Trauma Towers

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Trauma Towers Trauma Towers.jpg
Trauma Towers

Trauma Towers, formerly The Haunted Hotel, was a themed funhouse, haunted attraction based at Pleasure Beach Resort in the North of the United Kingdom. [1]

Contents

The attraction opened in 1980 as a walk-through, themed as a derelict hotel taking visitors through several haunted rooms. The outside of the hotel was painted blue and ramshackle with animations behind windows. In 1999, the attraction was renamed Trauma Towers and joined with the neighboring Tagada flat ride, which became the 'Baronial Dining Hall' and served as a finale.

The area outside Trauma Towers included gargoyles, ornate stone benches and a fountain with blood-red water. This area was later taken over by the dancing fountains show.

In 2009, the attraction was closed and left standing but not operating. One of the reasons for its discontinuation was purportedly due to the building becoming damp from the new adjacent Dancing Water Show. Some of the scenes were reused in the Ghost Train ride. The old entrance was re-used as a photographic portrait studio after the closure. In January 2018, the entire building was demolished at the same time as the Wild Mouse roller coaster, to make way for "future developments".

Walk-through

The attraction was changed several times over its lifetime, with much of the original 1980s design having become altered and more generic scenes added. In the time it was known as 'Trauma Towers', the walk-through scenes were as following:

The Baronial Dining Hall

Once seated around the table, the lights would go out and footsteps would be heard moving across the room. A breathy noise would be heard as a shot of air was blown behind the necks of guests. Above, guests would see a demon figure in the ceiling with flashing lights, as the lights went out, guests would hear flapping noises and the demon was then shown on the other side of the room in the ceiling, again with flashing lights. As the lights went out, a louder roar was heard, a crunch and a scream, at which point a small amount of water was released from the ceiling over guests, to imitate a demon spitting on diners.

The chandelier lights would then light again and the ride then spun very fast in one direction as the orchestral score played and a pneumatic occasionally made one half of the "bowl" shoot upwards and down again.

Upon the ride ending, guests would leave via two double doors on the other side of the Baronial Dining Hall, which led outside to the front of the attraction.

The Tagada was a Soriani & Moser tagada which the park bought as new in 1987. In 2010, travelling showman and attractions fabricator Walter Murphy bought it from the park and converted it to a travelling machine before selling it on to Stewart Robinson who still owns and travels it, mainly in the Yorkshire section. [2]

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References

  1. "Bits of the Beach: Trauma Towers". www.joylandbooks.com.
  2. https://www.fun-fairs.co.uk/topic/37452-robinson-stewart-tagada-nfatg16/ [ permanent dead link ]