The Phantasmagoria just before its debut in 1973(photo courtesy of Kyle J. Wood)The Phantasmagoria was a dark ride located in Bell's Amusement Park of Tulsa, Oklahoma which operated for more than 30 years. This site is a one-stop archive of information, media, and memories related to the haunted attraction.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Opened: July 1973
Demolished: June 19, 2007
Number of levels: 2
Number of tricks: 23
Duration: approx. 5 minutes
Created by: a collaboration between Bill Tracy and the Bell family
LIST OF TRICKS
01. The spinning eyes (exterior)
02. The lunging dog (exterior)
03. Three ascending bang doors with circular cuts (originally diminishing squares)
04. Guard dog sign/barking audio
05. Dip #1
06. Grim Reaper (originally hung above the dip in the long corridor)
07. Skeleton in the graveyard
08. Singing skulls
09. Buzzard in the nest
10. The psychedelic room (aka tinfoil or strobe room)
11. Skull faced "lady of the night"
12. The witches head
13. Dip #2 (originally exterior)
14. Collapsing mine shaft (aka Falling Timbers)
15. The Skull Pond with rattling floorboards
16. Cloaked skeleton lady in front of shingles
17. The giant rat
18. Rotating naked/bikini woman
19. Skeleton in a noose
20. The bus (formerly the tilted room where water ran uphill)
21. The mirrored hallway
22. The spinning tunnel
23. The bat cave with water curtain
TRIVIA
-All of the 'bang doors' close solely by the power of gravity.
-There were nearly as many smoke detectors as there are spooks in the ride.
-No fire ever occurred in the ride's history.
-Items commonly discarded in ride: Stuffed animals, hats, litter, cigarette butts, ladies undergarment, feminine products, condom wrappers
-Common means of mischief: Getting out of car, vandalism, making out, occasional stink bombs.
1998 aerial view(courtesy of Kyle J. Wood)
satellite view circa 2005
8 comments:
We use to go to the Tulsa State Fair every year. Phantasmagoria was a ride I will never forget. Along with Zingo and the sirens on the Himilaya.
I will never forget the Phantasmagoria. It was the best haunted house in the History of haunted houses too bad it was demolished... Why wasn't it stored along with the Zingo?
I hope that maybe someday, somehow, somewhere... Phantasmagoria will return!
I miss it a lot :(
It kind of did in Ocean City Maryland on the boardwalk there is a haunted house ride (also created by Bill Tracy) which recently got remodeled and the people remodeling it got ahold of some of the "tricks" from Phantasmgoria where shipped to the haunted house and are now installed :)
All those Dark Rides that are older as 50 Years should be protected by Law before demolishing. Not many are left. One of them you find at Waldameer
YouTube has a few walk-thrus of both the Wacky Shack and Pirate's Cove of Waldameer Park in Erie PA, both hands on Bill Tracy creations. The Wacky Shack was built from a 3/4" per foot scale model instead of drawings. The Pirate's Cove was built in the order of walking otherwise the materials would not fit in the tight spaces once in place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVvd74nZXo4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvFIsvSVUzQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znAlvcJGAb0
I remember standing in the strobe room for 45 minute stretches watching for "Jumpers" to get out of the cars, sitting at the control panel for HOURS during the private Corporate Picnics, drilling the holes in the asphalt in '73 just before the Fair. Good Times
Would love to hear more of your stories if you've got any Thomas!
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