Funland’s Haunted Mansion celebrates 40 years of thrills

It all began with a storyboard, said Funland mechanic Randy Curry. 

“We were very hands-on from the beginning,” he said. “We had an idea of what we wanted and had drawn up scenes of what would be relevant to include in the Haunted Mansion.”

Funland’s Haunted Mansion is celebrating 40 years of horror since its 1979 creation. The vintage attraction is considered a classic of the dark ride genre which consists less of graphic content and more of thrilling parlor tricks and jump scares.

“The design of the ride is a classic type of dark ride that emulates what older dark rides were all about,” said Curry. “There were spooky, scary, maybe gaudy-type tricks, not necessarily blood and gore. I think that’s why people keep coming back.” 

When riders climb into the Haunted Mansion’s cars they’re transported into a world that rival’s Disney’s Halloween Town. The whole ride lasts less 3 minutes, and features 500 feet of twist-and-turn track.

“The ride is unique because it is an overhead track, not like a floor mounted track. It’s almost like a suspended coaster, even though it’s not an actual roller coaster,” he said. “The power and ride transport system hangs on a track overhead above you and the cars hang from that track.” 

Riders begin their spooky experience by slowly passing through a set of bump doors into the parlor. They then immediately begin the ascent on what Curry refers to as the “upslope” into the mansion’s house of horrors where ghouls and other creatures that lurk in the shadows greet visitors with surprise. What twists and turns await beyond the parlor? Take the ride and see for yourself! Hurry, though, because the Haunted Mansion closes for the season Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2.

Just like a roller coaster, riders will enjoy getting their picture taken during the ride. Riders have been known to dress up in costumes in preparation for the special photo.

“Hopefully the scene is scary enough that as the picture is taken you’re in a surprised mode,” said Curry. “We’ve had some amazing and unique pictures of people who have gotten scared.”

The Haunted Mansion has grown in popularity over the years, thanks to word of mouth and an organization known as Dark Ride and Funhouse Enthusiast, an organization that rates rides all over the country. Funland’s Haunted Mansion has been rated in the top 10 during its 40 years.

“We have somewhat of a thrill-seeker following, where they’ll ride the ride multiple times in one night because they want to experience and see how we do things,” said Curry.

For more information, go to www.funlandrehoboth.com.