Dracula's Castle, Wildwood NJ Boardwalk, 1991, Pt.1

[Marty2978b]

This video is history! I remember this attraction when I was a young kid and went on this very boat ride.. It was terrifying!! I remember this rock from above that looked like it was going to fall on you! There are no more rides that can compare to this at the jersey shore. It is ashame a young boy decided to set fire to this attraction several years ago during the winter season. The entire infrastructure of the castle was styrofoam.

[Onneff69]

@Marty2978b Thank you! Actually, I believe it was *two* kids who torched it. :(

[rwk360]

You should post your videos, shannon. Videos of this attraction are extremely rare. I didn't even film any of the inside when I went through it, but I audio tape recorded walking through it in Aug 1995 and June, 1996. In June, 1998 I filmed the exterior at night. Those are the only times I went through it, although I visited Wildwood between 1980-1983 and saw it from the boardwalk at night. Last year July 5-9 I returned for the first time since June, 1998 and I tried Ghost Ship and Morbid Manor.

[xZshannonZx]

Thanks for posting this. Looking back, there's a lot of great memories here. I'm 20 now, so many have faded but Castle Dracula will forever stay in my heart and mind. I hope those kids got locked away for burning down such a beloved family attraction.

[xZshannonZx]

I loved this ride when I was a kid, Castle Dracula was always a favorite of mine to go on especially with my mom. My family has our own videos of Castle Dracula from all the times we visited it. I was about 3 years old when I first rode the boat ride and about 6 when I went through the castle itself. I was so scared, I came running out and fell on the draw bridge, hurting my knee just to have a ride operator dressed as Dracula come to my side. I'm mad that some kids burned down my favorite ride.

[JunmaiShu]

That's so much for posting this wonderful piece of nostalgia! I spent most of my summers along the Jersey seaboard and frequented this place. I remember this part on the boat ride that had a small wooden booth to the left, I didn't see it in this video. A guy pops his head out and screams, it scared the crap out of my sister. I always thought it'd be a great summer job getting paid to scare people all day.

Part 3? I have to watch 1 & 2 now...

[shaolinlueb]

I remember going on this with my father when i was 8 or 9. i was scared shitless.

[kevin37840]

hard to believe that that thing burned to the ground I grew up with it.

[Onneff69]

@kevin37840 Good thing no one was in it when it was torched. Can you imagine trying to find your way out before the smoke got to you?!!

[henrycatgoesmeow]

@Onneff69 people were in it.. many died...

[mrsparkle001]

I have the music track used at the castle. It's 2:54 long, and I'm wondering if anyone knows when the castle's looped version ended and started over? This version I have (from the Rollerball soundtrack) is a bit longer than I remember the castle being, and I can't find the point it was edited for the castle.

Any help is greatly appreciated :) Even a full recording of the castle's track is great..darkinthepark's is only 2 minutes and leaves out the crucial end.

[Onneff69]

@mrsparkle001 Can't help you with the start & end points on their loop, but of course the music is Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" - which you can easily get on hundreds of Bach organ work compilations (and which will all sound slightly different depending on the organist and the organ on which it's played). It's probably his most well-know "piece", since in modern times it's come to be universally associated with ghosts and all things "horror" in general! It actually runs about 7:30.

[Onneff69]

@Onneff69 (...depending on who's playing it.) ;)

[mrsparkle001]

@Onneff69 I have the actual version they used at the castle. It's from the "Rollerball" soundtrack. It's 2:54 long but I can't remember if the last 20 seconds or so were used in the castle's loop...it's been a while!

I will make a video of the version I have, with a picture of the castle, and post the link here.

[xcrunkxcorex]

omg I wish they still had this

[boafshow]

I only got to ride this 1 time when I was young so I had forgotten what it was like, thanks for putting it up....btw I love the reference the guy made to TMNT, those were the days

[Onneff69]

Just a qucik note: these were transferred from the original _Hi8_ analog tape, imported into plain old Windows Movie Maker.  Again, your monitor might have to be re-adjusted to be able to see ALL that the camera actually recorded - rather than just "black". ;)

[punkgirlx215]

I'm still young so when I see this I can't help but think how old the people are now.

[Onneff69]

@punkgirlx215 What would that have to do with anything? Anyway, this is 1991 -- not 1921. No worries; you'll be old too before you know it - even if it sounds only like "words" now! ;)

[punkgirlx215]

@Onneff69 LOL Oh kay... Well I wasn't even born yet, and I know I'll be old soon but I don't want to be so Ima take advantage of the time I have.

[Onneff69]

@punkgirlx215 Ahhh, it ain't that bad.....long as you keep your mind "young". :) But yes - enjoy *every* single day before those days come, anyway. ;)

[punkgirlx215]

@Onneff69 Thank you. I will.

[kaakoo]

AMAZING

[lwdgurl809]

In my opinon that's when wildwood was fun,it still is fun but teenagers take it over,families can't have fun.

[Onneff69]

@lwdgurl809 Sorry to hear you've had problems there. No doubt that more teens have "discovered" the Wildwoods during the last 15 years or so, but I"ve been going for decades, and can't say I've noticed an inordinate problem with teens. Actually, the police depts. in all 3 Wildwoods towns don't seem to tolerate a lot of shit - unlike, say, Seaside Heights or Belmar and some other shore spots further North. Of course, there will always be rowdies most everywhere, unfortunately.

[mrsparkle001]

@lwdgurl809 It's a bit different now than it was, but I still think it's a great place for families. Seaside is the place for teens and annoying young people to go.

[Onneff69]

Glad you liked it, rwk360. Thank you!

[rwk360]

This is AWESOME!!! I just found it now for the first time. I was always fascinated by the old haunted attractions at Wildwood in the early 1980's, and this is one that I missed back then, but remember seeing the top of it from the boardwalk. I finally went through the walk through part in Aug 1995 (I didn't go to WW between 1984 and 1994) and the ride through in June, 1996 as well as the walk through again, and both again in June, 1998. I filmed the outside for 10 minutes at night but not inside

[DarkIFaith]

Hey, wow, this is vintage stuff! You were so wise to record it in such detail! Great job. Thanks for uploading! I went to Wildwood all my life but was younger when Castle Dracula was still up. I never had the courage to ride it, lol but the outside always left quite an impression on me.There doesn't actually seem to be much inside the ride though...the live actors are the main attraction but I couldn't see any in this video. I heard them do. One made a ninja Turtles joke! haha

[Onneff69]

@DarkIFaith Thanks! No - there wasn't a ton of stuff in the dungeon ride (but there was enough!) ;) It's a bit of a pain, but if you temporarily re-adjust you monitor's "brightness" and/or "gamma" control, you'll probably see more of what the camera actually picked up - especially in the footage shot up in the castle itself! Glad you enjoyed it. ;)

[cgs8019]

I miss Dracula's Castle. It burned down.

[Onneff69]

@cgs8019 Yes, unfortunately it was torched by a couple of vandals years ago.