07/24/2005 Entry: "I miss Castle Dracula. :("

Loads of new Two new things for you. First up, my long overdue tribute to the Castle Dracula ride of Wildwood, New Jersey. The legendary amusement went down in a 2002 fire, souring a million memories for a million people. Regardless, it's the best damn ride of 'em all, and though I'd planned to hold off on writing this until the Halloween season, I couldn't help myself. Now that I have closure on the Castle Dracula issue, maybe someday I can go back there.

Also, Strawberry-Falls Punch, a very rare flavor from 1986, has been added to the Kool-Aid Section. This packet isn't quite like the others -- check out why.

I don't want it to be Monday tomorrow. I'd be more okay with Monday being the day after tomorrow. One of you, snap some fingers.

Monday Edit: Click "more" for a bunch of e-mails I've received today in response to the Castle Dracula tribute.

Wednesday Edit: Now with even more Dracula-related e-mail.

Gene: First time I had ever been in it was after my Senior Prom. The girl I was
with freaked out during the beheading. I forgot all about that place. Thanks! Brought back some great memories.

Ian: Great site, really. I spent half my work day just going through all your blogs and the random 80's nostalgia postings. This is some funny shit. The Atlantic City story is good, and the Castle Dracula really brought back memories. I especially enjoyed the Upstate article and the piece about the "Gizmos & Gadgets" shop. You've really got something here, keep it up.

Tim: This is to inform you that, contrary to your opinion, the Castle Dracula "awful music" is none other than J.S. Bach's Toccata and fugue in D Minor BWV565. This organ work is considered by most to be one of the most compelling and substantive works for organ, almost unique in Bach's known compositions. Not to mention it has had continual popular success in our contemporary times. It is also mildly controversial, in that it's unique stylistic elements might suggest that Bach was not the sole author. But if not Bach, who?

Awful music? If you really think it's awful, what original musical work could you consider sublime? I don't even want to know...that contaminated Jersey Shore Aire must have shorted out the last functioning musical appreciation neuron in your noodle. All the best...

(Note from Matt: I know what song it is -- the article names it. And by "awful" music, I mean "scary." Yeah.)

Melissa: I LOVED your tribute to Castle Dracula. The place was a mecca of my church youth group trips in the 1970-80s and I have so many fond memories. It was so great to have photos and the "awful music" to add to the sensory experience. Thanks so much.

Johnstarr: I just read your X-E article on the Castle Dracula ride in Wildwood New Jersey and I just had to tell you how close to home it hit. I, too, went to Wildwood every year since I was a baby with the family but have not been able to go for the past four years. I also feared that ride before going on it, but my fear was even more intense. See, we always stayed at the Midtown Hotel which was right next to the pier housing Castle Dracula. So not only did I worry about it when we walked passed it every day on the way to Snow White, but every night when I went to bed I looked out the tiny hotel room windows and stared at the red glowing windows. A cousin of mine walked through the thing each year as a tradition and I admired her so much for it. Finally, one year, my mom and dad decided me and my sister were old enough and we all rode through it on the boat together. They figured that would be less intense than walking through it, and after riding it, I didn't want to believe them. I never got to walk through the upper areas of the ride but wish that I did. That boat ride scared the piss out of me and reading your article brought back all of those old memories.

Of course, it also brought back a lot of good memories of Wildwood and the boardwalk and makes me pine to go back and waste even more money at Bobby Dee's Casino Arcade not even a block from where we stayed. It really hurts to read that the place was burned down, but that seems to be a trend in Wildwood. When I was young, the first ride I ever rode was the Keystone Cops. That whole pier burned down much the same way Castle Dracula did. I remember the same burning hate for those fuckers you have when I was only 5. How dare they destroy something, even unintentionally, that brought so much joy and was so pure.

Sorry for the rambling letter, but I had to tell you just how much that article meant to me, and I think it does Castle Dracula justice just to be remembered by the people who loved it like you and me.

Stacey: hey matt - just wanted to say how much i appreciated the castle dracula article! reading it felt like something coming from my own head. my family took us every year, except for that one year we got to go to Disney like all the other kids.. (whooo hooo, we're going OUT OF STATE for a vacation!). I remember my dad saying "come on, let's go in this year!" when i was young, but there was no way! finally going in was like conquering the great beast of NJ, it was extremely surreal and such an incredible memory, i'm just glad i have it.

now that i'm 8 months pregnant, i am really sad that i won't ever be able to experience it with my own kids. my husband is from north jersey, spending summers in LBI, so he never went as a kid either. of course, i drug him there when we started dating, but it's not the same when you are older...

anyway, if you ever find the asses that torched it, let me know. seriously. something should be done! thanks for the memories!

Brad: Dude, I have been a huge fan of this site for many years now. You never cease to put a smile on my face with your articles dealing my favorite, cartoons, commercials and games from my youth. But I have to say your most recently article is the one that sealed the deal and put you in the category of my favorite website of all time.

I am from and still live in Baltimore, MD. Which is to say that when you went on vacation you were taught to go to Ocean City, MD. But thank goodness I had parents that broke from the norm. They never liked the big city feel of OC so they decided very early on in my life that our family would vacation in Wildwood, NJ. And I thank them every chance I get for introducing me to Morey's Pier, Hunt's Pier, Mariner's Landing, Ed's Funcade, Mack's Pizza and countless other Wildwood favorites. But one thing stood above all others. Castle Dracula.

I think I was 24 before I actually stepped foot in the castle and certainly after learning of its demise I'm glad I did. The castle was unlike anything I had ever since before, or since. It was Wildwood for me in a nutshell. Nothing effected me greater than that structure. I was terrified of it.

There is a great story that every now and again my cousins and me force my mom and aunt to spin of the time they went into Castle Dracula the second year it opened. I'll spare you the details but I will say it is the funniest story I've ever heard the tell.

Or course like most family traditions, they end eventually and we stopped going to Wildwood when I was around 14 years old. Since then the old boardwalk had just lived in my memory until 2001 when we decided to round up the family and head to Wildwood. Thank god we did since it would be a year later that the Castle would be destroyed. But it was great re-living all those memories.

I know this e-mail is rambling but as you know things like this tend to get you so excited you do know how to express it. What upsets me the most is not being able to scare the crap out of my daughter just like my parents did me when they walked me past the entrance many years ago.

PS - The internet is a wonderful place. I'm sure you have found these other sites since you yourself loved Wildwood as a destination. but here are two sites that have some great pics of the old rides that haunted the boards many years ago. I only wish I was older and had a chance to ride the Star Wars ride that used to occupy a spot on Morey's Pier back in the late 70s. I was only like 3 or 4 years old and actually thought I had made it up until I saw pictures of the ride on these sites below. That ride will forever remain a mystery to me.

http://www.mrboardwalk.net/
http://www.funchase.com

Matt: I was so sad to hear it burned down when my sister told me after it happened. We would go to Wildwood every summer, just as your described also. We would dare each other to go on when we were little and make up scary stories about what was inside. I would go on as I got older and make up stories about what was really in the castle to them. Man, those were good times!! Thanks for the article! WATCH THE TRAM-CAR PLEASE!

Greg: I just came across your article on Castle Dracula. I must say that I wa moved by what you wrote. No, I never visited Castle Dracula. Nor did I ever hear anything about I burning down, until tonight. I guess you can probably guess that I didn’t even live in New Jersey, either.

I grew up near Cleveland, Ohio. But like yourself, there were attractions that were very magical to me when I was young. I loved the cheesy haunted rides at carnivals and fairs, no matter how fake the "monsters" were that inhabited the inside or how poorly applied the greasepaint was on the people that ran it from the outside. Those places helped to make our childhoods truly memorable.

One place that I remember was an old "pirate" ride at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. If you haven’t been there, I’m sure you’ve heard of it as they are touted as having the most and some of the fastest roller coasters on the planet (yawn, who cares...). Anyway, I remember in very vivid detail that there was this old one-story attraction that had a pirate theme going on. Not much more than a poor man’s Pirates of the Carribean ride, I still loved it. You basically got in these little guided carts (complete with a skull and crossbones ornament) that took you through these small, but fun little scenes. Pirate mannequins with limited movement would swing swords at you, chase wenches around a tavern, and fire cannon balls directly at you (nothing more than a red bulb flashing inside of the cannon muzzle, of course).

There was even some really great touches which the Disney ride never had. One scene had the cart riding through complete darkness until you came across several items "bobbing" in the water with gaunt-looking pirate survivors clinging to them - obviously their ship had capsized. Whistling wind sound effects blasted out of hidden speakers as a pirate yelled, "Watch out for the whale!" The cart then swerved toward a huge outstretched whale mouth, complete with giant teeth. The cart would then plunge right into the mouth and darkness ensued. On your dimly-lit journey through the whale, you would encounter swallowed pirates playing cards on a large piece of smashed deck and you would also get to see the large, red heart of the whale as a deep "THUMP-THUMP" echoed throughout the darkness. The ending of this ride was a gruesome sight. A pirate was strung up on the gallows with a noose around his neck. As your cart approached this scene, the pirate’s body fell away from his head, leaving little tattered pieces of flesh hanging from his neck. The cart would then burst out through heavy, hinged doors and that was it. End of ride. Ten to fifteen minutes of damn good fun.

