We recently discovered a photo dating back to 1993 of Tracy’s “Casa de los Sustos” (Scary House) dark ride at Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. The two-story ride opened in 1964 and closed in 1994, and was designed and constructed during the same time period as Trimper’s Haunted House in Ocean City, MD. Many similarities in the ride’s façade styling are evident, but unlike Trimper’s Haunted House, this ride originally used an Allan Herschell ride system that was comprised of 10 cars. Later in the ride’s history, the ride system was removed and it was converted to a walk-thru attraction with live actors and new theming. Given the time period, simple logic tells us this attraction likely included many similar stunts to Trimper’s Haunted House, West View’s Haunted House, and Hunt’s Whacky Shack, including the Knit Wit, Old Mill, Mad Scientist, and Attic Stairs, but it’s impossible to tell for certain at this point. Very little about this attraction is known or recorded but it remains one of our biggest curiosities.
The Bill Tracy Project 
Hi Brandon:
I stumbled across your Bill Tracy project post while looking for photos of the pirate at pirate’s cove in rye beach.First off, I redid the pirate-it was originally a lumberjack and I was commissioned to make it into a pirate.1972 sounds about right.I don’t remember the name of the person who commissioned me -I do remember being interviewed for the job at a movie theater in Greenwich village.(that piece of newspaper you found in the pirate, was it from the village voice?That was where an ad was run seeking someone to do the pirates cove work)I also created several figures for a walk through at the cove.I’m not hundred per cent sure but I thought the pirate originally had legs.I remember leaning it against a building so I could climb up on it to paint it. I also did the interior of the haunted house at ocean city,md.The previous year I had done the haunted house at wildwood-as well as working on the King Kong. I did Kong working with Karl Pehme from arts and crafters in Brooklyn ,ny.The haunted houses were commissioned by Fred Mahana and whoever ran the pier in Ocean City. Feel free to contact me Roman Szolkowski
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Hi Roman: Thank you for getting in touch and for the information. Very helpful! Did you ever work directly with Bill Tracy by chance? Do you have any photos from the work you did in the different parks throughout the years? I’m very familiar with Fred Mahana’s work, particularly as it relates to the attraction in Ocean City. Thanks again, and I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
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