Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure
Encyclopedia
The Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure was a haunted house
attraction at Six Flags Great Adventure
amusement park in Jackson Township, New Jersey
. On May 11, 1984, eight teenage visitors were trapped and killed when the structure was destroyed by fire.
Six Flags Great Adventure and its parent company Six Flags
were subsequently indicted for aggravated manslaughter
, accused of recklessly
causing the deaths by taking inadequate precautions against a fire. In the subsequent trial, the prosecution argued that repeated warnings by safety consultants to install sprinklers or smoke alarms had been ignored. The defendants denied any culpability, and contended that the fire was arson
and that no precautions would have saved lives. The trial jury found the defendants not guilty.
was to entertain its customers by frightening them. Exterior decorations included plastic monsters, skulls and other features meant to create a frightening atmosphere. A facade of false turrets and towers lent the illusion of height to the one-story structure, completing the look of a forbidding medieval
castle
. After crossing a drawbridge
over the surrounding moat
, visitors entered the castle and felt their way along a 450 feet (137.2 m)-long convoluted path of dim corridors, occasionally being startled when employee actors dressed as Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and other creatures jumped from hiding. Various theatrical props
and exhibits were in view, including coffins, ghoulish mannequin
s, hanging spider webs and skeletons. Strobe light
s and eerie sounds completed the scene.
The castle was actually two side-by-side attractions of the same kind, with separate corridors and a common control room in the center. Only one side, with 9 of the 17 trailers, was in use at the time of the fire.
During the subsequent criminal trial
, the Jackson Township fire inspector testified that he had never inspected the castle.
The township considered the castle a "temporary structure," even after it had been at the park for five years, based on the fact that the trailers were on wheels.
The castle lacked a building permit or certificate of occupancy, and had no sprinklers or alarms despite repeated recommendations for them by the park's own safety consultants.
partitions to create a complex maze. Attached to its exterior were painted turrets and towers of plywood on wooden frames. Inside, the materials used included foam rubber
, various fabrics and plastics, plywood and
tar paper
. Wax mannequins were used as props.
at an area hospital. Eight teenagers from one group of nine that entered together were trapped and killed by asphyxia
tion.
The sole survivor of the group was carried to safety by a park employee.
One witness, whose group entered the attraction three to five minutes behind the victim group, later testified that when she reached a display called the Hunchback, she saw flames coming from around a bend beyond the display. She thought it was part of the show, but then smelled smoke and realized the flames were real. Her group started yelling "fire!" and ran back to the entrance, bumping into walls.
Firefighters from 11 surrounding communities responded, and the fire was declared under control at 7:45 p.m. The park remained open during the fire, and closed at 8 p.m., two hours early.
No one realized that lives had been lost until later that night, when firefighters searching one of the burnt-out trailers discovered the bodies, thought at first to be mannequins.
laws. New Jersey's Department of Labor and Industries inspects the safety of rides, such as roller coasters and ferris wheels. Locally, municipalities
enforce state and local building code
s governing fire safety and electrical wiring. In turn, the state's Department of Community Affairs is responsible for ensuring that municipalities enforce the codes. Finally, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
is responsible for monitoring employee safety. A state panel investigating the fire said that the regulatory system had failed at almost every level; and that the Haunted Castle had been in violation of a dozen state fire codes.
The panel said the state's Uniform Construction Code
required the owners to install smoke detectors and several other common safety devices before the castle opened. A spokesman for the local volunteer fire department said it had not enforced the state requirement for smoke detectors because the township's building inspector said that the code did not apply because the castle was a temporary structure.
Eight days after the fire, a statement by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office
said a 13-year-old boy had called the police after hearing radio reports that investigators were looking for witnesses. The boy told the police that he had been befriended by a 14-year-old boy at the castle's entrance. He said the older youth, who appeared to be familiar with the castle, offered to guide him through. He said the older youth used a cigarette lighter to find his way down a long corridor that was dark because of a malfunctioning strobe light, and eventually bumped into and ignited a foam-rubber wall pad. The prosecutor exonerated the older youth, who has never been identified, of any criminal wrongdoing.
in Toms River, New Jersey, indicted
Six Flags Great Adventure and its parent company Six Flags on a charge of aggravated
manslaughter
, for "recklessly causing the deaths under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life." The indictment also charged two park executives, the general manager at the time of the fire and his predecessor, with manslaughter
for reckless
conduct in ignoring repeated warnings of safety violations.
began in New Jersey Superior Court
in Toms River on May 29, 1985. The prosecution argued that repeated warnings by safety consultants to install sprinklers or smoke alarms had been ignored. The defendants denied any culpability, and contended that the fire was arson
and that no precautions would have saved lives.
called as witnesses fire-prevention consultants who had inspected the castle and recommended the installation of sprinklers or smoke alarms; and told the trial jury
that after five years of semiannual inspections, the devices were not in place when the attraction burned.
