Sunday, February 24, 2008

Dark Rides








From the top: Inside the Pirate Ship on Hunt's Pier in Wildwood, NJ, early 70's. The Kooky Kastle was from a defunct park in Hull, Massachusetts. Another Wildwood site, Devil's Inn on Fun Pier. Atlantic City: Steel Pier's Mystery Ride. Click to enlarge.

Dark rides are among the most cartoony architecture in the world.

Dark rides have the added thrill of the macabre. You sit in the little trolley car, it turns sharply, doors swing open with a thud, and you depart the sunny summer calliope feel of the fair with an ominous foreboding.

These photos are from a long-established, but not well-known site, Chuck's Dark Rides. The pictures are copyright the site.

A long established manufacturer of dark rides is Sally Corp. of Jacksonville, a potential employer for some of us web comic drawing freaks. I notice they seek a senior designer.

Of course, it's better we not ruminate about what happened to the last senior designer. Against long-standing tradition, he elected to experience a dark ride of his own design. They say you can still hear his screams as your trolley rounds turn three.