Ghost train

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Ghost Train Shocker (Munich Oktoberfest)

A ghost train is a special ride that can be found at a fair , at a fair or in an amusement park . There are both stationary ghost trains and “mobile” ghost trains in the form of a traveling amusement ride. Stationary Geiserbahn trains are mainly found in amusement parks, traveling ghost trains change the annual markets regularly (at least once a year).

A ghost train serves the purpose of scaring visitors and passengers against an entrance fee . A ghost train is the term used to describe horror attractions that are electrically operated, are driven on with so-called chaise - sons or gondolas and have a fixed route. Horror attractions that are not driven on but have to be crossed on foot are commonly referred to as haunted houses or horror rooms .

History of the ghost trains

Vienna Grotto Railway

Historical precursors

So-called curiosity shows (disparagingly referred to as freak shows ) were already enjoying great popularity in medieval markets . There people with physical disabilities and deformities were “exhibited”, so to speak, in order to convey feelings of horror to visitors. In later times, deformed and / or exotic , often “made up” animals were added. From the early 17th century mobile and stationary horror rooms came into being. With the discovery and industrialization of electricity , ride operators opened up completely new dimensions. The first, modern forerunners of the ghost trains were the so-called grotto trains , in which passengers travel through artificial caves and where figures and scenes from popular folk tales are often waiting for the visitors. With grotto railways, however, the focus is on enchanting and delighting visitors, not on frightening them. The first step towards the “real” ghost train was made by the Hitzig cave train, the Elektro-Höllenbahn, from 1926. There, not only fairy-tale characters, but above all devils and dragons were used.

The first ghost trains

Ghost Train at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (built in 1930)
Ghost Castle in the Vienna Prater (built 1933)

The historically oldest, electrically operated "real" ghost train in the world is called the Ghost Train , located in Blackpool Pleasure Beach amusement park in northwest England and opened in May 1930. In October 1931, a ghost train by the technical designer Carl Böhm made a name for itself in Hamburg on Domplatz. It was the first ghost train in Germany . Carl Böhm applied for sole copyright on his amusement ride because he suspected how successful his business idea would be and he feared a massive onslaught of imitators and envious people. So he applied for a patent and threatened potential imitators with legal consequences. However, Böhm made the mistake of publishing his ride and patent application in the popular showman magazine Komet before his patent was even approved and confirmed by the court. This had consequences: as early as 1932 there were four different ghost trains from four different family businesses at the Munich Oktoberfest alone . It is not known whether Böhm ever carried out his legal threats.

The oldest, stationary ghost train in Austria is the ghost castle in Vienna's Prater , it was built in 1933 by Friedrich Holzdorfer on plot 96. This ghost train fell victim to numerous aerial bombs during the war years from 1939 to 1945, like many other attractions in the "old" Prater, and was reopened in 1948 under the same name a few meters from the original location. Devil's Den is one of the oldest ghost trains in the United States . It is located in the Conneaut Lake Park historic amusement park in the US state of Pennsylvania and opened in 1968. It was repeatedly restored and renovated because the park had to be closed several times due to bankruptcy . The ghost train is not only of historical value, it houses a curiosity: a chewing gum wall that was created by amusement park fans in protest and still exists today.

All historical ghost trains had in common that their exterior design was rather simple and the interior (for the time) was quite elaborate. Today's trend, however, tends towards the opposite. In addition, many of the earlier ghost trains were nameless and there was only the lettering "Geisterbahn" in illuminated letters above the rides. It wasn't until the mid-1960s that the trend emerged of giving ghost trains consistently imaginative names such as “Daemonium”, “King Kong's Horror Show” or “Ghost Snake”. Since most of the ghost trains are privately operated and, moreover, are regularly undesigned externally and internally and figures are exchanged, there is hardly any original historical ghost train left.

Construction and operation

Chaise with a clearly visible drive
Ghost train with gondolas

Ghost trains are electrically operated rides. The outside and inside lighting, the horror dolls and animatronics set up outside and inside, the chaise-longues and gondolas as well as the light and sound effects are all supplied with electricity (which explains, for example, the prohibition of touching the figures). The ride itself is usually a tent of different sizes, which consists of a metal frame and is covered with one or more thick tarpaulins . Small ghost trains are one-story and quite simple in their construction, large ghost trains can be two or even three-story. This basic structure leads to different routes and also affects the design and decoration of the wagons: Their size and design are adapted to the route and the theme of the ghost train.

The ghost train wagons (chaise) are mostly two-seaters, rarely four-seaters. Each car travels a fixed route. With earlier ghost trains these rails were laid out in pairs, with more modern ghost trains they are single rails. The wagons run thanks to their own motor, which receives its electricity directly from the rails. Where the cars start or stop (i.e. in the boarding and disembarking zone), there are currentless rail sections. In the entry area, this means that an employee can independently set the front car in motion at any time at the push of a button. In the exit area, on the other hand, de-energized rail sections should prevent the cars from colliding with each other without braking. But there are also ghost trains that take gondolas instead of wagons. These also draw their electricity from the rails, which also function as overhead lines. But here, too, there are currentless rail sections in the entry and exit areas. The rails are very winding, especially inside the tent. This should - with the help of cleverly set up partition walls - take the passengers away from their orientation and at the same time convey the feeling that the car is driving faster than it actually does. Darkening the interior reinforces this illusion .

