Haunted Castle (Six Flags Great Adventure)

The Haunted Castle was a haunted attraction at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The original Haunted House was built prior to the fall "shoulder season" of 1978 to boost attendance and as a test for building a larger facility the following year. While it was intended that it be open only at night, the popularity of the attraction caused management to open it at the beginning of the day and keep it open until the park closed. At the end of the 1978 season, the attraction was disassembled and sent to Six Flags Over Mid-America, where it would continue to run from 1979 through 1982. The old façade was torn down and Botanical Gardens took its place. A medieval-styled façade was built for the Haunted Castle on the site of the Alpen Blitz across from the Muzik Express.

On May 11, 1984, a fire destroyed the attraction, trapping and killing eight teenagers. Six Flags Great Adventure and its parent company Six Flags were indicted for aggravated manslaughter and accused of recklessly causing the deaths by taking inadequate precautions against a fire. In the trial, the prosecution argued that repeated warnings by safety consultants to install sprinklers or smoke/fire alarms had been ignored. The defendants denied any culpability. They contended that the fire was arson, and that no amount of precautions would have saved lives. The trial jury found the defendants not guilty of criminal charges; however, Six Flags paid millions in civil damages to victims' families.

Operation

The purpose of the Haunted Castle walk-through dark ride was to entertain its customers by frightening them. Exterior decorations included plastic monsters, skulls and other features meant to create a frightening atmosphere. A facade of false turrets and towers lent the illusion of height to the one-story structure, completing the look of a forbidding medieval castle. After crossing a drawbridge over the surrounding moat, visitors entered the castle and felt their way along a -long convoluted path of dim corridors, occasionally being startled when employee actors dressed as mummies, vampires and other creatures jumped from hiding. Various theatrical props and exhibits were in view, including coffins, ghoulish mannequins, hanging spider webs and skeletons. Alcoves along the route were used to present vignettes of famous and infamous characters and events from movies, horror and ghost stories, and sometimes real life, with live actors portraying the stars of the scene. Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Wolf Man and Lizzie Borden were frequent guest stars. Strobe lights and eerie sounds completed the scene.

The layout of the Haunted Castle was two sets of eight semi-trailers lined up in a mirror configuration. A single trailer was placed in the middle of the configuration for use as a control room, from which the lights, sounds, and other effects were managed; and for changing rooms for the young men and women who acted the parts of the monsters and ghouls present on the tour. During slow times only one side of the attraction would be used. Peak attendance would cause the park to open both sides, allowing thousands of visitors to enjoy the attraction. Guests would enter the Castle via the typical switchback guide rails used at amusement parks which led to a gate. From there, the guests would enter through the drawbridge main portal where a doorman would direct them to the entrance of the actual walk-through. At peak times, the doorman would alternate sides to keep a gap between groups to allow for greater effect and to keep the leaders from warning the following group of upcoming surprises.

Construction and history

Originally known as the Haunted House, the attraction was constructed of four aluminum semi-trailers when it opened in 1978. It was intended as a test for a more substantial attraction that was to be built the following year. The four trailers came from the Toms River Haunted House Company, owned by George Mahana, with scenes preinstalled. The lessee was responsible for the construction of a façade that would create the illusion of a haunted house. The park built a wooden front that resembled a white, two-story house with forest green shingles and shutters, contained by a wrought-iron fence and gates, and accentuated with stucco planters. The guide rails for the waiting lines were left over from the previous ride that had been on the site, Alpen Blitz. To help create the right mood, creepy music was played over exterior speakers.

The Haunted House attraction had a gatekeeper stationed outside with a doorkeeper admitting visitors, while three or four monsters inside occupied various scenes or wandered around surprising and frightening groups of visitors. The staffing requirements for the haunted house were drawn from other areas of the park; they were clowns and street performers when they were not acting as vampires or serial killers.

At the end of the 1978 season, the four trailers were taken away by the manufacturer and sent to Six Flags Over Mid-America (now known as Six Flags St. Louis) in Eureka, Missouri. There they were reassembled and would continue to run from 1979 through 1982. The site in Jackson was cleared to make way for the Botanical Gardens.

Having passed the test, the Haunted Castle was assembled on a new site in 1979, consisting of seventeen interconnected aluminum trailers leased from same manufacturer—eight to a side mirroring each other—with separate corridors and a common control room in the center. The castle's trailers were linked by plywood partitions to create a complex maze. The interiors were built of plywood walls and ceilings with wooden studs for support. The materials used on the walls included foam rubber, various fabrics and plastics, plywood and tar paper. Wax mannequins were used as props. Attached to its exterior were painted turrets and towers of plywood on wooden frames intended to emulate a medieval façade.

The management of Great Adventure had not expected the success of the attraction and did not pay it much attention. Despite this, the Haunted Castle became the park’s largest single-show attraction since its construction. During peak attendance times both sides of the attraction would be in use, and thousands of visitors would come to the Haunted Castle throughout the normal hours of operation. The original planning had been to treat the attraction as seasonal and disassemble the trailers and send them back at the end of the season. Because of its unexpected success, it was decided instead to extend the lease and add it to the list of permanent attractions.

1984 fire

A fire began in the attraction at 6:35 p.m. on May 11, 1984. Fanned by the building's air conditioning, it spread rapidly due to the use of flammable building materials. Approximately 29 guests were in the attraction at the time. Fourteen, including four park employees, managed to escape. Seven who survived were treated for smoke inhalation. Those killed included eight teenagers from a group of nine that entered together. The lone survivor of the group was carried to safety by a park employee.

One witness, whose group entered several minutes after the group who fell victim, later testified that she saw flames coming from around the bend of the attraction's Hunchback display. She originally thought it was part of the show but realized the flames were real after smelling smoke. Her group yelled "Fire!" and ran back to the entrance, bumping into walls.

Firefighters from eleven surrounding communities responded, and the fire was declared under control by 7:45 p.m. The park remained open during this time but closed shortly after. No one realized that lives were lost until later that evening, when the bodies of the teenagers were discovered in one of the attraction's trailers. The bodies were burnt beyond recognition and were originally thought to be mannequins.

Only one side of the structure, utilizing 9 of the 17 trailers, was occupied at the time of the fire. During the subsequent criminal trial, the Jackson Township fire inspector testified that he had never inspected the castle. The township considered the castle a "temporary structure", even after it had been at the park for five years, based on the fact that the trailers were still on wheels. The castle lacked a building permit, a certificate of occupancy, fire and smoke detectors, and sprinklers despite repeated recommendations by the park's own safety consultants.

Investigation

The fire highlighted a complex collection of local, state and federal laws. New Jersey's Department of Labor and Industries inspects the safety of rides, such as roller coasters and ferris wheels. Locally, municipalities enforce state and local building codes governing fire safety and electrical wiring. In turn, the state's Department of Community Affairs is responsible for ensuring that municipalities enforce the codes. Finally, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for monitoring employee safety. A state panel investigating the fire said that the regulatory system had failed at almost every level, and that the Haunted Castle had been in violation of a dozen state fire codes.

The panel said the state's Uniform Construction Code required the owners to install smoke detectors and several other common safety devices before the castle opened. A spokesman for the local volunteer fire department said it had not enforced the state requirement for smoke detectors because the township's building inspector said that the code did not apply: the inspector had determined that the Castle was a temporary structure.

Eight days after the fire, a statement by the Ocean County

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