This ride didn’t climb to heights of 300 feet. Nor did it reach speeds in excess of 60mph. But, it didn’t matter. I absolutely loved it. It was the first ride that I wanted to jump on whenever my family made the three hour trip to Sandusky (which wasn’t often). I never really enjoyed roller coasters, either. I just didn’t enjoy standing in a line in the blazing summer sun for over a half hour and then spending a mere two minutes having your intestines pushed up your throat. I didn’t get it and I didn’t like it. I enjoyed the pirate ride because I knew that, every single time, I would never be disappointed.

Unfortunately, the pirate ride was demolished to make way for more "extreme" thrills. I believe there is 800 tons of roller coaster track that looms over where the little pirate ride used to be. No, the pirate ride’s fate isn’t nearly as tragic as Castle Dracula's, but the two rides share much in common. They were bits of history of an era that is quickly becoming extinct.

Theses rides also challenged our imaginations as kids. The big budget corporate rides spare nothing. Everything’s been designed to a flawless tee. There are no spaces to fill using a child’s imagination. It’s all there. Every penny, every dollar. The old rides were cheesy, but that was part of their appeal to us. That whale’s mouth in the old Cedar Point pirate ride didn’t move. It didn’t rise out of the water. It didn't do anything. But, I could swear that, as a kid, that whale was swimming right at me and it swallowed our entire cart, track and all.

I will miss that little pirate ride and I am sorry to hear what happened to Castle Dracula. I am sorry if this letter seems a bit overblown, but I can certainly appreciate how you feel and I just wanted you to know that there others that feel the same way. Thanks for your time Matt and keep remembering the good old days. They are one of the few things in today’s world that are worth remembering.

Paul: I enjoyed the Castle Dracula article very much! I always love it when you do those kind of articles; so don't worry about not pleasing the masses.

More added Wednesday...

Tara: I just read your article on Castle Dracula and Wildwood, and I loved it.  I spent some time every summer "down the shore" and had many of the same feelings you had about the Boardwalk.  I didn't actually get to go into the Castle until I was much older - there was no way my Mom was going in with me!  But I was glad I have some memory of it too.  I used to spend at least a week down there but now I can only squeeze a long weekend out of my husband as he does not share the feelings I have for Wildwood but he is a good sport and humors me for a while.  A lot has changed down there.  Sadly hotels are being knocked down left and right for condos.  But I still get the same feelings I did when I was younger when I see the Boardwalk.
I hope I didn't bother you with this email just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your article. Thanks!

Alicia:
I don't normally do this sort of thing, but I  absolutely had to send you kudos on your Castle Dracula article because I feel  the same way about haunted house dark rides, and so few other people do.

My family had a similar tradition, except that  since we live in Utah, our destination each summer was always Lagoon amusement  park--which boasts two haunted house dark rides!  They're both the type  that send you through in cars, on a track, and have mechanical monsters that  lean out through the windows on the outside of the ride, or tell cheesy jokes to  people waiting in line. Of course, they were always the pinnacle of any  trip to Lagoon, even when I was really young and too afraid to open my eyes once we were inside.

So, when I as a teenager went with my  family to visit a grandparent in New York and he took us down to his summer home  in Wildwood (and therefore the boardwalk). Just like you, I was drawn in  by the music and *had* to go into Castle Dracula.  Unfortunately, only the  walkthrough bit was open; apparently, they were doing repairs on the boat  ride.  But at least, I told myself, I can come back some other time.

Then some asshole kids burned it down.  I  don't think I have to tell you how disappointed I was when I read about  that.  I'm pretty sure that it was almost directly after we left New  Jersey, too, and that made it all the worse.  I think that, in the same  article that talked about the fire, I also read that Castle Dracula was the  country's longest-running dark ride.  It was hard to think that I'd been  that close and still never seen the *real* Castle Dracula--the boat ride--when I considered myself such a huge fan of dark rides.

That's why I'm so appreciative of your article, the  pictures, and the links to the Castle's page on Dark in the Park.  So few  people appreciate dark rides, anymore.  It's a dying art, and it's really  sad to think that when all of these places get too old or get vandalized like  Castle Dracula, nobody's going to feel that repairing or rebuilding them is worth the effort.

In the meantime, if you ever find yourself in Utah  (well...  pray that you don't), stop by Farmington and check out  Lagoon.  Admission is about $40, but all rides except  for a free-fall thrill ride and a racetrack ride are free after  that, and like I said, we've got two dark rides--which the park seems to keep in  pretty good repair, and even adds new displays amongst the original ones.

Anyway, thanks again for the article, and I'll keep  reading them so long as you keep writing them.

Dead Dave: hey, matt! first off let me say thanks for the article on the castle, it brings back so many memories of my home for 6 years. I worked inside castle dracula from 1989-1994 and I loved every minute of it. I had very similar feelings about the two teenage boys who set it on fire. I wanted them punished severly and slowly so they could feel the pain they caused all of us. in your artcle you have a picture of one of the family members in the bloody squeeze chamber, that's my friend charlie snow from high school. any way I can go on forever. thanks drop me a line sometime.

Doug: Thanks for such a great tribute to Castle Dracula!  Your experiences
with the Castle and Wildwood in general were so similar to mine.  If I had the money, I'd invest to rebuild the place, or something with a similar experience (improved, of course and a dungeon not smelling like castle employee piss).  I'm sure you know that The Nickels thought ofre-building it, but will cost too much as they only got $75k for it.  Oh well.  They're probably still in court with the water park people that hate them.

I'll be down there in August to pay respects, as I have for almost each year since.  I can't stay away from the tackiness of Wildwood.  If they can only re-hab the Golden Nugget mine ride, at least something from years past may be saved.

Len: I just wanted to thank you for the great article on Castle Dracula! I
have very similar childhood memories of the place, and of Wildwood in general.  While I miss the ol' joint, seeing the article and the pictures especially was a breath of fresh air.  Here's hoping that someday they'll build something that once again looms over the entire beach and haunts children for years.

Chestnuts roasted by The Modern Day Pirates @ 07/24/2005 05:34 PM EST

I am sad to report that Mr. Traj and I went to Wildwood in 1996 and totally missed the Count Dracula ride. I'm bummin' that I will never have a chance to experience it.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 07/24/2005 05:37 PM EST

Hey matt, first, I've never posted before, and second, about the new Kool-aid reveiw, who cares WHY someone laminated/magnetized a pack of Kool-aid when you can still use it as a magnet. Assuming you didnt throw it away.

Chestnuts roasted by Flarekatana @ 07/24/2005 07:30 PM EST

Hmmm, never even heard of the Castle Dracula ride. Sorry I missed out on that.

Chestnuts roasted by Larry @ 07/24/2005 07:49 PM EST

You almost gave me a heart attack there, Matt.
I for some reason was thinking that Strawberry-Falls Punch was Rainbow Punch. Funny thing about Rainbow Punch is that at times, I can still taste it. Er, remember the taste of it. Whatever it is...
So, my question is, if and when you ever do find Rainbow Falls, how could I manage to weasel it out of you? Any way possibly? We need to keep in touch with this one - seriously.
I thought paying $220 for a Super Amigos Riddler figure was obsession. Nope...I'd do next to anything for Rainbow Falls. Hell, I'd even drive out to Staten Island to pick it up out of your hands.
I'll keep looking, though...

Chestnuts roasted by Myke @ 07/24/2005 08:18 PM EST

It's articles like the Castle Dracula one that make me love this site. The personal touch is a bonus and appreciated. And, duh, we can never get enough Kool-Aid stories!

Magnet... What the fuck? I love people.

Chestnuts roasted by Meg @ 07/24/2005 08:19 PM EST

Coward that I am, I never went on Castle Dracula. My family didn't often go in that part of the boardwalk when I was a kid, and I doubt Mom would have let us on the ride anyway. Later on, my teen sister and her school chums practically lived there for several summers running. Some of her buddies were even members of the costumed staff. (Heck, Matt, you may have run into them the last time you were in Wildwood.) I'm sure they'd be willing to help you destroy the kids who burned the place. My sister was big-time pissed when it burned.

Alas, the Castle burned down barely a month before I moved into my current apartment in Wildwood. Half the county was in an uproar, as it was Wildwood's oldest ride. No, I can't bring myself to walk past where it used to be, either. It's just too...I don't know, sad, I guess.

Wanna hear some great cosmic irony? Castle Dracula began as the Tunnel of Love. No joke. The Castle itself apparently didn't turn up until much, much later, but I think the underwater ride dates to the 1910s.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 07/24/2005 08:47 PM EST

Oh, man - I totally hear you about the Monday thing...

Chestnuts roasted by eight-bit @ 07/24/2005 09:29 PM EST

Strawberry-Falls Punch, Surfin Berry Punch and Rainbow Punch are the three flavors that I would pay any amount for. Sunshine Punch too.