The interior decoration of the ghost trains depends heavily on the size of the tent and the route. This is especially noticeable in the number of scary dolls. The design of these frightening figures is mostly based on classic and popular monsters from literature , film and computer games . These can be giant spiders, zombies , vampires or skeletons. But execution scenes such as the electric chair and / or beheading enjoy timeless popularity. The scary dolls and animatronics are either timer or sensor controlled (for example by motion sensors ). Other areas of the route are decorated with scary motifs made of fluorescent paint. Appropriate sound and light effects are used and the scary puppets are jerked to scare the passengers. Live actors are also used in some ghost trains.

popularity

Terrifying figure in a ghost train

Reception in modern media

Ghost trains have enjoyed timeless popularity since their invention and introduction and are still part of the ensemble at fairs, folk festivals and amusement parks. The popularity is reflected, among other things, in the fact that ghost trains are still a not inconsiderable part of horror or fright scenes in various horror films , thrillers and crime films . The viewer is almost automatically excited when the film character goes on the ghost train. Ghost trains also appear in crime series such as Columbo and in various Alfred Hitchcock series, here mostly as crime scenes of insidious murders .

Psychological aspects

The popularity of ghost trains is also based on their design and purpose of scaring their visitors and passengers. Driving them is a test of courage for children and adults alike . The temptation to face your very own fears (for example, fear of the dark and the unknown) is perceived as a pleasure at the same time. Frightening is actually a protective and defense mechanism of the human body. It is usually a reflex in response to sudden, loud noises, but also to visual stimuli and unexpected touches. Psychologists like Jürgen Margraf and Christian Kaernbach compare the search for horror with the same kick that one can experience while gambling or dangerous extreme sports : the nervousness that turns into fear, culminates in the moment of shock and ends with relief. The motives in this case would be adrenaline addiction and thrill tourism. The relief follows when the car leaves the ghost train again.

Another reason for the popularity of ghost trains seems contradictory at first glance, but it has a lot in common with other, darkened rides such as grotto trains and love tunnels: Their darkness tempts young people in particular to ride in pairs and secretly cuddle and kiss.

gallery

  • Horror show

  • Ghost castle

  • Ghost snake

  • Phantom Chaser

  • Dracula Castle

  • Devil's Den

See also

literature

  • Florian Dering: Popular amusements: a richly pictorial cultural history of the driving, amusement and skill deals of the showmen from the 18th century to the present. Verlag Kupfergraben, Berlin 1986, ISBN 978-3-89190005-5 .
  • Marcello La Speranza: Prater kaleidoscope: a photo-historical ascent and descent through the Wiener Wurstelprater. Verlag Picus, Vienna 1997, ISBN 978-3-85452400-7 .
  • Sacha Szabo: Intoxication and hustle and bustle: attractions at fairs and amusement parks. A sociological cultural history. transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2015, ISBN 978-3-83940566-6 .
  • Roland Girtler : Foray through the Wiener Wurstelprater: the colorful world of the showmen and innkeepers. Böhlau-Verlag, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-20520280-6 .
  • Gunda Krudener-Ackermann: The invention of the ghost train. In: G / Geschichte , 10/2019, pp. 70–71.

Web links

Wiktionary: Ghost Train  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Ghost Train  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Tina Klopp, Michael Diers: The ghost train as a model and fashion in contemporary art. Dissertation from the University of Fine Arts (HFBK) Hamburg, Hamburg 2014, pp. 80–82, 92–96.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Florian Dering: Volksbelustigungen: a richly pictorial cultural history of the driving, amusement and skill trades of the showmen from the 18th century to the present. Verlag Kupfergraben, Berlin 1986, ISBN 978-3-89190005-5 , pp. 132-134, 198-200.
  3. ↑ Darren W. Ritson: Supernatural North. Amberley Publishing Limited, Stroud (UK) 2009, ISBN 978-1-44563122-6 , pp. 116-119.
  4. ↑ a b Gunda Krudener-Ackermann: The invention of the ghost train. In: G / Geschichte , 10/2019 , pp. 70–71.
  5. ↑ Margit Ramus: History of the ghost trains. On kulturgut-volksfest.de ; last accessed on May 9, 2020.
  6. ↑ a b Sacha Szabo: Rausch und Rummel: Attractions at fairs and amusement parks. A sociological cultural history. transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2015, ISBN 978-3-83940566-6 , p. 92.
  7. ↑ Roland Girtler: Foray through the Wiener Wurstelprater: The colorful world of showmen and hosts. Böhlau-Verlag, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-20520280-6 , pp. 118ff.
  8. ↑ Michael E. Costello: Conneaut Lake Park. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston 2005, ISBN 9780738537795 , pp. 117-119.
  9. ↑ a b c Marcello La Speranza: Prater-Kaleidoskop: a photo-historical ascent and descent through the Wiener Wurstelprater. Verlag Picus, Vienna 1997, ISBN 978-3-85452400-7 , pp. 32–34, 148–150.
  10. ↑ a b Ian Conrich: Horror Zone: The Cultural Experience of Contemporary Horror Cinema . Bloomsbury Academic, 2010, ISBN 9781848851511 , pp. 3-7.
  11. ↑ Birgit Maiwald: The blueprints of horror - fear rooms in the film . GRIN Verlag, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 9783640112050 , page 5.
  12. ↑ Tobias Landwehr: The lust for horror . Internet article from October 30, 2016 on zeit.de (German); accessed on July 20, 2020.
  13. ↑ Dolores Haugh: Riverview Amusement Park . Arcadia Publishing, 2004, ISBN 9781439631454 , p. 47.