VIENNA, Ohio —The Dark Attraction & Funhouse Enthusiast (DAFE) celebrates 25 years in the dark in October. DAFE (pronounced “daffy”) Was founded in 2000 by Rick and Sue Davis, and Joel Styer. All were members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) and the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) who enjoyed visiting amusement parks around the country. A dinner conversation one night sparked an observation that there was a group for amusement parks in general, a group for roller coasters and a group for carousel enthusiasts but no one was covering darkrides and funhouses. Noting that both were rapidly disappearing from amusement parks, the trio decided that there was a need for a group that would highlight those attractions and promote those that remained.
The Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts was created to study the history of those attractions and would sponsor events at parks that had them with Exclusive Ride Time (ERT) and behind the scenes tours, and would create a magazine for its membership — Barrel O’ Fun. By October plans were ready to sign up members. While the exact date was forgotten long ago, October 31 was chosen as the for obvious reasons.
As the organization grew and matured some changes occurred. The black and white Barrel O’ Fun became a full color magazine named Dark Times. With DAFE expanding its area of interest beyond darkrides and funhouses it became the Dark Attraction & Funhouse Enthusiasts. Rick Davis said- “We also had an interest in related attractions such as mazes, “mystery shacks” and we were seeing parks increasingly adding simulators and Halloween haunted houses. It was only natural that standalone attractions would be included as well.”
DAFE has members internationally and its members include enthusiasts, amusement parks, haunted house owners and actors, as well ride and prop builders to name a few. As they say, “We keep our members in the dark!”