Damn Kool-Aid makes a good punch.

Chestnuts roasted by El @ 07/24/2005 09:33 PM EST

Kidneyboy

You don't see me running around bashing on Pauly, eh? But on the same note, I'm all for a good ribbing I love adoring someone who's a giant target for ridicule. Passive-aggressive masochist is how I like to classify myself.

Sweet November is the highlight of his career, baby, yeah! Betcha thought I was gonna say Matrix, huh?

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/24/2005 10:05 PM EST

WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY!!! I've been there a couple of times (1989 and 1991) with my family and Castle Dracula was my FAVORITE attraction I never knew that the castle had been destroyed in 2002. That's too bad. Did they ever replace it with anything or just leave the property untouched as a memorial? Anyway, I LOVE the site and keep uup the great work!

Chestnuts roasted by Mike D. @ 07/24/2005 10:42 PM EST

Well, I at least found this page, which has some cool images of Kool-Aid packets. Hopefully we'll be seeing these in the near future!
I forgot about Mountain Berry Punch (yum!), Apple (double yum!), and Pink Swimingo (not a favorite but I remember it).
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/2070/PACKAGE.HTM

Chestnuts roasted by Myke @ 07/24/2005 11:09 PM EST

Awesome, I actually noticed that you DID spell sympathize wrong...

...And now, back to our regularly scheduled, and more coherent comments.

Chestnuts roasted by Laughingboy69 @ 07/24/2005 11:21 PM EST

Is it just me, or is anybody else noticing matt getting sadder or depressed lately o_o. Cheer up buddy

Chestnuts roasted by Mike from Denver @ 07/24/2005 11:39 PM EST

So was there any casualties at Castle Dracula? I wouldn't think so, but this "awful music" is kickin' on my iTunes. ^-^

Chestnuts roasted by Warx @ 07/24/2005 11:44 PM EST

They turned the Kool-Aid packet into a freaking MAGNET? Did they have other Kool-Aid packets as magnets too? Or some other foodstuffs as magents? Perhaps a flattened, laminated package of Wonder bread, or a Chips Ahoy cookie dipped in lucite?

Chestnuts roasted by Destro @ 07/24/2005 11:53 PM EST

Sure, it was an article on something I normally wouldn't care much about, but I really like the way you write. You could write about, say, the adventures of creamed corn and beets and I'd read and enjoy it.

I wonder if Bach really did write the Toccata and Fugue.

Chestnuts roasted by Shia @ 07/25/2005 12:18 AM EST

Hey, I've got an idea! Why not create a fund to bring back the place! X-E is widely read, and Matt knows people who could spread the word! Lets not just whine, lets do something about it! Now we just need someone to set up a site because, quite frankly, I know NOTHING about web design.

Chestnuts roasted by TOM @ 07/25/2005 12:22 AM EST

Great article!

I remember that I was always too chicken to go on any of the haunted house rides at the fair here.

I haven't been there in a long ass time...

Chestnuts roasted by marril159 @ 07/25/2005 12:29 AM EST

Thank you MATT. I loved that freakin ride. You've done an amazing service for all of us that loved that ride. simply AWESOME...

Chestnuts roasted by JAY @ 07/25/2005 12:39 AM EST

I go down there every year.

Thanks for making me wanna go more.

Chestnuts roasted by Ben Fetus @ 07/25/2005 12:49 AM EST

Thanks for the nostalgia, Matt. I'm amazed that Castle Dracula played such a pivotal (or should I say, traumatic) role in someone else's childhood; I completely relate when you say how it was frightening and exciting at the same time, a ritual of every summer.

However, you did forget one important detail about the castle's boat ride: the water on the ride was made to look like blood (and it was eerily accurate).

Chestnuts roasted by Cory Walsh @ 07/25/2005 01:16 AM EST

I SECOND TOM'S IDEA!
I think a "Rebuild Dracula's Castle Fund" is a great idea! After all, those guys at the "Park in The Dark" website have all these floorplan's and pictures. That's enough data to rebuild it.

And, you don't need to apologize for "personal" articles, that's one of the best articles I've read in awhile, and it's actually the kind of thing alot of X-E readers enjoy.

It's taught me one thing. I'm gonna stop taking the Haunted House at Knoeble's amusment park for granted! I'm gonna ride it, and I'm gonna enjoy it, Dammit!

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 07/25/2005 01:33 AM EST

Kneg, my nig...

They are both pretty easy targets, eh?
Although, I was being serious! I'm not a big Matrix fan, but Bill and Ted were high up on my list when I was in elementary/junior high! And I am kind of dissappointed by "Minding the Store" so far. Sigh.

The Dracula article made me sad too, just because it's such a sad thought losing an old landmark like that. If it weren't for those damned kids and their pesky torches!!

I wonder if anyone was ever apprehended or turned in for it?

Chestnuts roasted by kidneyboy @ 07/25/2005 01:57 AM EST

damn, I went to the site Matt thanked for the pics, and they have all the info there!

Kids lit rags and aerosol cans on fire for torches....what the hell?!?!

The Kool-Aid is nice too, but I'm off on a Wildwood Web Hunt!

Chestnuts roasted by kidneyboy @ 07/25/2005 02:08 AM EST

Tomorrow is my birthday. I need something interesting to happen. Suggestions?

Chestnuts roasted by DarkPrimus @ 07/25/2005 02:58 AM EST

Kidney, I only sought to confirm the unique, beautiful situation we share: To love someone/something, in spite of the world. Revel in it. I do.

Matt, I adored the article. It really brought tears to my eyes: 'nostalgia wave goodbye, I think time for me to go'

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/25/2005 03:04 AM EST

Hey DarkPrimus,

Go see The Wedding Crashers because Vince Vaughn is a comedic genius, and could quite possibly be God. And then, go get some ice cream (mint, maybe?) and break a lot of stuff..

Chestnuts roasted by Review the World @ 07/25/2005 03:49 AM EST

Matt,

Don't know why you are apologizing about doing a Castle Dracula article. You've said all along this site is about everything you love. If it's turned into something else where you don't feel like you can do what you want, that sucks.

Chestnuts roasted by Jimbalaya @ 07/25/2005 08:25 AM EST

god...i miss Dracula's Castle. i was crushed beyond belief when i heard about it being burned down. i went to the burned wreckage and my heart just sank. i also wanted to find these kids who were to blame and bash their heads into the pavement.
not too long before the fire, they built this hideous water slide that looped above the main gate of the dungeon ride. water would constantly splash from overhead, making waiting in line for the dungeon boat ride..well..not much fun. i loved that boat ride, probably far more than the castle tour.

a lot of things are gone now from Wildwood...do you remember the Golden Nugget ride? that was soooooo much fun!!

at least Dante's Inferno is still there. sigh.

thank you for posting the Dracula's Castle billboard. i haven't seen that in such a long time.

Chestnuts roasted by kevinperson @ 07/25/2005 08:52 AM EST

I am glad some other children who went to Wildwood every year with their parents felt the same way I did... Scared out of our minds the first time we gathered up enough courage to go in to the Castle. I only vaguly remember going in... I only did it once because I always had a limit on how much money I could spend on rides per night, and I think that was one of the most expesive ones there at the time. I have only been to Wildwood once since I was 19 (I'm almost 30 now) and that was a year or two ago with a girlfriend... I noticed that the Castle was not there anymore, but I didn't know why... Now I am pissed at those kids too.

Chestnuts roasted by Speak @ 07/25/2005 08:54 AM EST

Sadly, I have never known the pleasures of Wildwood NJ. I do, however, live in Ohio: the self-proclaimed "roller-coaster capitol of the universe", so I'm never too far removed from the good times that only a day spent meandering around an amusement park and paying eight dollars for six ounces of Cherry Coke can provide. Cedar Point and King's Island do have some dandy rides, but I'll be goddamned if Castle Dracula doesn't look like a heap o' fun. To everyone whose world was rocked by the loss of this undoubtedly one-of-a-kind ride, you have my sympathies.

Chestnuts roasted by The Yeti @ 07/25/2005 09:41 AM EST

When I started bringing friends along on the family trips, the Golden Nugget (or as we called it, "Mine Shaft" was traditionally the first ride we'd go on. Such a hidden gem -- the ride never had a line. It was sort of a Western-themed haunted house with a lot of goofy, out of nowhere elements. (Wasn't there a part where the carts went through a spinning tunnel?) Miss that one terribly.

And Cory: You're right, I should've mentioned the bloody boat ride water.

Anyone remember the "Condor?"

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/25/2005 10:17 AM EST

The Yeti,
Where in OH are you? I grew up near Cleveland and all my childhood amusement park memories are of Cedar Point.

My first coaster was the Blue Streak and my uncle laughed hysterically at my white-knuckled deathgrip on the grab bar in front of me and other signs of sheer terror. I would have issued death threats through my clenched teeth if I could have said anything it all. Terrified silence was all I could manage. Of course once I got off I was on top of the world and cocky about my death-defying feat. That is, until my uncle asked me if I'd like to do it again.