Shift managers of the attraction called as witnesses testified
that "none of the exit lights were working, bulbs were missing from other lights and there were no fire alarms, despite a history of patrons' using matches and cigarette lighters in the dark corridors"; and that their pleas for safety precautions had been rejected by management as too expensive. They also testified that a ripped "crash pad" in the corridor had exposed foam rubber padding.
The boy who had come forward as a witness during the initial investigation repeated what he had told investigators earlier, testifying for the prosecution that he had seen another boy his age, a boy he did not know, accidentally set the fire with a cigarette lighter by brushing its flame against a foam wall pad. According to news reports of the trial, no such boy was ever found, and no other witness testified to seeing such a boy. Under cross-examination
by the defense, the witness denied starting the fire himself.
denied any culpability, saying that company executives had carefully considered all safety recommendations, acting on some and rejecting others; and contending that the fire was arson
and that no precautions would have saved lives in a fire where an accelerant
was used.
A defense forensic pathologist said arson might be the cause, saying that "high levels" of benzene
in the victims' blood "could indicate some sinister reason for the fire." However, another defense witness said there were no burn patterns or other evidence of an accelerant.
Park officials testified that smoke alarms had been installed, but the park was unable to control vandalism to them and decided not to reinstall them after 1979. A park official testified that having an employee assigned to walk continually through the attraction was a good alternative to the smoke alarms.
A top fire-safety official testifying for the defense said that sprinklers and smoke detectors might have saved part of the structure, but would not have saved lives because by then "you would have had lethal combustion products throughout the facility", suffocating the victims.
His testimony was later criticised by other fire-safety experts as undermining efforts to advance sprinkler legislation.
, after an eight-week trial and 13 hours of deliberation, found the two companies not guilty of the charges. Interviewed after the trial, the jury foreman blamed Jackson Township officials for repeatedly allowing the castle to slip through cracks in the fire code. A second juror disagreed, saying that township officials were not derelict. Both jurors held the two companies blameless because they had been told by township officials that they needed no permit or sprinklers.
.
The families of the eight victims filed civil suits against Bally Manufacturing
, the owner of Six Flags; Six Flags; and the castle's builder, the Haunted House Company of East Orange, charging manslaughter
and aggravated
manslaughter.
Seven of the eight families later settled out of court for $2.5 million each; the eighth family chose to go to trial and was awarded $750,000.
in Seaside Heights, New Jersey
, built by the same company.
New Jersey and other states passed new fire-safety laws for dark ride
s and "any structure that intentionally disorients
".
Park attendance fell sharply for the rest of the year, finishing 15 percent below the 3.3 million of the year preceding. Park officials said pre-fire attendance levels were restored the next year after they reassured the public that the park was made safer by the addition of $5.2 million worth of sprinklers and computerized smoke and heat detectors, while industry sources have reported that ensuing poor attendance almost caused the park to close in 1987.
titled Doorway to Hell? The Mystery and Controversy Surrounding the Fire at the Haunted Castle was produced in 2003 by Peter James Smith, a long-time patron of the Haunted Castle. Smith's documentary, which won a "Best Research" award at the 2004 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, documents the fire, investigation and trial, and questions the official report's finding that the fire was accidental. Smith speaks of an "emotionally disturbed" youth with a history of setting fires who "kept playing with a lighter in his pocket". He says the youth was seen exiting the attraction as the fire broke out and was later questioned by police but not charged due to lack of evidence.
The film says that two earlier visitors on the day of the fire reported seeing a chained exit door, but were not called as witnesses. (Ocean County authorities reported no physical evidence of chained doors and dismissed such claims.) Some visitors and employees Smith interviewed thought doors were blocked at times for the security of actors and to keep actors from going outside to smoke cigarettes or marijuana.
Smith also says that diagrams of the castle and its exits used in the trial were inaccurate, and did not show a metal fence erected to protect actors from hostile guests, something that would have made escape more difficult. Great Adventure officials declined to comment on the film.
