Looking Back at Classic Amusement Park Horror

Halloween is a great time to pay tribute to dark rides, the diabolical attractions that had their Golden Age in the early to mid-1900s. With their pop-up skeletons, and other things that went bump in the simulated night, they were the precursor to today's more sophisticated dark rides, such as Disney's Haunted Mansion, as well as the inspiration for the Halloween events that now proliferate at parks. One of the best examples of the genre was the circa-1935 Laff in the Dark at Rye Playland in New York. The folks at the Web site, Laff in the Dark, pay tribute to the classic ride with a wonderful feature. While the original Laff in the Dark is gone, Playland still features the Zombie Castle, a dark ride from the 1960s.

• Scaredy-Parks 2008 Halloween Guide