Chestnuts roasted by Jimbalaya @ 07/25/2005 10:18 AM EST

I'm not being facetious when I say that kids today have too much time on their hands. Hell, I was born in 1972 and I was too bushed from chores to go out and burn down local landmarks.
Where are parents now that they dont teach their kids about modern conveniences like FLASHLIGHTS!

I love the article!!! One of my strongest memories in my childhood is a dungeon walk through very much like what you describe. I'll have to ask my parents where it was. Maybe it is still standing and I can refer you to it.

Chestnuts roasted by Shawn B. @ 07/25/2005 10:19 AM EST

Living on the west coast, the closest thing I've had to a Castle Dracula is the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. Pretty tame when you compare it to Mr. Blood River here, but it literally scared the pee out of me when I first went on it at the age of five.

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 07/25/2005 11:07 AM EST

Jimbalaya,
I live in the far southern tip of the buckeye state near Portsmouth. Sadly, whenever I need a roller-coaster fix, I must endure a 2-5 hour drive to either Cincinnati or Sandusky. But with rides like the Magnum, Raptor and Mantis, it's well worth the trip.

Chestnuts roasted by The Yeti @ 07/25/2005 11:13 AM EST

Haunted Mansion in Disneyworld WAS pretty tame, but I ate it up anyways...for awhile my friend REFUSED to enter, saying she would be too scared- it was getting annoying so finally I hit her and said "It's DISNEYworld for Christ's sakes! It WON'T be scary!"

I went to Lotte World the other day- Korea's version of Disneyworld...kind of small, but not bad.

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 07/25/2005 11:14 AM EST

Matt,
Great article on Wildwood!! Just like you, my Family's vacation to Wildwood was the highlight of the summer season and your article brought back so many memories. Every year we would stay at the Malibu Motel on 19th street right next door to the Buccaneer (and if we were lucky, we would bring 4-5 of my aunt/uncle's families and run the hotel/pool) and it was some of the best experiences of my childhood.

And I totally remember the Golden Nugget on Hunt's Pier and the revovling Tunnel(which was oddly lit-up by Black-lights to appear Green/Yellow/Orangey Neon) And the Condor on Morey's Pier was also a great ride, but the Zoom Phloom was the ride I will always cherish since it was always the last ride of the night because you would essentially get soaked to the bone and that would be it.

Anyway, Matt, I have a few questions since you brought me so many memories again:

1) do you remember the hotel you use to stay at?

2) do you remember the heckler on the boardwalk outside that pier which was always closed (since I have been born anyway)? That guy was freaking hillarious!!

3) How about Sam's or Mack's Pizza? There was always the fued of who was better (I am more of a Mack's fan myself, especially since they have Pennslyvania Dutch Birch Beer on "Tap"

4) And did you have a favorite arcade? (I always loved "Ed's Funcade" and still have my points card for a prize, but some people were more partial towards "Gateway 26"

Thanks,
Tim

(Also, the best Boardwalk Game was the Wheel on Mariner's Landing where the Prizes were boxes of candy)

Chestnuts roasted by Tim @ 07/25/2005 11:55 AM EST

Tim: Throughout childhood my family always stayed in the Crest -- usually rotating between Bristol Plaza and Nassau Inn -- I preferred Bristol. We've been to all of the other beachfront ones around there. Waikiki was great. Used to have breakfast at that shitty floor-level diner at the Olympic even if we weren't staying there.

With friends on my "own" trips as an adult, we obviously wanted to be near the boardwalk, because who wants to drive when they're crocked? I've stayed at the Bolero, Premiere and a couple of others closer to the boardwalk. Hotels there generally aren't as nice, but so what.

Favorite arcade was Gateway 26. We were in there every year, but eventually progressed to that big ass one that was at the entrance to one of Morey's Piers. (Was that Ed's? Possibly.)

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/25/2005 12:00 PM EST

Also, old school Wildwood vacationers should remember this: Zaberer's Restaurant. God damn was that place awesome.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 07/25/2005 12:02 PM EST

Castle Dracula was so much fun. It was, like playing skee ball and getting the unlimited-ride bracelet for Morey's Pier and Mariner's Landing, an annual summer ritual. It is sorely missed.

Chestnuts roasted by farkerjulie @ 07/25/2005 12:05 PM EST

Ed's Funcade was further north on the boardwalk past Morey's, but was closer to where we stayed. So it became my arcade of choice (I have won a-many prizes there, including a Cat Coookie Jar, which my Mom continues to use to this day storing things like buttons and keys found and lightbulbs and sits on top of our fridge -- which i saved points for three years to get)

But, it is funny because we used to stay in the Crest, until my uncle convinced our family to stay closer to the boardwalk since you essentially get a better deal with the more people you get to stay... and you are right that the hotels are not as nice as other areas, but they do have their charm in that retro 50s sense of style

Chestnuts roasted by Tim @ 07/25/2005 12:23 PM EST

Thank you, thank you, oh, thank you for the article! Let others have their cliched "Cristmas in July" thing, You have brought a ghoulish grin to my mug with this early taste of Hallowe'en. And tossing in the Tocatta had cackling like a maniac in feather longjohns through most of it. There used to be a cowboy-themed amusement park in San Jose, Ca. called Frontier Village. The only ride that ever scared my single-digit aged self was called The Lost Duchman's Mine. The usual ride-along with pneumatic zombies and skeletons popping out at you in their UV-lit Day-glo glory. That too is gone now, replaced with a condo complex. If I ever win a big time sweepstakes, or lotto, or whatever, I might just build a duplicate of Dracula's Castle to live in. And include the crappy "Dracula's Grave" tent from ATHF. "The D stands for me. Dra-koo-lah!"

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 07/25/2005 12:29 PM EST

awesome article matt! i've never been there but your writing makes me miss that old castle anyways. long live nathan bitner.

Chestnuts roasted by wack0 @ 07/25/2005 12:56 PM EST

Thanks for this Castle Dracula article. I was always too afraid to go inside (I really wish I had, now). I didn't know it burned down. I always planned on going back someday and finally facing the fear. Curses.

Chestnuts roasted by Jeff @ 07/25/2005 01:13 PM EST

Clearly I'm in the minority here, but I totally understand the Kool-Aid magnet thing. I picture this scenario: Almost as quickly as you discover your love for Strawberry-Falls Punch, it starts disappearing off of the shelves. You fear that this little piece of your life will slip into oblivion forevermore when [cue angelic choir] there it is on the shelf. You thought you'd never see it again. You could take it home and drink it, but then in a matter of minutes it would be, once again, gone forever. The only option is to keep the packet, but you can't just keep a packet. It isn't practical. Besides, it's only a matter of time before someone less enlightened finds it and drinks it like it was so much Orange. Your conclusion? To laminate the crap out of that puppy so you can immortalize the Kool-Aid jewel that was Strawberry-Falls Punch. Your only mistake? Not actually using the drink mix first. Sure the magnet wouldn't have looked as cool, but it was your last opportunity to savor the flavor. Alas, hindsight is 20/20.

I would totally do something like that.

Chestnuts roasted by Lori @ 07/25/2005 01:18 PM EST

First, I must say, I wasn't so sure about this Kool-Aid thing Matt was up to, but it's starting to grow on me. Now, on with the Kool News:

A packet of 20 year old kool-aid has to be the strangest thing bought at a garage sale ever.

In other juicy news, I bought some latin Kool-Aid called "Mandarina-Tangerine" that's part of the "Aguas Frescas" series. I just noticed there's a warning on the back "Do no store in metal container". I wonder why. Matt?

Chestnuts roasted by Kennef @ 07/25/2005 01:20 PM EST

Hey Matt, kick ass article. I remember in Cleveland we had the Haunted Hollow & Maze of Terror. The memories you wrote about were the same memories I have of the Haunted Hollow; the eerie music, the visual effects, the guys with "safe" chainsaws and you could actually smell gas being burnt. You captured my feelings exactly. Kudos to you

megaXL@aol.com">OmegaXL@aol.com

Chestnuts roasted by Dave @ 07/25/2005 01:41 PM EST

alas, i was only brave enough to go on the boat ride when i was a kid and i can't remember much about it. i had no idea the castle itself had been taken from this earth until i went back a few years ago and did not see its terrifying exterior.

the entire state of new jersey has not been the same without it.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt number nine @ 07/25/2005 02:28 PM EST

Man.. that reminds me that I used to (and still do) spend a bunch of money on every fun house / haunted house I've ever came across. I guess I was on the search for the Fun house from Revenge of the Nerds, or the Haunted Houses from the Scooby Doo cartoons.

