BIG NEWS!

As of October 14th, 2006 Pete's award-winning documentary, Doorway to Hell? The Mystery and Controversy Surrounding the Fire at the Haunted Castle is published in its entirety on Pete's Channel on youtube.com!

CLICK THE ARROW BELOW TO BE CONNECTED TO PART 1 OF 6 OF THE PETE-PRODUCED DOORWAY TO HELL? THE MYSTERY AND CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE FIRE AT THE HAUNTED CASTLE...

CLICK THE ARROW BELOW TO BE CONNECTED TO PART 2 OF 6 OF THE PETE-PRODUCED DOORWAY TO HELL? THE MYSTERY AND CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE FIRE AT THE HAUNTED CASTLE...

CLICK THE ARROW BELOW TO BE CONNECTED TO PART 3 OF 6 OF THE PETE-PRODUCED DOORWAY TO HELL? THE MYSTERY AND CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE FIRE AT THE HAUNTED CASTLE...

CLICK THE ARROW BELOW TO BE CONNECTED TO PART 4 OF 6 OF THE PETE-PRODUCED DOORWAY TO HELL? THE MYSTERY AND CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE FIRE AT THE HAUNTED CASTLE...

CLICK THE ARROW BELOW TO BE CONNECTED TO PART 5 OF 6 OF THE PETE-PRODUCED DOORWAY TO HELL? THE MYSTERY AND CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE FIRE AT THE HAUNTED CASTLE...

PART SIX, A FOLLOW-UP THREE YEARS AFTER THE DOCUMENTARY'S RELEASE WILL BE PUBLISHED HERE IN NOVEMBER 2006!

Scroll Down to read the press release from the New York Independent International Film Festival from Spring 2004!

U.S. Premiere of the long-awaited, "Doorway to Hell?..The Mystery and Controversy Surrounding the Fire at the Haunted Castle." Opens May 2, 2004, 9 days before the 20th anniverary of the tragedy, at the Village East Cinema as part of the New York International Independent Film Festival. 

(New York, NY) The nomination of 'Doorway to Hell?..The Mystery and Controversy Surrounding the Fire at the Haunted Castle" as Best Documentary in the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival comes as no surprise to Peter James Smith, the researcher, writer, director, producer and star of the explosive and shocking film. All during the four years it required to document the obscure details of the deadly fire at Jackson Township, New Jersey's Six Flags Great Adventure on May 11, 1984, Smith knew he had a winner. This film demands and grabs the audience's full attention and interest at all times, and leaves every viewer in disbelief, with a new understanding and enlightenment in regards to a story that only thought they knew.
"Doorway to Hell?" chronicles the events surrounding the deadly haunted house fire that killed eight people and became one of the most high-profile events in amusement park history and urban legend. Smith always worked under the assumption that the high-profile of the event also led to a cover-up of significantfacts under a mountain of bureaucracy, local politics and fear. The story that Smith tells is in no way new, it's just the inside story as told from the people who lived it: from the Haunted Castle employees, exclusive interviews with the sole-survivor of the ill-fated group, and countless other witnesses and sources. In many cases, Smith's research is the opposite of what has previously been reported. Smith can only speculate that the original newspaper and other accounts were clouded by the politics and fear. All the media outlets that covered the story, and Ocean County authorities that adjudicated the criminal case potentially had a lot to lose. The apparent fear was that If Six Flags Great Adventure, one of the biggest taxpayers, employers, and advertisers in the State of New Jersey, had a significant drop in business , or was forced out of business by the tragedy, it would devastate the economy. Adding further fuel to the mix was the involvement of Bally Manufacturing, Inc, the Atlantic City and international gambling giant which owned the Six Flags and Great Adventure corporations at the time of the fire, further multiplying the fear, especially with the risk of the loss of their lucrative gaming license, which provided incredible revenue to the State of New Jersey in 1984. Smith's research blows the whistle on serious flaws in the case: including the discovery of compromised exits inside the Haunted Castle at the time of the fire.

"Doorway to Hell?" is a must-see that will send chills up the spine of every viewer. This is a story that the public was not supposed to know, and wouldn't know if it were not for Smith, a former regular Haunted Castle guest who recognized that all did not add together correctly in the official accounts. Fouryears of blood, sweat, tears, toil, and fearless, yet anxiety-provoking investigative journalism have led to this gem of a film: Smith's crowning achievement made in the face of extreme adversity and forces that did not want the story to be told.