The documentary Spookslot, the History of Station Halfweg has been on Brabant+ for a week now. A film about the iconic attraction, created by Sander Roeling from Waalwijk, among others. He directed, filmed and edited the film. But he could not have imagined that the attraction would be demolished at the end.
If you want to understand what the Haunted Castle means for the World Full of Wonders, it is best to put yourself in the shoes of the seasoned, self-proclaimed ‘Eftelgekkie’. Lex Brouwers, for example, who affectionately drags his friends along to Eftel trivia, can tell us all about it. He’s seen the movie. A few times even.
It may not be his favorite attraction, the Haunted Castle, but think of it as a village elder. The Haunted Castle was part of it, had existed for a long time and generations grew up with it.
“Children found it exciting, but also very beautiful.”
“Every time I walked into the Spookslot, I saw something new,” he says. “The older I got, the better I started to understand the sentiment. For many children it was their first introduction to classical music. They found it exciting, but also beautiful. You saw them conducting from the front row,” he says, smiling.
The attraction was packed with details: sound effects, wailing, thunder on the ceiling and funny names on tombstones. But perhaps the most special was the gravestone of singer Kate Bush: a tribute to the British singer, who won hearts years later with Wuthering Heights and Running Up That Hill. She chose the Spookslot in Kaatsheuvel to record the promotion of her debut album.
“The attraction wasn’t even finished then,” chuckles filmmaker Sander Roeling. “They then gave her the technical room as a dressing room, because at least there was carpet. But on the other side of the technical cabinets, technicians were still soldering.” It grew into a legend. She even had her own gravestone there. And when the end of the Haunted Castle came into view, dozens of fans reported to the singer’s gravestone. But alas: it has gone into the amusement park archives.
“I’ve always been interested in what was behind it.”
And then that ending. “That was two weeks after we thought we wanted to make that film,” says Sander. He grew up close to the theme park and became infected with the Eftel virus at an early age. “I was always interested in what lay behind it,” says the filmmaker. In recent years, several films about theme parks and the Efteling have followed. “A few years ago we made a documentary about the Fata Morgana, and then we thought: maybe we should do something with the Haunted Castle.”
That thought lasted only two weeks: then the news came. “The Efteling was going to demolish the Spookslot,” says Sander. The attraction was old and worn out. “They dragged it out for a long time, but it really wasn’t possible anymore.” Yet that resulted in a wonderful twist: suddenly Sander and his colleagues were able to do it the rise and fall of the Haunted Castle. Only they had to hurry.
“We called everyone we knew in our network to take a look in the attic,” says the filmmaker. To images, memories or video tapes. Everything had to be ready within six months, because the attraction was closing. “We actually did everything with a group of six friends: accelerate and see how far we got.”
Well, pretty far. They simply succeeded.
Are you curious about Sander’s film and would you like to enjoy the nostalgia of the Spookslot again? Then look now Haunted Castle, the History of Halfweg Station on Brabant+.
