2 Days Until Halloween

Another gargoyle on Tulsa's Philtower

Buckle up, folks. Today's countdown post is a... well, it's a ride.

I posted earlier this month about my hometown, vampyres, and how both are related to one of my current writing projects. Well, in my online rambles connected with this I've come across a few more links and thoughts I'd like to share that seem fitting for the Halloween season.

If I had heard the news before, I didn't really take it in, but now I realize at last that Bell's Amusement Park has closed after fifty-five years in Tulsa. This place was the setting of many of my father's company picnics, my friends' birthday parties, and spillover fun from the state fair. Being both introverted and acrophobic, I'm not the first person you might think of as an amusement park type of gal, but nonetheless I have many very fond memories of Bell's. Fortunately, it sounds like the owners are planning to relocate in the area and rebuild. Here's the latest news.

I feel tremendous gratitude and affection for the times I had at Bell's. And I realize it all comes down to my favorite ride there, a place that's taken on near-mythic proportions in my memory.

I'm referring to the Phantasmagoria:



( Here are a few memories. )

Today I'm remembering it, not saying goodbye. Thanks for helping me.


Here's a picture of the Phantasmagoria's debut in 1973 from the Tulsa Tribune:




Related Links Well Worth Visiting

• Laff in the Dark has a special feature on the Phantasmagoria here, written before its dismantling. While it doesn't capture the darkened "feel" of the ride, because the pictures were taken with a flash, the tribute is still a terrific gift to those of us who remember and loved the ride.



• Secret Fun Blog has an excellent post here with more photos and some fascinating behind-the-scenes information: "Secrets of the Phantasmagoria." See also the related article "Phantasmagoria Remembered."



• Here's a post on the ride's layout: "I rode the Phantasmagoria."



• This site is a tribute to Bill Tracy, the ride's creator, "the greatest designer and builder of dark attractions the amusement industry has ever seen."



• Videos can't hope to capture the "feel" of the ride, but at least two individuals have done their best to record the experience anyway. There are YouTube videos of the Phantasmagoria here and here.



• For many poignant posts, including a tribute to the dismantled Bell's Amusement Park, read the Lost Tulsa blog.



• Open the first PDF file on this page to view Abandoned Tulsa, the book.

Text of the Day: Today's text is a Halloween favorite of mine, "Oil and Blood" by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939).

In tombs of gold and lapis lazuli
Bodies of holy men and women exude
Miraculous oil, odour of violet.

But under heavy loads of trampled clay
Lie bodies of the vampires full of blood;
Their shrouds are bloody and their lips are wet.