Chestnuts roasted by erickprime @ 07/25/2005 02:29 PM EST

*addendum*

in my life i've stayed at one motel i cannot remember, the grenada, and every time after that, the adventurer, which puts you at the very beginning of the boardwalk, but is close to a very small area before the convention center that contains the eternal favorite safari golf, still with the same plaster animals it's always had.

the last time i was there was 2 years ago and when i was on the boardwalk with my brother at night, it started raining harder than it's probably ever rained in any one place, and so we had to hop on the tram back to the hotel absolutely soaked. this was actually the first time i've ever "watched the tram car (please)" from on the tram itself, albeit without paying.

in my older years, i haven't been much of a pursuer of the amusement piers, preferring to spend most of my time in the arcades playing die hard acrade and wrestlefest.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt number nine @ 07/25/2005 02:42 PM EST

Does anyone who's been to Wildwood remember the "Flintstone Raceway"? You can see a poster for it in the photo of the entrance to the boat ride. Was it any good? Wonderfully cheesy, or just crappy? Did you get to drive Flintstone mobiles?
The haunted house story was fantastic, but Flintstones stuff is more up my alley...

Chestnuts roasted by Rockhead @ 07/25/2005 02:47 PM EST

Alas, I never lived anywhere near a boardwalk, so I never had the pleasure of exploring one. Had Castle Dracula not burned down I would have made a point of going to Wildwood this summer to check it out. Damn stupid kids...

On a side note, the last "haunted house" I went through was the Dracula's Castle at Universal Stuidios. That had to be almost as big a waste of time as the movie it was built to promote.

Chestnuts roasted by Kieran ALexis @ 07/25/2005 03:00 PM EST

are we gonna see the kick-ass house in your 'hood this All Hallows? I'm already making plans for this year. I am keeping watch on next door for the owner. The house in question can pass for a House sorta like Matt's past article. Instead of taking kids out on the rounds, I might set up a haunted house kind of thing even if it means running a couple of long orange power cords from our house to next door. But I might leave Oldest Nephew in charge of passing out candy to do the door-to-door. I think I'll watch Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust when I get home.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 07/25/2005 03:04 PM EST

Great article. Never been to WILDWOOD being from FL and all but my equivilant is DISNEY WORLD. This article kinda reminds me of the uproar when DISNEY closed down MR. TOAD'S WILD RIDE in 1998. So unneccessary...
BTW, you should finish that article on Nute Gunray and Padme's line share. It is good/easy filler.

Chestnuts roasted by The Manimal @ 07/25/2005 03:34 PM EST

Tim, as a kid, I used to stay at the Malibu every year too!! When did you stay there? I was there in the late 80s/early 90s. I used to love the slide in the pool, and the game room with the ping pong and pool table, and pinball that never worked. My happiest childhood memories are from there. I remember the owner had a chocolate lab and a yellow lab, and they would walk all over the motel.

Sam's over Mack's definitely. I love, love Sam's. Eat it every time I go. That, and a cheesesteak hoagie from A&LP. Best Cheesesteaks ever!

Condor rocked, I was afraid to go on that for a long time. Anybody remember the haunted pirate ship that you walked through on Hunt's Pier? I forget what it was called, but I loved it. The one room had wooden bridges that shook when you walked over them.

Log Flume on Morey's Pier, best ever!

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 07/25/2005 04:19 PM EST

This is very sad to me. As a kid, we went to Wildwood every single year for solid two weeks. I remember the castle distinctly (I almost ran a bike into a tram-car right near it). I never went in, as my (slightly regimented) parents only ever bought tickets for Maurey's Pier and Mariner's Landing (because your tickets worked on both piers). I can only vaguely remember it, but I KNOW I stared up at that big-ass castle with it's scary sounds and smoke machines. I think there was a movie theater right nearby, where my sisters went to see Return of the Jedi, and we sat on a bench outside for what seemed like forever. I never asked to go in - way to scary (for me at like 7). After that, I was kind of focused on the stuff I could actually do, so it was sort of ignored. One thing that was striking was the day/night difference. At night, it was a looming menace of terror. By day, it was something you'd bike past and not even think to look up- it was just there.

Anyhow, thanks for the memories you've brought rushing back. Sorry I described them in such excruciating detail.

Frank

Chestnuts roasted by Frank @ 07/25/2005 04:57 PM EST

I remember Castle Dracula, it's kind of hard to forget a castle blasting cheesy music. I sadly never went on it, I expected it to be a generic haunted house and never bothered. That and the fact that it was near one of the Morey piers, which had more of my attention. If it were still there, I would have loved to go on it, too bad I didn't hear any good about it until it burned down, stupid kids...

Chestnuts roasted by Rambozo @ 07/25/2005 08:33 PM EST

Unlike Castle Dracula, I DO remember the Golden Nugget ride. The last time I went on it was in the early 90s. My youngest sister was still pretty little then and got scared shitless. This is the same kid who virtually made Castle Dracula her second home a decade later. I'm not sure if it's still there or not; the pier it was on is currently being used for go-karts.

I don't remember having a "choice" arcade, and as we lived 12 minutes from Wildwood in the 80s and 90s (and my parents stil do), I've never seen any of the hotels from the inside. We used to "pool-hop" when we were younger. We'd hang out at a hotel pool until we got kicked out, then go to another one. We also got in some Cape May hotel pools legitmately, thanks to our parents knowing half the people on the island.

Frank, the movie theater that was behind Castle Dracula is still there, but it's now closed and in terrible shape (at least the exterior is). I can't imagine it escaped the Castle Dracula fire entirely, either.

I'm not far from the Safari Golf, but it wasn't open the last time I went by there...

Actually, I always prefered the Hot Spot over Sam OR Mack's...but now, I just do Alfredo's (they're cheaper).

Oh, man, Y2JB78, I LOVE the cheesesteaks from A&LP. The first time I had one, I'd just come in from a fruitless and wet search for an apartment. The cheesesteak lifted my spirits and my appetite.

And yes, the Condor is still there and still ROCKS! It's my brother's favorite ride in Wildwood and my second favorite after the Giant Ferris Wheel.

I'm really, really glad to read that other people have been in Wildwood and love it as much as I do. I always thought my family and I were the only ones with great boardwalk memories.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 07/25/2005 09:05 PM EST

As a former Castle Dracula employee I would like to thank you for your well written article. I have a lot of fond memories of that place. We took pride in making kids and adults alike cry. I remember a group of us staff members made a 17-year old girl literally piss herself on the front steps, before even setting foot in the Castle. Out of all the positions in the Castle, I had the most fun in the Laboratory, where I wielded a cheesy vaccuum hose that made a loud bang, which still scared the crap out of people. I remember watching the castle burn down with a few former co-workers. It was a shame really. I wasn't surprised at how easily it went down however, it certainly didn't appear to be safe. It is certainly a shame that it is gone.

Chestnuts roasted by Hellocruelworld @ 07/25/2005 09:30 PM EST

Reminds me of the haunted house at Enchanted Forest here in Oregon (Castle Dracula sounds cooler though) which was voted best walk-in haunted house in the country (by whom and when, I don't know).

I hadn't been there since 1992, but as I recall, it was pretty much a 30-60 minute animatronics aquarium (everything was behind glass, probably to protect the machines and vistors from eachother. It kind of loses edge when you don't feel like that skeleton is able to reach out and grab you). I don't think it used jump-scares at any time (they wouldn't work to well considering the endless line of people walking through) which is a plus for me, but it rather wore you down with lots of spooky imagery.

I was reluctant to go in (being in second grade), and it was very creepy, but I got through it alright. Eat your heart out, kid behind us earlier that was crying over the witch's-head ride.

Chestnuts roasted by RewolfJ @ 07/26/2005 01:53 AM EST

Now, see Matt, you were all worried about nobody liking this article, and it's proven to be one of your biggest hits!

I'm 21 and I've yet to face my own childhood haunted house, the one at Knoebol's amusement park. I went through there once, but I kept my eyes closed. But, reading this has told me not to take a good spook-house for granted. next time I go to Knoebol's, I go through the house.

Anyway, the one at Knoebol's is of comparable size, it's a mansion rather than a castle, but it's great and grand, and one of their biggest attractions.

Jeff, if you can make it to central PA this one might make a good substitute.

And Matt, I know it will never compete with your memories, but it may fill SOME of the void if you checked it out. Actually, if you come down to central PA, you'd have to meet up with me. I'd have ALOT of cool places to show you (like a store that sells Kool-Aid Man comics and a Charlie's Angel's Board game).

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 07/26/2005 02:06 AM EST

Heh, it doesn't surprise me that the Haunted House at Enchanted Forest is lame---everything else about it is, from my memory. I only enjoyed it because I was 5 the last time I was there.

Taking a sip of a laminated 20-year-old Kool-Aid packet sounds a lot scarier to me than that entire ride. Considering all the other things Matt has drank and eaten throughout this site's history, though, he could have downed the entire thing easily. The man has a cast-iron stomach.

Chestnuts roasted by Mars @ 07/26/2005 02:13 AM EST

Coudn't be much worse than when he ate a spoonful of hair-removal gel.