Haunted attraction
A haunted attraction is a form of entertainment that simulates the experience of entering a haunted location that might be inhabited by ghosts, monsters, criminals, humorous characters, and other such creatures...
attraction at Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
amusement park in Jackson Township, New Jersey
Jackson Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 42,816 people, 14,176 households, and 11,269 families residing in the township. The population density was 427.9 people per square mile . There were 14,640 housing units at an average density of 146.3 per square mile...
. On May 11, 1984, eight teenage visitors were trapped and killed when the structure was destroyed by fire.
Six Flags Great Adventure and its parent company Six Flags
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 14 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, thrill parks, water parks and family...
were subsequently indicted for aggravated manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, accused of recklessly
Recklessness (psychology)
Recklessness is disregard for or indifference to the dangers of a situation or for the consequences of one's actions....
causing the deaths by taking inadequate precautions against a fire. In the subsequent trial, the prosecution argued that repeated warnings by safety consultants to install sprinklers or smoke alarms had been ignored. The defendants denied any culpability, and contended that the fire was arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
and that no precautions would have saved lives. The trial jury found the defendants not guilty.
Operation
The purpose of the Haunted Castle walk-through dark rideDark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects....
was to entertain its customers by frightening them. Exterior decorations included plastic monsters, skulls and other features meant to create a frightening atmosphere. A facade of false turrets and towers lent the illusion of height to the one-story structure, completing the look of a forbidding medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
. After crossing a drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
over the surrounding moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
, visitors entered the castle and felt their way along a 450 feet (137.2 m)-long convoluted path of dim corridors, occasionally being startled when employee actors dressed as Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and other creatures jumped from hiding. Various theatrical props
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
and exhibits were in view, including coffins, ghoulish mannequin
Mannequin
A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
s, hanging spider webs and skeletons. Strobe light
Strobe light
A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope...
s and eerie sounds completed the scene.
Construction and history
Originally constructed of four aluminum semi-trailers when it opened in 1978, the castle was expanded to 17 interconnected trailers in 1979.The castle was actually two side-by-side attractions of the same kind, with separate corridors and a common control room in the center. Only one side, with 9 of the 17 trailers, was in use at the time of the fire.
During the subsequent criminal trial
Criminal procedure
Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...
, the Jackson Township fire inspector testified that he had never inspected the castle.
The township considered the castle a "temporary structure," even after it had been at the park for five years, based on the fact that the trailers were on wheels.
The castle lacked a building permit or certificate of occupancy, and had no sprinklers or alarms despite repeated recommendations for them by the park's own safety consultants.
Materials
The castle's aluminum trailers were linked by plywoodPlywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...
partitions to create a complex maze. Attached to its exterior were painted turrets and towers of plywood on wooden frames. Inside, the materials used included foam rubber
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
, various fabrics and plastics, plywood and
tar paper
Tar paper
Tar paper is a heavy-duty paper used in construction. Tar paper is made by impregnating paper with tar, producing a waterproof material useful for roof construction. It can be distinguished from Roofing felt:Asphalt-saturated felt. Roofing felt has been in use for over a hundred years...
. Wax mannequins were used as props.
1984 Fire
The fire started at 6:35 p.m. on a Friday evening on May 11, 1984. Fanned by outside air conditioners that continued to push air up through the floor vents, it spread rapidly due to the use of flammable building materials. About 29 people were in the attraction when the fire started. Fourteen, including four park employees, escaped. Seven were treated for smoke inhalationSmoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires.Smoke inhalation injury refers to injury due to inhalation or exposure to hot gaseous products of combustion. This can cause serious respiratory complications....
at an area hospital. Eight teenagers from one group of nine that entered together were trapped and killed by asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
tion.
The sole survivor of the group was carried to safety by a park employee.
One witness, whose group entered the attraction three to five minutes behind the victim group, later testified that when she reached a display called the Hunchback, she saw flames coming from around a bend beyond the display. She thought it was part of the show, but then smelled smoke and realized the flames were real. Her group started yelling "fire!" and ran back to the entrance, bumping into walls.
Firefighters from 11 surrounding communities responded, and the fire was declared under control at 7:45 p.m. The park remained open during the fire, and closed at 8 p.m., two hours early.
No one realized that lives had been lost until later that night, when firefighters searching one of the burnt-out trailers discovered the bodies, thought at first to be mannequins.
