When
I saw the archway, I felt the excitement swell up inside. Like
an old friend that has seen better 
days, it was there to welcome me in for one last romp through the
grounds. As I proceeded into the park, I immediately began to
notice how things had changed. Scrambling through a part of the
fence near where the flume previously resided, I discovered an empty
lot. All that remained were the various buildings that housed
the games and concessions stand, the House of Horrors and some ticket
booths. All
of them appeared to have been pried open by previous visitors.
The
Mexican Fiesta was the first stop. As I crawled over the counter,
I could see a red foot print of a pervious explorer. Once inside,
I discovered a carpet of red powder on
the floor. What could it be? Left over chili power? I moved onto
what I like to call the round house. It’s the curved building they
parked the Kiddy Train in at night. I found Sky Liner seats and
pieces of carnival games resting peacefully inside along 2 giant
freezers. Exiting
the back, I could see where the Dodge Ums building use to be. Unfortunately, it was consumed in a fire
in June
2000. This was one of my favorite rides. A friend
who had worked for RP recently told me that the staff called it “The
Coal Mine” due to all the carbon that was created from the arks of
electricity on the ceiling. If you worked that ride you go home
with a sinus filled with soot.
I spied the landscape, trying to remember what was in each of the
buildings. It had been so long since I had visited the park.
As I strolled through the kiddy section, I couldn't really remember any of the rides. There was one I have vague memories
of though. I can't recall its name but it was Model-T cars on a
track. They had been removed from the park long ago but as a
child, I had a fondness for it.
Looking
into what was labeled Modos Funhouse, I noticed some new items.
The name didn't sound familiar and I remembered this
as being the building, which contained the Ticket Games. As
I examined it more closely, I realized it was a walk through
haunted house made for Halloween Land. Halloween Land was a
venture by a man in 1997. He had bought the House of
Horrors for $1000 and planned on putting together a seasonal Halloween
theme park. Unfortunately, the fire department shut him down just
before opening. I haven’t heard anything about him since then.
With the House of Horrors now on my mind, I decided to go there next.
I was going to leave it for last but just couldn’t wait any longer.
The House of Horrors was a big part of my Rocky Point memories.
When I was about eight or nine yrs. old it frightened me to death.
Not the
ride itself, just how it appeared from the outside. It had such
a unique and eerie look. The Viking and Dragon on the second
floor brought terrifying images to mind.
When my brothers would ask if I wanted to join them on the ride, I’d
take one look at its creepy façade and then pretend that I really
didn’t care for it. Deep down inside though, I feared that much
more daunting things might be
lurking inside.
When I was much older, I
finally did gain the confidence to venture inside and was pleasantly
surprised. Though it was far from being scary, I found its
quirky style very entertaining. Here it stood lifeless and
abandoned. Though it hasn't been in operation for more than six years, its appearance was still commanding. Once again, I would
be entering into the belly of this beast. As in 'The Wizard of
Oz, I was about to peek behind the curtain and reveal its inner works.
I approached the entrance and found it was still boarded up.
Fortunately, I located a spot where some boards had been torn away.
Little did I know, this would be the first time I’d actually
be frightened as I entered. My friend who tagged along, had
already made it to the House of Horrors. As I squeezed
into the dark interior mesmerized by Dracula's image on the cart , he
jumped out to scare me.
The
missing boards let in enough light to see fairly well. 
There were four cars laying about on the lower level. One of the
cars was still on the tracks, frozen in time, patiently waiting
to begin its climb to the second floor once again. Each of these
cars had monsters painted on the front. Dracula, Frankenstein
and a snake-faced man. The art was fantastic!
I walked up the sturdy ramp to explore the second floor. The
building seemed to be structurally sound. Reaching the second floor, I
found it was empty. Other than the chicken wire cages and a few
sofa cushions, it was bare. My friend and I spent a lot of time
exploring the remains of the House of Horrors. Less the monster
faces, the mural and its cool exterior, we didn’t find anything else
worthy of note.
My friend and I decided to tour the rest of the park together. As
we did our rounds, we found several interesting things. In the
back of a gaming building, we discovered several custom
paintings - each
appeared to have been trampled and assaulted by previous visitors. In
the carousel, area we found giant pieces of a fiberglass moon.
Though we each had our hunches, neither of us could really remember
which ride they were from. Eventually an associate of mine
informed me that they were from the Apollo ride which had sat between
that tall arch and the flume. Why it was still here was a mystery
to me.
Laid out across the ground were parts of the Mini-Golf coarse.
Odd since it had been removed from the park in the mid-eighties to
make room for the Free Fall. I can only assume that it had been
stored in some backroom in case they may have decided to make room for
it elsewhere in the park; now
once again, it was part of the park for curious explorers like my
friend and I to enjoy.
Deep in the back of the Modos building, we discovered what looked like
the accounting office. Along
with a few framed Sting posters, we found cash bags with the names of
various arcade games on them. Peering into a small room with a
service counter revealed two giant safes. One of the safes
appeared to have been assaulted with a pick ax. There was a
sizeable hole in its door.
The thieves who were trying to gain access were out of luck.
The door was far too thick to penetrate.