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 07/26/2005 03:52 AM EST

...and here it is.

http://www.x-entertainment.com/messages/373.html

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 07/26/2005 04:14 AM EST

Matt, I love your use of the font ACME Explosive. :-)

Chestnuts roasted by Felicity @ 07/26/2005 04:16 AM EST

Great article, Matt. Hearing/reading those stories from people (like you going back to that bench, even after you grew out of Castle Dracula) are part of why I enjoy X-E so much.

That whole paragraph about the place being just a memory was pretty deep. I'm not anywhere close to NJ but the way you talk about it somehow makes even me miss it too.

Then again, I assume too much.

Chestnuts roasted by Dr. Acula @ 07/26/2005 09:01 AM EST

Tetsu,

I read your entry about Knoebel's. I am from right near that amusement park and I remember the haunted house fondly. Are you from Central PA?

Just wondering, do you remember the car headlights and loud horn part of the haunted house? I've gotten quite used to everything else in there but that car horn always scares the shit out of me!! haha.

Anyway, I just thought it was neat that someone finally mentioned Knoebel's among all this talk about Amusement parks.

And Matt, awesome article on Castle Dracula. I always went to Wildwood for a week every summer with my youth group but I never went into Castle Dracula. I do vaguely remember the loud organ music, though! Your article makes me wish I had gone in the castle, though. Great article....definitely hits home even to those who have never been in the castle.

Chestnuts roasted by Marzipan @ 07/26/2005 09:27 AM EST

I went on that Dracula's Castle when I was 12. Oh jeez was that the single stupidest ride on the Boardwalk or what? I think my brother scared the guy in the face paint. Hence, it is one of those classics that met its fate. We'll always have memories. And Matt's pictures.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 07/26/2005 10:05 AM EST

Ooooh, completely off subject, but the boyfriend and I rented "Fatal Attraction" on Saturday. Oh my god, we went HYSTERICAL over the rabbit in the pot. At first, I freaked, but we paused the DVD just to stare at it. We started laughing.

I also went through some of my SNL videos that I bought in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade, and watched 2 of them (the Best of '88 and '87). I don't care what anyone says, but Dennis Miller is STILL the greatest "Update" anchor ever! The man is a freakin' genius. However, I'm sure most would agree.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 07/26/2005 10:10 AM EST

Brad, thank you so much for the links to those websites. After reading this article yesterday, I spent an hour trying to find sites like those and couldn't. It was so nice (and sad) to see all those old rides.

Matt, thank you for this article. The article, and blog that followed, means more to me and my childhood than any you have written, and I have been a devoted reader for 3+ years. My whole kid year revolved around my vacation to Wildwood, and this has brought back a lot of special memories.

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 07/26/2005 10:19 AM EST

hey. the castle dracula article is awesome. i too used to vacation in wildwood when i was a little kid too (i'm 23 now). i lived in the suburbs outside of philly then. around the 5th grade i moved to south jersey and ended up living minutes from wildwood. let me tell you... i love the boardwalk. i love it even more now that i live in los angeles and the only beach attraction i can see are the shitty santa monica pier, the bums in venice and million dollar houses falling down in malibu (on second thought that is pretty cool). and i had several memorable trips to castle dracula. one trip i got lost and had to be helped to find my parents by a white-faced, black-robed ghoul (this somehow, was not very assuring). on another trip i was older, more cynical and i kicked a gy dressed as a skeleton right in the nuts when he jumped out at me. anyway, after being a long time visitor to the wildwoods, i became a resident of the area and i learned that while it's a fucking party for 3 months of the year, the other 9 months feel like 787,000 years of boredom. it's the kind of place where you are so out-of-your-mind-bored that you might just think it's a good idea to break into castle dracula and light some homemade torches. some friends of mine were once arrested for breaking into a cement plant. i'm not saying i wasn't upset when the fire hapened... i was. i remember that day. i had just gone back to college in philly after my winter break and i could not fucking believe it! a friend called me and told me to turn on the channel 10 news and there it was... going up in flame. there's some stupid water ride there now. and now all those goth kids who hang on the boardwalk have absolutely not excuse for it. they cant' claim they work at the castle. i miss new jersey.

Chestnuts roasted by X-edthebridgetoeatWAWA @ 07/26/2005 11:29 AM EST

"Voltron" Is Back & Bigger Than Ever

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 07/26/2005 12:07 PM EST

As usual Matt...great article! After reading the article, made we wish I could have experienced Castle Dracula. Sadly though, it's the distance thing! I'm in Niagara Falls Ontario, so not sure the distance...but not too likely I would have been able to convince my parents. Castle Dracula sounded like it was one hell of a ride/attraction. I wish I could say the same about some of these shitty tourist attractions we have in the city. Anyway, was a great article Matt, and I hope that if anyone ever finds those little bastards, that they beat them within an inch of their lives for destroying what sounded like a kickass place to go

Chestnuts roasted by Jabo @ 07/26/2005 12:10 PM EST

That reminds me a lot of the London Dungeon, a "museum" dedicated to middle ages torture, Jack The Ripper, black plague and other cool shit.

Chek it out: http://www.london-dungeon.com/

That website doesn't do it justice tho.

Chestnuts roasted by Toshiro @ 07/26/2005 02:54 PM EST

Matt,

Been reading your site for years, maybe 5 or six, not sure, and this article is the epitome of what keeps me coming back.

I never made it into Castle Dracula, being the nerdiest, and only wearer of glasses besides my dad in my family, it automatically made me too chicken to head into it. Even my younger brothers made it in....

Like many, I spent quite a few summers in Wildwood NJ. Hell, I still have one of those black mesh t shrits with "Wildwood '84" in hot pink. (Ahhh...80's fashion) For some reason my mother never threw it out. Go figure.

I looked forward to those trip every year. Even when we moved on to going to Florida and Disney World, it was never quite like Wildwood. Thing one, that when we went it was with family, so it was some of the best times I had with my cousins who were all older than me. It was also one of the few times we were all equal, regardless of age and nerd factor, since we all kind of kept eye on each other when going on the rides and playing mini golf and eating....

The best memory though, has to be the bike rides we took with just my parents and my brothers. e also my moms and pops always picked one morning for just our little household to go. I always looked forward to my dad waking us up, and the 4 of us (eventually 5) would rent bikes and just ride them to the end of the boardwalk and back together. I remember me and my middle brother would argue about who my baby brother would ride with. You know, they use to put those baby seats on the bikes. Who ever got to take him going, would ride back solo. Just our little family spending time together, being a mom, a dad, and brothers.

Sadly, my brothers and I have grown apart over the years, and we haven't taken a family vacation in many, many years, but I still have that one picture of the 5 of us, sitting on the bikes on the boardwalk. A time before the ugliness of life, and the loss of trusting everyone you loved still allowed for mom and dad to be our heroes, and brothers were still brothers who wished the boardwalk would go on forever....

Chestnuts roasted by XGalvatronX @ 07/26/2005 03:27 PM EST

I think it's a little sad how some folks are saying the only thing they've experienced near this is Disney world or Disney land or Universal Studios. Never been to a fair or carnival or a Halloween season haunted house? Damn.

As far as this all goes, Matt, I loved the article. Reminds me of Myrtle Beach, where I went as a kid. Myrtle retains that kind of "Jersey Shore" vibe, complete with boardwalks, amusement parks, etc.

Chestnuts roasted by Chris Trainor @ 07/26/2005 06:08 PM EST

i love castle dracula.

ps.- i have 1000000 more vintage cereal toys than any of you.

Chestnuts roasted by andrew @ 07/26/2005 07:27 PM EST

I, too, would vacation in Widlwood every summer, during my youth, and was also scared as hell to enter Castle Dracula. I hovered around the surrounding area, as if I was scouting it out, during the first ten years I went there, choosing instead to play games of Roll A Ball at the Supercade horse races so as to win huge 4 foot tall stuffed gorrillas. But then, I finally decided to try the boat ride, which proceeded to scare the shit out of me for long enough that it would be another few years before I entered Castle Dracula's fornt doorway.

And then just a bunch of weird shit happened inside.

I'm talking people in full out costume, waiting to seek out those who have their attention focused in other directions, coming at you from behind and screaming, and saying weird shit, some trying to drool on you, meanwhile some dude is getting his head chopped off, and then the walls are coming in on you, and then there's what feels like hands reaching out near the ground in some of the dark hallways, then the elevator is shaking and shit. Damn, that ride was scary.

Chestnuts roasted by The Jays @ 07/26/2005 07:33 PM EST

Yeah, great article. I like the way you gave us all your personal memories, touching.

I'm sure everyone knows it, but www.yesterland.com is a good site for old Disney rides, and they have a lot of good links.

For more old rides...

www.defunctparks.com

the www.darkinthepark.com site is really cool, as is the link they give on the front page to Alan Shoesmith's page.

We don't really have many parks in Wisconsin like these, open or closed, so I like reading about things like this!

Chestnuts roasted by kidneyboy @ 07/26/2005 08:34 PM EST

Marzipan,

Yes, I am from central PA, I kinda hope to move away from it soon, but two things I'd miss are Knoebol's and my local antique/craft/junk store.