The investigation
The fire spotlighted a complex collection of local, state and FederalFederal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
laws. New Jersey's Department of Labor and Industries inspects the safety of rides, such as roller coasters and ferris wheels. Locally, municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
enforce state and local building code
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
s governing fire safety and electrical wiring. In turn, the state's Department of Community Affairs is responsible for ensuring that municipalities enforce the codes. Finally, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. It was created by Congress of the United States under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, signed by President Richard M. Nixon, on December 29, 1970...
is responsible for monitoring employee safety. A state panel investigating the fire said that the regulatory system had failed at almost every level; and that the Haunted Castle had been in violation of a dozen state fire codes.
The panel said the state's Uniform Construction Code
required the owners to install smoke detectors and several other common safety devices before the castle opened. A spokesman for the local volunteer fire department said it had not enforced the state requirement for smoke detectors because the township's building inspector said that the code did not apply because the castle was a temporary structure.
Eight days after the fire, a statement by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
said a 13-year-old boy had called the police after hearing radio reports that investigators were looking for witnesses. The boy told the police that he had been befriended by a 14-year-old boy at the castle's entrance. He said the older youth, who appeared to be familiar with the castle, offered to guide him through. He said the older youth used a cigarette lighter to find his way down a long corridor that was dark because of a malfunctioning strobe light, and eventually bumped into and ignited a foam-rubber wall pad. The prosecutor exonerated the older youth, who has never been identified, of any criminal wrongdoing.
Legal aftermath
On September 14, 1984, a grand juryGrand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in Toms River, New Jersey, indicted
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
Six Flags Great Adventure and its parent company Six Flags on a charge of aggravated
Aggravation (legal concept)
Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."...
manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, for "recklessly causing the deaths under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life." The indictment also charged two park executives, the general manager at the time of the fire and his predecessor, with manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
for reckless
Recklessness (psychology)
Recklessness is disregard for or indifference to the dangers of a situation or for the consequences of one's actions....
conduct in ignoring repeated warnings of safety violations.
Criminal trial
The criminal trialCriminal procedure
Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...
began in New Jersey Superior Court
New Jersey Superior Court
The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with state-wide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The Superior Court has three divisions: the Appellate Division is essentially an intermediate appellate court while the Law and Chancery Divisions function as trial courts...
in Toms River on May 29, 1985. The prosecution argued that repeated warnings by safety consultants to install sprinklers or smoke alarms had been ignored. The defendants denied any culpability, and contended that the fire was arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
and that no precautions would have saved lives.
Prosecution case
The prosecutionProsecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
called as witnesses fire-prevention consultants who had inspected the castle and recommended the installation of sprinklers or smoke alarms; and told the trial jury
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
that after five years of semiannual inspections, the devices were not in place when the attraction burned.
Shift managers of the attraction called as witnesses testified
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
that "none of the exit lights were working, bulbs were missing from other lights and there were no fire alarms, despite a history of patrons' using matches and cigarette lighters in the dark corridors"; and that their pleas for safety precautions had been rejected by management as too expensive. They also testified that a ripped "crash pad" in the corridor had exposed foam rubber padding.
The boy who had come forward as a witness during the initial investigation repeated what he had told investigators earlier, testifying for the prosecution that he had seen another boy his age, a boy he did not know, accidentally set the fire with a cigarette lighter by brushing its flame against a foam wall pad. According to news reports of the trial, no such boy was ever found, and no other witness testified to seeing such a boy. Under cross-examination
Cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect .- Variations by Jurisdiction :In...
by the defense, the witness denied starting the fire himself.
Defense
The defenseDefense (legal)
In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant may raise a defense in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability...
denied any culpability, saying that company executives had carefully considered all safety recommendations, acting on some and rejecting others; and contending that the fire was arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
and that no precautions would have saved lives in a fire where an accelerant
Accelerant
Accelerants play a major role in chemistry. Most chemical reactions can be hastened with an accelerant. Accelerants alter a chemical bond, speed up a chemical process, or bring organisms back to homeostasis. Accelerants are not necessarily catalysts as they may be consumed by the process...
was used.
A defense forensic pathologist said arson might be the cause, saying that "high levels" of benzene
Benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....
in the victims' blood "could indicate some sinister reason for the fire." However, another defense witness said there were no burn patterns or other evidence of an accelerant.
Park officials testified that smoke alarms had been installed, but the park was unable to control vandalism to them and decided not to reinstall them after 1979. A park official testified that having an employee assigned to walk continually through the attraction was a good alternative to the smoke alarms.
