Dante's Inferno (ride)
Encyclopedia
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....
created by Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries company, which built numerous rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and travelling funfairs....
that was located at Astroland
Astroland
Astroland was a amusement park in Coney Island first opened in 1962. It was located at 1000 Surf Avenue on the boardwalk...
on Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
; a similar ride called Dante's Dungeon is at Morey's Piers at Wildwood, New Jersey. Dante's Inferno is decorated with a purple Cerberus
Cerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
in each tower, a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
out of one window, and skeleton warriors in another, its exterior's centerpiece is a large devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
holding a victim in his hand that is connecting to the tongue of an upside-down, lolling eyed creature, and a pitchfork
Pitchfork
A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and long, thin, widely separated pointed tines used to lift and pitch loose material, such as hay, leaves, grapes, dung or other agricultural materials. Pitchforks typically have two or three tines...
in the other. The ride's exterior resembles a castle, and its open area is decorated in graffiti style artwork includes Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
's severed head held by a Grim Reaper, as well as a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
and several dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s.
The passenger rides in a bumper car
Bumper car
Bumper car is the generic name for a type of flat ride consisting of several small electric cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator...
-like device and is sent through a maze of dark hallways. Most of the interior imagery is behind glass cases, including a dead woman rising off a table, a shaking mummy
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
case
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
, two gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s, a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
popping out from behind foliage, skeletons, and various other horrors, in particular, scenes of a violent and gruesome nature such as a circular saw
Circular saw
The circular saw is a machine using a toothed metal cutting disc or blade. The term is also loosely used for the blade itself. The blade is a tool for cutting wood or other materials and may be hand-held or table-mounted. It can also be used to make narrow slots...
dismemberment
Dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...
and a man bound on all four limbs begging for help. Suspense is built by relatively long passages of nothing but darkness, strobes
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...
that simulate lightning, and sound effects, such as screaming, though some of these are lined with small, imp
Imp
An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.-Folklore:...
ish wall tiles. Little direct influence of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
's Divine Comedy is to be found, though this was not always the case. The ride seems to have no particular theme in its current state. Across from the first gorilla is an unlit display showing a man with a crown opening a window, which appears irrelevant to a horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
-themed ride.
The ride has elements similar to a roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
, including hard-whipping turns and, midway through the ride, coming outside and being pulled down a steep slope before being plummeted through another set of doors to more horrors. Early in the ride, one specter is lowered before the tracks, but otherwise there is glass (or in the case of the begging man, mesh) between the rider and the various scares. Unlike either the Ghost Hole
Ghost Hole
The Ghost Hole, formerly known as the Hell Hole is a horror-themed dark ride on Coney Island operated by 12th Street Amusements, a division of Li'l Sassy Anne, Inc. It is located at 12th street and Bowery Avenue, Brooklyn, New York....
or the Spook-a-Rama
Spook-a-Rama
The Spook-a-Rama is a dark ride from the Pretzel Amusement Ride Company located at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park on Coney Island and run by Million Amusement Corp.. The rider is pulled around in a car resembling an old wooden barrel...
, the other Coney Island dark rides, nothing comes directly at the rider, or threatens to do so.
The ride lasts one minute and forty-five seconds. The admission price was $5.00 at the time Astroland closed.
The ride is portable, but its fate is unclear as Astroland is set to close after the 2008 season. It may be among the rides Astroland's owners have managed to sell for relocation elsewhere on the boardwalk. As of April 2009, the ride had been gutted. The entire façade was removed, leaving the ramp as part of the standing structure. This was removed before the opening of the new Dreamland Park. In 2009, the site housed a giant snake freak show
Freak show
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
attraction. Interestingly, it was the only one of the three Coney Island dark rides to have snakes (not real) on the interior, although they were trim to the mummy display. In 2010, the area was renamed Luna Park and a a small rollercoaster is in the area where Dante's Inferno was.