And, now that you mention it I DO remember those lights. It was cool.

Chestnuts roasted by Tetsu Deinonychus @ 07/27/2005 05:07 AM EST

I can sort of relate to the pain of losing Castle Dracula. I live in western PA, and every summer we'd have a school picnic at Kennywood, the nice little family amusement park in the area. The first ride you see upon entering the park was the old mill, but some people called it the haunted hideaway for whatever reason. but you never rode that one first. you had to wait to find whoever you were in love with that particular year and convince them to go on with you after nightfall. the ride itself wasn't particularly scary, it just gave adolescent girls an excuse to cuddle up to the cute boy from math class. It was a boat ride through several different old west scenes with ghosts of cowboys, cemeteries, and the famous "hanging man". nothing too exciting, but it was tradition. it even had it's own urban legend. as the story goes, a boy was horsing around and fell out of the boat and they never found his body, so when your boat starts rocking, it's actually him. this is very unlikely since the water is only about 2.5 feet deep, but hey, i was a kid and it was fun to believe that crap.

anyway, about two years ago, they completely renovated it, calling it something like "garfield's nightmare" or something equally as lame. i have yet to enter, mainly out of spite, but from what i hear, no 13 yr old kid is going to get their first kiss in that piece of crap. if it ain't broke, don't fix it people!!

Chestnuts roasted by bitchpants @ 07/27/2005 08:35 AM EST

In the 70's, I bet they could have converted it to Blacula's Castle with no problem. That woud've been cool.
What's this I hear about a Jaws video game that lets you play as the shark?

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 07/27/2005 11:34 AM EST

Whoah, Kingklash, trying to cash in on the 70s blaxploitation trend huh?

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 07/27/2005 01:57 PM EST

Chris Trainor: Alright, Myrtle Beach! I live in South Carolina and I've never been anywhere near Wildwood. It's nice to see someone else on the X-E blog that's been somewhere I have

I've been to Myrtle Beach once or twice but my family usually goes to Edisto Beach every summer. I haven't gotten to go for the past few years (college and all that, and anyway someone has to stay home to take care of our billion pets), but I remember it getting more an more crowded each year. When I was a lot younger it was rare to see one other family on the same stretch of beach. Now you generally see around twenty, my family tells me

kingklash: Yes, a Jaws game is coming. You play as the greatest Great White and you fend for your life against other sharks and creatures of the sea as well as humans. here's hoping it's not just one in the long line of currently developing crappy license cash-ins (like that goddamn Godfather game, the Scarface game and the *sigh* Dirty Harry game... WHY GOD, WHY?! ).

Matt: Like they said, don't apologise for injecting a bit of yourself into your website. People come here for your personal take on things and articles like this are pure Matt.

Chestnuts roasted by Night_Trekker @ 07/27/2005 05:58 PM EST

Oh yeah: Matt, why'd you change the "Mildly Interesting '80s Print Ads!" picture of Jimmy Hart on the front page? It was freaking me out, don't get me wrong, but why'd you remove it?

*Looks up at the banner ads* Holy shit, Tripping the Rift is still on the air? SciFi Channel never stops amazing me. I don't mean that in a positive way.

Chestnuts roasted by Night_Trekker @ 07/27/2005 06:02 PM EST

Matt!!! Get a Griffin! perhaps Mr. Nickel has them layin' around somewhere...or there's....eeeeEEeeeeBaaaaay!

sorry...just feel bad for ya not being able to have some sort of memento that you sorely wanted.

Excellent article, I think we all can identify with it.

Chestnuts roasted by Bitsy&Roary @ 07/27/2005 11:55 PM EST

woah you struck a nerve!

at MY summer daytrip place; Canada's Wonderland, WAS an amazing little place in the kid's section: Smurf villiage!!!! It was a walkthrough of a cavelike entrance where you would go through twists and turns, and past gargamel's house (where a fiberglass gargamel would be pacing and flailing arms) while lightning crashed. THEN! you got the big pay off! animatronic smurfs in this big oasis in the cave with the themsong in the background. When it was replaced by something that didn't deserve it's place, someone bought all the fiberglass smurfs!

Chestnuts roasted by Bitsy&Roary @ 07/28/2005 12:03 AM EST

Trekker, there's a lot more than 20 families on a stretch of beach at Myrtle in the summer these days. You can hardly get a room June-August down there. Anyways, the name of the amusement park/boardwalk area there is called The Pavillion. The rival park/boardwalk is called (I think)Family Kingdom. There are some choice haunted houses along "The Strip" as well. Great trashy southern beach town. How do you all like Edisto? I always found it to be insuferably boring.

Chestnuts roasted by Chris Trainor @ 07/28/2005 12:50 AM EST

i love castle dracula too..

Chestnuts roasted by Mars @ 07/28/2005 03:16 AM EST

Chris Trainor: Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I was talking about Edisto when I mentioned the number of people on the beach.

Myrtle Beach has in my memory, ALWAYS been crowded and it's gotten worse I'm sure.

I've generally enjoyed my time at Edisto. It's seriously laid back but that's a part of its charm, I think.

That's all changing though. The mom and pop stores that used to be there are being replaced gradually and of course more people show up every year. I'm surprised the Piggly Wiggly is still there. I'm sure that ratty old miniature golf course will be gone and replaced with something more lucrative soon enough (if it isn't gone already).

When George and Pink's stops selling its vegetables, that will be the day a large part of Edisto dies in my mind.

Chestnuts roasted by Night_Trekker @ 07/28/2005 04:35 AM EST

I used to work at Fantasy Island Amusement Park in Beach Haven, NJ during the summers of 1999 and 2000. We had one of these creepy knock-off Winnie the Pooh costumed guys that scared the bejesus out of small children. the best ride they have is the Buccaneer.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 07/28/2005 09:36 AM EST

Heh, I've had the same experiences at Balboa Boardwalk, but it was mostly dinky bumber cars and Arcade Machines. But the feelings the same. Great Article Matt.

Chestnuts roasted by Flynn @ 07/28/2005 10:42 AM EST

Ah, Wildwood. The best part of summer as a kid. We used to scare my brother by telling him we were gonna leave him in Castle Dracula. So he never went on. I vaguely remember going on once, after begging my father for most of the trip. And then of course, stepping in being scared to death and regretting it because I had nightmares about it.

Chestnuts roasted by Steve @ 07/28/2005 03:14 PM EST

oh man, Dracula's Castle. I'm glad you wrote that article, I can't believe I had nearly forgotten about that place, when it was such a big thing in the summer's of my childhood. Getting from the other end of the boardwalk to the Castle was my goal when I was very small. I loved just getting to walk by the castle and hear the music play. It always creeped me out.
I think it's also what got me so crazy about Halloween and going to spooky places.

Great article! RIP Castle Dracula

Chestnuts roasted by Shai-Lee @ 07/29/2005 12:30 PM EST

Man, wish it just wasn't an East Coast thing...I feel left out for the first time on X-E yall...

Sniff, sniff...Guess I'll check out Newgrounds. I'm Level 6 now...

Semper Fi,
Erik Majorwitz

Chestnuts roasted by EMajorwitz is sad @ 07/29/2005 01:03 PM EST

Anyone else have any friends that still refuse to go into a haunted house? I have a friend that wouldn't even get out of the car in front of one.

Chestnuts roasted by RAS @ 07/29/2005 02:45 PM EST

This is one of the best articles ever to appear on X-E, and that's saying something. Your site is one of the only worthwhile things on the internet. Thank you.

Chestnuts roasted by Mike Keller @ 07/29/2005 03:24 PM EST

Has anyone tried the new Kool-Aid flavor known as Arctic Apple. It's fucked up. It is easily the strangest thing I've ever tasted. Upon first sip, it tastes exactly like you would expect - crudely emulated apple flavor like an apple Jolly Rancher. But after you've downed a whole glass, you get this freaky mint aftertaste similar to mouthwash that just hangs in the back of your mouth. I guess that supposed to be the "arctic" part. Nonetheless, I recommend trying it because it is so damn weird. Definitely going to be discontinued.

Chestnuts roasted by Andy @ 07/29/2005 09:09 PM EST

Andy my boy, sorry to say I beat ya to that warning by about a week (or two). I believe I said "tastes like sh*te and looks like vomitus"

I rounded up every packet for the safety of others, but, they are still sitting here on my desk. I'm loathe to throw out Kool-Aid, even if I personally believe the flavor to be a biohazard.

Must Love Dogs one paragraph review is over in the Toy Fair entry if anyone is interested.

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/29/2005 10:14 PM EST

I've never been to Castle Dracula, or the tri-state area for that matter, but that thing looks just plain scary. But then again, I was probably the only 8 year old who was afraid of Pirates of the Carribean, Harry and the Henderson's, and on one occasion the easter bunny (some weird ass man bunny with candy in my house while everyone was sleeping? that didn't sit well with me).
Either way, that castle looks like it could've still scared the pants off of me at 24... and I would've liked to experience that.

