park’s history was but a fading memory. Jack and Sally and Zero returned to Halloweentown with all of the presents, until next year when the Haunted Mansion Holiday is expected to return.

Brandon Champlin is a Haunted Mansion fan that lives in Hardin, IL. You can contact him at bchampli@hotmail.com , or check out his website at http://www.geocities.com/ghost_relations_999/

Haunted Houses have been a staple of the Jersey shore since the early 1970’s, and the boardwalk at Wildwood was no exception. On Wednesday, January 16, 2002, at 10:38AM, arson brought that tradition to an end by destroying Castle Dracula, the last of a fading breed.

Shortly after the fire was reported, two teen-aged boys were caught running from the building. Less than 20 minutes later, the once-proud structure was completely destroyed. Over 100 firemen rushed to the scene to battle the fire, which was brought under control by 12:30PM. Firefighters stayed on-site through the night to be sure that there was no danger from hidden “hot spots” within the smoking ruins.

An investigation into what exactly happened is still under way. A sprinkler system had been present in the wood-frame structure, but it is still unclear if the system was working or not. As a seasonal attraction, the Castle had been closed down for the winter, and was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

The two boys, aged 15 and 16, have been charged with arson, burglary, and criminal mischief. Their names have not been released because they are minors; they may, however, be prosecuted as adults. Currently, they are serving in-home detention, and will wear electronic monitoring devices 24-hours a day until their February pre-trial conference.

Castle Dracula was Wildwood’s oldest amusement park ride and the last of three major Haunts on the coast of New Jersey, Brigantine Castle, in Brigantine, NJ, (1987), and the Haunted Mansion in Long Branch, NJ, (1986), to burn in the off season. Originally a “Tunnel of Love,” the attraction was redesigned when the Nickels family purchased the property and renamed the location “The Nickels Midway Pier.” Rising four stories high and consisting of a walk-through Haunted House as well as a dungeon-themed boat ride, the Castle opened in 1976 and became a boardwalk landmark.

Shortly after the fire hit the news, the Nickels family stated that the Castle would not be rebuilt. However, public reaction to the loss of the Haunt has changed that decision. After permission is given to clear the site of debris from the fire, a $10 million project to rebuild the Haunted House and boat ride will begin. The Nickels expect this effort to take about 1-1/2 years.

Next Issue: A History of Castle Dracula, and Memories from the cast.

Dusti L. Lewars Poole is founding board member of the IAHA, and a veteran of 7 years acting coordinator for GrislyGothic Gables in Philidelphia, PA. She can be reached at (215) 276-2727 or via Email at Elionwyr@yahoo.com.

On October 20th, a Friday night, a group of 20-somethings were partying in the parking lot of Thrillvania, Lance Pope’s Halloween event in Terrall, Texas. Confronted by security, the group was forced to pour out their alcoholic beverages and told to either leave or buy a ticket to the event.

According to a witness, upon entering the set containing the Scare Factory collapsing chamber in the Cassandra’s Labyrinth of Terror attraction, one of the male partiers, apparently upset by this course of events, started dousing the room with a flammable liquid and proceeded to ignite it at about 8:00 pm.

The foam and latex props were quick to catch fire and black toxic smoke filled the attraction. Immediately the well-trained crew at Thrillvania evacuated the building. In less than one minute all actors and patrons were out of the building, and the Terrall Volunteer Fire department was on the way. Sixteen fire extinguishers later, the fire was mostly out by the time the fire department arrived, but they hosed down the embers to prevent re-ignition.

No one was injured, except for Lance who went back in to the attraction to extinguish the fire and received some minor burns along the way. “Never throw your leg over a red hot handrail,” advises Lance, who is expected to recover without any permanent damage.

After the fire was out, holes were cut in the roof to let the smoke escape and the attraction was back open that same night by rerouting the patrons around the burned chamber through the Handicap bypass. Interestingly, the crowd did not get upset by the situation and waited patiently in line for the attraction to reopen. “They wanted to make sure they would get their money’s worth,” explained Lance.

As horrible as this was, the fire could have been a deadly tragedy had it not been for a good Haunt design with lots of exits, good flame retardant, lots of fire extinguishers and a very well trained crew. Instead it was just another exciting night at Thrillvania. “You have to keep your eyes open during operations,” warns Lance. “This could just as easily have happened to you!”

Our congratulations go out to Lance and his excellent crew!

In a tragic accident last October, a 14-year-old boy named Caleb Rebh died while working as a volunteer at the Alpine Ridge Farms Haunted Hayride in Sparta, MI. According to several other volunteers at the scene, Rebh felt ineffective just jumping out of the woods to scare the wagons and decided to take the place of a skeleton that was hanging by a noose in a nearby tree. Apparently, Caleb pulled down on the rope to enlarge the noose before placing it loosely around his own neck. As the Wagon of patrons approached, Rebh let go of the rope allowing the tree limb to whip back up, tightening the noose and choking him to death. “When he started scrambling to get the double-knotted rope off his neck, fellow workers seemed to think he was acting,” explained Kathy Rebh , the mother of the deceased boy. “I think he thought he was safe because his feet were touching the ground." Hayride employees and participants tried to resuscitate Caleb, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Not the first time this type of needless tragedy has occurred in our industry. In October of 1990, a teenager near Chicago, IL died while pretending to hang from a gallows as part of a Halloween hayride.

In this case the hanging illusion was planned with a fake hangman’s noose that was not supposed to tighten. The scene had worked successfully on previous dates an half way thought the night of the accident. Police reported that 40 people on a hay wagon were riding past the various fright exhibits, when they noticed the body of Brian Jewell, 17, hanging lifeless from the gallows, his feet touching the ground. The tractor driver became concerned later, when Jewell failed to give a speech he normally made as the wagon passed.

Later that same October, William Anthony Odom, a 15-year-old Charlotte, N.C., hanged himself while staging a gallows scene staged with friends in a basement haunted house during a Halloween party. Odom of was pronounced dead amid fake spider webs and plastic bats decorating an aunt's home. Odom and several of his had staged a.

Proper supervision, would probably saved the lives of these three young men, and haunt owners need to weigh the consequences of using the hanging scene in an event, as an illusion or as a display. Performing a hanging illusion without a license from the Stuntman’s association is illegal in many states for a reason. A hangman’s noose, while easy to tie is a deadly weapon, and should be treated as such.

As previously reported in issue 20 of Haunted Attraction Magazine, on October 29, 1999 Garritt Allman, now 23, as an actor at Horror Woods, a charity Haunted Hayride, in Odenville, Alabama, fired a hand gun at a hay wagon full of patrons. At least one round fired from the .44 caliber pistol was live, killing 14-year-old Tawnya Key Helton and wounded 8-year-old Amber Urbahns.

In a Birmingham courthouse August 13, 2001, Allman pleaded guilty to murder and assault in what St. Clair County Sheriff Terry Surles believes to be the ultimate case of "bad judgment. The Springville man was sentenced to two 20-year sentences. He will serve five years in prison and the remainder of his sentence on probation.

What apparently seemed like a “good idea at the time,” turned into a senseless tragic death. In an industry that takes the public’s life into its hands, thousands at a time, safety must be a primary focus even to the impediment of the scare factor of the attraction. With instances like this is it any wonder that building and fire officials are so strict on a new Haunt that opens up in their jurisdiction. If something does go wrong, as in this case, the career of any city employee that signed off on the event would be in jeopardy.