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RITES OF PASAJE (PAGE 11 OF 11)
by Gary Radice and Ed Marzola
Article: Adde
d 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2005 / 2006

Terror on Church Street's creative team developed touring shows to perform at different venues..

In 1994, twelve Terror on Church Street performers together with David Clevinger (artistic director) travelled to Japan for a six week tour to perform Mystery Nights at Toshimaen, featuring two separate, exclusively-created shows at Tokyo's oldest amusement park.
 
Terror on Church Street actors performed at Toshimaen amusement park in its peak season. Over 2000 guests were accommodated for every performance of Mystery Nights. Many park guests stood in lines, waiting hours for a seat.
 
Shinichi Inomata (Director of Events at the park) said at the time:
 
"Looking at our guests' faces and seeing how frightened they were was very satisfying."

And yet despite all this, Terror on Church Street, Orlando Florida sadly closed down.
 
Why? Attraction saturation? Lower than expected attendance figures? Or did it have anything to do with a proposed increase in rent?
 
There was hope for its future at one point:
 
As of February 5th 1998, The Orlando Business Journal printed the following:
 
"A favorite haunt in downtown Orlando is staying put.
 
The 6-year-old tourist attraction Terror on Church Street said today it signed a five-year lease to remain in its present location at the corner of Church Street and Orange Avenue.
 
The deal ends recent speculation that the building housing the attraction would be leveled to make room for a movie theater."

However, just over a year later on 3rd May 1999 The Orlando Sentinel ran with the following:

WORST NIGHTMARE AT TERROR: IT'S CLOSED

Terror on Church Street, a year-round haunted house in downtown Orlando, has closed.

Officials with the attraction cited higher rent, higher operating costs and the decreasing number of night-time visitors to downtown as reasons for the closing.

The attraction at the corner of Orange Avenue and Church Street ceased operations on Sunday.

The release said that Terror's owners were considering reopening in another location.

Terror signed a five-year lease in 1998.

Officials were not immediately available to comment on what has changed since then.

The closing likely will be a blow to downtown, where Church Street Station has been stung by declining attendance. 

Church Street Station was sold last month for a bargain basement price to a British company. Terror on Church Street, which opened in 1991, is owned by Orlando Monsters Enterprises, a general partnership."

Thanks to Ed Marzola for his interview and his sharing of information on these pages and of course thanks to all those actors who are the heart and soul of these attractions. 

 


Apologies for the quality of the picture above. Hopefully it still manages to capture the atmosphere of the show.


The concept of Pasaje del Terror continues to this day to be very popular around the world.

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More on Pasaje del Terror and Terror on Church Street

Pasaje del Terror in BITSoftheBEACH
Pasaje on the official Pleasure Beach Blackpool website
Pasaje del Terror: official website
Wikipedia
Coaster Kingdom Review
Master Production Entertainment website
Haunted Attraction Magazine
 

About Pasaje's Death...
Portrayed by Bengt Ekerot (born: 1920, died: 1971) in the movie 'The Seventh Seal' (Det Sjunde Inseglet). This famous 1956 Swedish movie was directed by Ingmar Bergman and produced by Allan Ekelund. Bergman's medieval allegory takes its title from the Book of Revelations. Max von Sydow played the Knight who, when the movie opens, is seen returning from the Crusades.

This much parodied movie co-stars Gunnar Bjornstrand, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson, Ake Fridell, Maud Hansson and Gunnel Lindblom. Although Bergman held Ekerot in high regard, they only made one other picture together, 'The Magician' in 1958. To the right is an image of Death from 'The Seventh Seal'...

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