Delightful Horror Brigantine Castle Just north of Atlantic City, New Jersey, on a wooden pier that stretched 460 feet into the Atlantic Ocean, was one of the scariest places I have ever been. I am speaking, of course, of the now legendary Brigantine Castle in Brigantine, New Jersey. One of several pier mounted summer seasonal Haunted Houses on the East Coast, Brigantine was among the largest Haunted Attractions in the country, and at 110 feet tall with 5 full working stories, it held the distinction of being the "largest free standing wooden structure in the United States."
Brigantine had many innovative "frights" for its day, and hosted a large collection of young and very talented actors. My strongest memories are of the sheer chill value of the attraction, where even walking down a flight of stairs became foreboding. We all stayed to the right in a single file line, because on the left, a hooded robed figure carrying a human skull, walked slowly up. I still have scars on the palms of my hand where my sister dug her nails, as a figure with the skull leapt at her during my first visit.
Of course, no one could forget the Count (or Countess depending on when you went) who emerged from the painting above the fireplace mantel. The actor would sit so still that your eyes did not register that a person was up there until they leapt out at you. Many attractions I have been to since have tried to duplicate this effect, but none have succeeded so effectively.
You were greeted by an evil Jester who would introduce you to "The King and Queen" of Brigantine Castle (every castle needs a king and queen), they were two rotting corpses proped up on thrones in royal finery.
There was an "insane room" where the floor was inclined at an uncomfortably steep angle (20-25 degrees) to one corner. The walls, I later learned, had been painted in such a way that the room appeared to be at a much steeper angle (a very effective optical illusion). Greeting you in the room was a "mental patient." She wanted to know if you wanted to play with the dead rat or severed head she had ‘found.’
Adding to the list of optical illusions was a "headless woman." This woman, who appeared to have no head, would constantly reach at the "doctor" tending her. Another great illusion was in the execution room with a rather realistic guillotine execution.
The rat room, where a "doctor of ratology" offered a description of her collection, including favorites and feature rats. The mental suggestion was so complete, that you could swear you feel the furry creatures scurry over your feet. Actually, it was mostly a darkened hallway with rubber hoses cut down to size and attached to the wall via a 1x4.
There was a haunted forest which patrons traversed via an "S" shaped bridge. In addition to the host of actors jumping out of the onyx black foliage, in the middle of the bridge, underneath a Plexiglas floor was a "drowning" girl, still alive pounding on the glass. The effect of having someone jump at you from the floor was both unexpected and terrifying. I later learned that this, unenviable job boasted a plus 100 degree temperature in the cramped, glass covered space.
One technique that I think added to the effect, was a non-linear path through the castle. The "S" shaped bridge through the haunted forest is an example. But, you didn't just walk through one floor and move on. You were constantly going up and down stairs. It added an air of the unexpected to the entire journey through the attraction. The average time it took to walk through the entire castle was twenty-two minutes.
"…But the one thing that always impressed me was the quality of the scenery…" raved Stu Shames. The castle's scenery was outstanding. Everything was first class. There was nothing about the place that was not believable. Regardless of the condition of the structure, nothing to the patron ever looked unprofessional. The castle's appearance was meticulously created and maintained.
There was a mausoleum room had secrets of its own. This room, created in the later years of the attraction, was simply a cramped space filled with a bunch of coffins. Out of one of the coffins, an actor would jump out and scare you. If you ever walked through this room you might notice an unusual smell. I learned that these coffins were actually used and were heavy with the odor of embalming fluid. I asked how they were to come across actual used coffins, and I was told simply that I did not want to know. That was a good enough answer for me. What I can't imagine, is being an actor, laying in one of these used coffins, smelling the embalming fluid and waiting for the a group of patrons to round the next corner.
When I decided to write this article, I did an Internet search for information or people that remembered the castle. The response was staggering. I received dozens of messages from people, talking fondly about Brigantine Castle, sharing stories, and inquiring if there was still anything like it in existence. It has been over fifteen years since the fall of this wonderful attraction of terror, yet it is spoken of with a certain reverence to this day.
In my search I managed to locate several people who actually worked at both Brigantine Castle and its sister attraction, the Haunted Mansion, further north along the coast in Long Branch, New Jersey (featuring 5 enormous floors of delightful horror). These included Lil Grauman, who managed both attractions from 1978 through 1985, Eric Princz, Stu Shames and Carla Di Paola.
Lil Grauman still lives in New Jersey. She used to be the Director of Operations for the Garden State Arts Center (before it became the PNC Bank Arts Center). She still works with the Garden State Parkway and is the Director of Operations for a concert promoter. She also consults on ADA (American with disabilities act) issues.
Eric Princz, also still in New Jersey, is the only one still in the haunting business has a successful operation creating realistic robotic horror props for haunted attractions. His work is truly excellent, innovative and very creepy. He has quite a collection, including some original pieces of the Brigantine Castle.
