Granville Trimper built The Haunted House in Ocean City, Maryland alongside the dark ride master of the era, Bill Tracy, in early 1964. Records show Tracy was on location in Ocean City with his crew for two weeks back then to install the ride and get it running. One of the original stunts in the attraction can be seen in the first room, titled “Spider Staircase” by Tracy, and is comprised of some animated skull spiders spooking out on a dilapidated banister facer wall. A cool fun fact about the 59 year old stunt, measuring 12 feet long and 8 feet high, is that Tracy used store-bought plastic skulls to make the spook work. Back in the 60’s, Halloween decorations were much less sophisticated than they are today, but the “Skull on a Spike” was popular back then and families loved to display them in their yards. It’s clear Mr. Tracy used a few of those for the stunt based on the molded form underneath. Little did Tracy know that those store-bought plastic skulls would still be dancing in 2023. –Brandon
The Bill Tracy Project 