In the late 1970s, Whalom management deemed it was time for a change. Patrons were spending too much time in the Fun House and not at the other rides, games and concessions. People weren't using common sense when engaging the floor tricks, leaving them with bumps and bruises. Hence, it was decided to convert the Fun House into a darkened, more stunt-oriented walkthrough. This was a job for renowned East Coast artist Dom Spadola. Dom, a resident of Riverside,
Rhode Island was well-known in the amusement industry for his work in the dark attractions of his home city's Crescent Park, as well as those in Massachusetts parks such as Lincoln Park, Mountain Park and Salisbury Beach. He helped Whalom reroute the course of the Fun House to make it a "in and out" attraction with no room to loiter. He lined the new route with more than a dozen stunts. Dom's typical monster stunt had bulging eyes, an over-sized nose, and long
protruding fangs. Dom passed away in 1999. His only surviving piece from Whalom's Fun House is stored in the attic of the park's museum.



In 1996, the fun house went through a third transition. All the stunts were removed and local artists were invited to paint the colors generated by light passing through a prism. Each section of the fun house had a different color, and the attraction appropriately was renamed The Prism.

 
After a two-year stint as The Prism, the attraction reverted to a dark walkthrough known as Monster Motel, it's last rendition before the park closed. The Plexiglas box, which once housed the Laffing Lady became the workplace for a ghoulish hotel clerk. Park staffers created some impressive pieces that supplemented several eerie, older stunts that included a skeletal witch doctor.
Right: George LaCross and John Bowen ponder a space alien during a tour of the Whalom Park funhouse.

The world has changed and the Whalom Park funhouse changed with it, many times.
Still, much of the classic interior of this once-great funhouse remains hidden within.
Shall we go inside and take a look around?