Stu Shames, who played everything from the Vampire jumping from the picture, the rat professor, and Lester Borden to a very eager, axe wielding Lizzy, lived in California for eleven years and now has moved back to Philadelphia where he is doing well, working as a musician.
Carla Di Paola, who often played the vampiress who jumped out of the picture, moved to Las Vegas where she has a successful computer consulting business Carlotta Inc. Carla still professes to be a vampiress, in role playing anyway, and she has a web page at http://www.coam.net/~carladip/vampire.html.
Safety was a main concern at the castle, and there was lots of special training provided for the actors. The strictest rules were "Not getting too close to the patron, and never touching a patron for any reason," recalls Stu Shames a Brigantine actor from 1978 to 1979, who actually had a finger broken by a patron who got too scared when he jumped out, his fingers curled like claws. When an employee started they were trained for a few days. They were taught to be effective without putting themselves in danger. "Patrons entering the building were already convinced they would be scared. So it did not take much to be effective," recalls Lil Grauman, who worked at, and managed at the attractions from 1978 to 1985.
The actors worked vary effectively as a team and all carried 2-way radios. They could coordinate with each other in special circumstances. For example, the place was so scary that they often had to escort, gibbering patrons (adult patrons mind you) out through alternate, premature, exits. This was also effective in handling security risks like drunk, unruly patrons, or just someone intent on creating a bad situation.
Over all there was a real feeling of camaraderie and family among the actors, who made a game of trying to scare the manger Lil Grauman. However, according to her, the only thing that EVER scared her was the original movie "Night of the Living Dead."
When I asked what made the place so special, the sheer size of the attraction topped the list. The patrons really felt like they got a lot of attraction for their dollar. Followed by the quality of the acting staff and first class special effects. The combination of these two elements really made the place frighteningly "believable." The ominous building alone was enough to frighten many people. Its wooden structure was coated with a painted foam outer layer that really looked believable. As the years went by the weather took its toll on the outer layer, which actually turned out to be a bonus, providing an even creepier ‘weathered’ look. They soon learned that the building, whose wooden superstructure was covered which mostly covered in the greenish foam, turned out to be a natural haven for real bats. Most people try to rid themselves of bats with a pest control service, but in this case, it turned out to be the ultimate real prop.
Anything that happened to the building structurally they tried to turn into an advantage. There was one place where, through an accident a hole was made in an inner wall. Rather than simply patching the hole, they added an animatronic "tentacle" plant monster that would grab at one of the actors.
Even though the both Brigantine Castle and Long Branch's Haunted Mansion have become contemporary legends, as business’ they were ill fated. It is believed by the actors, that a large contributing factor to the failure of both attractions was in not putting more of the profits back into the shows.
Like any legend, there were a number of rumors as to its demise. To set the record straight; the roof did not cave in or get blown off, and the building was set fire for the insurance. They were attempting to make repairs to the structure in 1985 when the 460-foot long pier itself had started to buckle. Rather than make the expensive repairs to the pier, the owner, Carmen Ricci, decided not to open for the following season. The pier was sold to the township of Brigantine, (who disliked what they felt was an eyesore) one-year later. It was in the process of being torn down in September of 1987 when a fire started and completed what the demolition team had begun .
The sister attraction, the castle at Long Branch met its fate when a fire claimed the pier it was situated on. While you can still find "pieces" of Brigantine Castle and props all over New Jersey (Some in Dracula's Castle in Wildwood, New Jersey), there was absolutely nothing left of the Haunted Mansion after its fiery end .
Thus the end of the legend of Brigantine Castle .
The following announcement is being made on behalf of the former cast of Brigantine Castle:
the Brigantine Castle Cast will NOT be affiliated with The Atlantic City Surf Baseball Club
this year, They seem to be misleading people into thinking it's us doing
their haunted house again this year.
"Once you worked at a place like the Brigantine Castle you never lose the 'need' to frighten the hell out of people. So Beware, we're still out there!!!!!!" - A quote from a very "frightening" former Brigantine Castle Employee, Stu Shames.
WATCH FOR MORE ON BRIGANTINE CASTLE TO COME!!
*A very big thank you to Russ Burrows for his pictures. Another big thankyou to Paul Spatola for his great pictures! I'd also like to extend a big thank you to Allan 'Bonedaddy' Erush from Skeletons In My Closet Productions and Grisly Gothic Gables Haunted House for his great exterior picture of the castle. Another thank you to Albert Angelo for his Post card and Post castle Pics!
A special thank you to Lil Grauman, Stu Shames, Eric Princz and Carla Di Paola for all their help!
Now appearing in Haunted Attractions Magazine
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Check out the all new Brigantine Castle On-Line!
The midi file you are probably listening to is called "Tocatta and Fugue." It's the same tune they played as you entered the castle. Recently, one of the former cast members of the castle digitally recorded the original sound cart from the castle. If you would like to download it (It's about 2.5mb) in MP3 format, click here.
Also download "The Barronial Halls" speach also taken from the original 8-track from the castle, click here.
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