Chestnuts roasted by Audra @ 07/30/2005 01:06 AM EST

This article has made me almost feel like a part of that damn "Wildwood" place which Matt is always talking about.... looked like a hell of a ride.

Chestnuts roasted by Muppet Baby @ 07/30/2005 11:23 AM EST

Holy crap, I think I actually remember this place.

I have a hard-set memory of one of those white-faced bastards scaring the shit out of me when I was about eight years old.

If I'm not mistaken, I had gotten mad at my parents for something, so like any eight year older would, I just stood there while they walked ahead. A sort of passive temper tantrum.

Anyway, the next sight I saw was the pale white face of MY GRANDPA! Well, he *looked* like my grandpa. He's scary enough as it is. Make him a zombie in a (albiet cool as hell) cloak and hood, and I need a new change of pants. Anyway, this guy was staring right at me intensly. (Maybe way too hard...) I believe my next step was to book it.

And for the record, I can't hear that music without immediately thinking of Bowser 3 from Super Mario 64.

Chestnuts roasted by Ian, Just Ian @ 07/30/2005 12:09 PM EST

Wow, I'm shocked. I used to go down to Wildwood every year, sometimes with a lot of family, sometimes with a little, much like you, and that ride always seemed so awesome. But of course, I was "too young", and then we stopped going, and now it's gone. Dammit. Thanks for the article and bringing back the memories though man.

Chestnuts roasted by Rich @ 07/31/2005 02:09 PM EST

I grew up in Philly and spent my entire summers down in Wildwood. I loved the Castle. It was so corny and stupidly scary that I went in nearly on a daily basis. I would tease the actors as I would walk through knowing exctly when they'd spring up. I could kill the 2 lil bastards who started the fire that ended up in the place coing down.

Chestnuts roasted by Pete W @ 07/31/2005 07:44 PM EST

I didn't know it burned down! That's so sad. I really wanted to show it to some friends who never got to go there as a small child and get the piss scared out of them.

Chestnuts roasted by Valerie @ 08/01/2005 12:54 PM EST

thanks for thegreat castle dracula article matt, i was so amped aftwer all these years to finally go to the castle dracula ride, and now i find out it was torched. i was too scared to go in as a child and i do love wildwood with the incessant "watch the tramcar please" shenanigans, and green furry monsters with offensive language shirts. ah well i am truly jealous you got to go when you did.
but thanks again for the memories. ;-)

Chestnuts roasted by komp @ 08/01/2005 10:31 PM EST

Are you sure we aren't the same person? I pretty much grew up in Wildwood with my parents owning a shorehouse there for a few decades. I also live 2 hours away from Wildwood. I've been in that castle so many times I can't remember. Also hooked up with a girl on the castles boatride. I am also a huuuuuugggggeeee Garfield collector and admire envy and want to purchase either some or all of your Garfield food products collection. I think you must have taken my identity. I'll check back to see if you are looking to sell Garfield food extras, and to see if we are really the same person just in different biometipyshicalreality planes

Chestnuts roasted by k @ 08/02/2005 06:19 PM EST

Now i'm browsing through other stuff of yours. I was at the Horror con in south jersey on just the saturday, but it was my first horrorcon also. Frickin weird. ummmm Brother?....lol

Chestnuts roasted by k @ 08/02/2005 06:55 PM EST

I cant remember how many summer vacations I spent in Wildwood. That castle scared the living shit out of me when I was little. I could barely walk by it. Sadly I was to much of a chicken to ever go in it but I was sad to see it go though. That was an amazing tribute to it.

Chestnuts roasted by Charlie @ 08/02/2005 09:06 PM EST

Jeez, I remember when it burned down. You hear stuff like that when you live an hour away from Wildwood. But, that was sad and the end of an era.

Chestnuts roasted by Allison @ 08/03/2005 10:29 AM EST

Wow! I've never spent so much time glued to the computer as I was checking out your site and the others mentioned (i lost track of time totally and was almost late for work). Your childhood experiences at wildwood and with the castle are so similar to mine it was almost as scary as Bach's organ music at the entrance of the castle! Even down to that smell of the motel room and suntan lotion! Anyway, it would be great to have been at the site of the castle right after the fire to "salvage" some part of it. We all thought it was going to be rebuilt anyway, I'm ordering some dvds i found about wildwood and the boardwalk and i'm planning on reminiscing with my parents and sister...Thanks again for the memories...i share every bit of your sadness and anger

Chestnuts roasted by Keith @ 08/03/2005 10:28 PM EST

I went to Wildwood in the early 80's and I remember the castle and the big billboard. But, I didn't go in then, my first time was 95, then 96 and 98. I did ride most of the rides on Hunt's Pier including the Pirate Ship and Golden Nugget. And the old Fun Pier dark rides as well, those burned down, too including Castle Frankenstein which I saw but didn't go in, I rode the Lost World dark ride and Crazy House fun house. I saw Morey's Haunted House as well, but didn't go in. We rode the Dante's instead which is still there. My opinion about knowledge/lack of knowledge about Wildwood and Castle Dracula is due to that Wildwood isn't known about or marketed nationwide like Disney World, and the Castle wasn't marketed or advertized very well outside of Wildwood itself. I mean it was there for 25 years yet there are many people who never set foot in it or even heard of it. It's a shame just as it was starting to be more known due to the Castle Dracula website by Castle Alan, it burns down. Now I bet there are young kids who will never know about it and 10 years from now people will say "what was Castle Dracula?" It will be forgotten and unknown by the next generation, just like Brigantine Castle (what 15 year old of today knows about Brigantine Castle?) and the 15 year olds of 2015 will probably know nothing about it due to the fact that they were born in 2000, only 2 years before its demise. Today's people want thrilling rides such as tall coasters and bungee rides and dark rides get lost and forgotten. It's a real crime the great Castle was replaced with a bungee
trampoline. Just what today's giddy teenagers need, another thrill ride that has no value whatsoever. I miss Hunt's Pier, too. Today's kids probably know nothing about that great place (the way it was in the 80's) either. Morey's is more thrill ride and kiddie ride oriented with a few average dark rides. Dr. Blood's House of Horror on Sportland Pier is closed and boarded up and it's a shame to see it waste away. It was a classic Bill Tracy-style dark ride with all the classic stunts, it was better than Dante's. Rehoboth Beach and OC, MD still have some decent dark rides including a Haunted Mansion, and Bill Tracy Haunted House ride built in 1962, and a walk-through Pirate's Cove. My hometown park, Dorney Park removed all their original dark rides after the new owners, Cedar Fair, bought the park. Now, they have walk-throughs in October only. DP is scare-free in the summer. Someone on here is from Niagara Falls, Ontario. They have a Castle Dracula, but I've never been there. Anyone been there that could tell me about it? There's also a House of Frankenstein, Haunted House, etc. Seaside Heights has a real scary ride through, and a walk-through called Haunted Manor, it may be the only horror walk through on the NJ shore now. If only the Nickels would rebuild something horror related (even if it's not another Castle Dracula)....soon.

Chestnuts roasted by Robert @ 08/05/2005 11:27 PM EST

Oh, anyone who likes dark rides must get the game Roller Coaster Tycoon 3! You can build virtual dark rides in it that you can ride. It's like a "dark ride simulator"! I am working on a early 80's Wildwood recreation including Castle Dracula and Hunt's Pier with all the original rides. I might do different years, like 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2005, etc. by changing things and adding and deleting rides. I have enough knowledge about the Wildwood of 1980's to build it. And yes, you can play MP3 music in the game, either assign music to rides or speakers you can place anywhere, so the "virtual" Castle Dracula will play Bach Tocatta and Fugue in D minor! And the Tram Cars will play "Watch The Tram Car Please"!

Chestnuts roasted by Robert @ 08/05/2005 11:41 PM EST

aww.. that looked like such a cool ride! sad it burnt down..it had a 50s monster movie feel to it.. I'd imagine the likes of Danny Elfman and Tim burton would enjoy it

Chestnuts roasted by Jenny @ 08/09/2005 04:57 PM EST

Dude, you never write anymore.

Fantastic piece. I recall having the same trepidation for MY local haunted house, located in an old park in Rossville Ga. called Lake Winnepasauka. It's gone through dozens of name changes over the years, and is now simply known as "Castle." But I can remeber how bad it scared me as a kid. Perhaps one day you'll find a suitable replacement.

Answer your emails ore often. I miss our discussions.

Chestnuts roasted by The 7th Level @ 08/09/2005 11:01 PM EST

I bookmarked this site a while back just for the television commercials. I get a kick out of remembering where I was and what I was doing when those sights and sounds were a part of my every-day life. But just reading your Castle Dracula article brought back a whole flood of memories. I'm from Jersey. I graduated from Cherry Hill East in '87. My family would vacation at the Jersey shore every year, and eventually most of them moved there. Wildwood, Ocean City, Longport, Atlantic City, Ventor, Somers Point, Cape May. . .I spent the summers of my youth there! Great times!

Chestnuts roasted by Mark @ 08/10/2005 09:22 PM EST