The Luna Park Ghost Train Fire is a fire ghostly in Sydney, Australia a theme park. On the night of 9 June 1979, a fire broke out inside the ride at approximately 10:15 pm. Due to a combination of low water pressure, under-staffing within the park, and inadequate coverage of the Ghost Train by the park's fire hose system, the fire was able to completely consume the ride.
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John Godson and his two children Damien and Craig, along with Jonathan Billings, Richard Carroll, Michael Johnson and Seamus Rahilly, all lost their lives.
Some time after the tragedy, Johns wife Jenny Godson came across some of the photographs taken during that horrible day and stopped to stare at one in particular. A picture of her son Damien, the last one ever taken, shows the little boy shyly posing next to an intimidating figure wearing a demonic-looking mask with horns on his head. They were unable to locate the man later.After the fact, comparisons were made between the figure and the god (or demon depending on which version of the story you read) Moloch. It is believed that Moloch preferred children to be burned alive as sacrifices. Was this a sinister way to offer up human sacrifices to an ancient god or was it deliberate arson in a business dispute as some others have claimed? Jenny Godson believed something evil was at work, but the mystery of exactly who the horned, masked man was remains.
Although electrical faults and arson by unknown figures have been claimed, the exact cause of the fire could not be determined by a coronial inquiry. The coroner also ruled that, while the actions of Luna Park's management and staff before and during the fire (in particular their choosing not to follow advice on the installation of a sprinkler system in the ride) breached their duty of care, charges of criminal negligence should not be laid. The case was reopened in 1987: no new findings were made, although the police investigation and coronial inquiry were criticised.
In May 2007, Anne Buckingham, a niece of Sydney underworld figure Abe Saffron, claimed in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald that her uncle was responsible for the fire. Saffron had been associated with seven other arson attacks in the two years following the Ghost Train fire, although he had repeatedly denied involvement with the Ghost Train fire. Buckingham claimed the attack was part of a plan for Saffron to gain control of Luna Park's lease, although she stated her belief that the seven deaths were not intended. - She later retracted these statements.