A top fire-safety official testifying for the defense said that sprinklers and smoke detectors might have saved part of the structure, but would not have saved lives because by then "you would have had lethal combustion products throughout the facility", suffocating the victims.
His testimony was later criticised by other fire-safety experts as undermining efforts to advance sprinkler legislation.
Jury findings
The juryJury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
, after an eight-week trial and 13 hours of deliberation, found the two companies not guilty of the charges. Interviewed after the trial, the jury foreman blamed Jackson Township officials for repeatedly allowing the castle to slip through cracks in the fire code. A second juror disagreed, saying that township officials were not derelict. Both jurors held the two companies blameless because they had been told by township officials that they needed no permit or sprinklers.
Other legal aspects
The two park executives charged separately with manslaughter avoided trial and possible imprisonment by entering a pretrial intervention program that allowed them to perform community serviceCommunity service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
.
The families of the eight victims filed civil suits against Bally Manufacturing
Bally
Bally Technologies, Inc. is a manufacturer of slot machines and other gaming technology based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the descendant and continuation of the original Bally Manufacturing Corporation of Chicago....
, the owner of Six Flags; Six Flags; and the castle's builder, the Haunted House Company of East Orange, charging manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
and aggravated
Aggravation (legal concept)
Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."...
manslaughter.
Seven of the eight families later settled out of court for $2.5 million each; the eighth family chose to go to trial and was awarded $750,000.
Safety improvements
Immediately after the fire, several other New Jersey haunted-house attractions were closed pending fire inspections, including the multi-trailer "Doorway to Hell" on Casino PierCasino Pier
Casino Pier is an amusement park situated on a pier , in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, USA. The pier extends approximately 300 feet into the Atlantic Ocean, from the narrow strip of the Barnegat Peninsula in which Seaside Heights exists...
in Seaside Heights, New Jersey
Seaside Heights, New Jersey
Seaside Heights is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,887. Seaside Heights is situated on the Barnegat Peninsula, a long, narrow barrier peninsula that separates Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...
, built by the same company.
New Jersey and other states passed new fire-safety laws for dark ride
Dark ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music, and special effects....
s and "any structure that intentionally disorients
Orientation (mental)
Orientation is a function of the mind involving awareness of three dimensions: time, place and person. Problems with orientation lead to disorientation, and can be due to various conditions, from delirium to intoxication...
".
Park attendance fell sharply for the rest of the year, finishing 15 percent below the 3.3 million of the year preceding. Park officials said pre-fire attendance levels were restored the next year after they reassured the public that the park was made safer by the addition of $5.2 million worth of sprinklers and computerized smoke and heat detectors, while industry sources have reported that ensuing poor attendance almost caused the park to close in 1987.
Fatalities
- Joseph Beyroutey, 17, Paterson, NJ
- Nicola Caiazza, 18, Paterson, NJ
- Jose Carrion Jr., 17, Brooklyn, NY
- Tina Genovese, 15, Williamstown, NJ
- Christopher Harrison, 17, Brooklyn, NY
- Eric Rodriguez, 18, Brooklyn, NY
- Lenny Ruiz, 17, Brooklyn, NY
- Samuel Valentin Jr., 17, Brooklyn, NY
Questioning the report
An independent filmIndependent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
titled Doorway to Hell? The Mystery and Controversy Surrounding the Fire at the Haunted Castle was produced in 2003 by Peter James Smith, a long-time patron of the Haunted Castle. Smith's documentary, which won a "Best Research" award at the 2004 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival, documents the fire, investigation and trial, and questions the official report's finding that the fire was accidental. Smith speaks of an "emotionally disturbed" youth with a history of setting fires who "kept playing with a lighter in his pocket". He says the youth was seen exiting the attraction as the fire broke out and was later questioned by police but not charged due to lack of evidence.
The film says that two earlier visitors on the day of the fire reported seeing a chained exit door, but were not called as witnesses. (Ocean County authorities reported no physical evidence of chained doors and dismissed such claims.) Some visitors and employees Smith interviewed thought doors were blocked at times for the security of actors and to keep actors from going outside to smoke cigarettes or marijuana.
Smith also says that diagrams of the castle and its exits used in the trial were inaccurate, and did not show a metal fence erected to protect actors from hostile guests, something that would have made escape more difficult. Great Adventure officials declined to comment on the film.