​There is a specific kind of thrill we look for in a dark ride. We willingly plunge into the pitch black, waiting for the jump scare, knowing that eventually, the track leads back out into the light.

But on the freezing night of June 9th, 1979, the fake monsters inside Sydney’s Luna Park Ghost Train were replaced by a very real, lethal threat.

​This week on Homocidal Tendency, we head to the neon-lit, gritty waterfront of 1970s Sydney, Australia, to uncover a mass-casualty event that was quickly swept under the rug by a deeply corrupt police force.

We discuss how a beloved amusement park became a death trap, and how the tragedy leads directly back to Abe Saffron an untouchable mafia kingpin who built his underworld empire by exploiting and weaponizing the city's marginalized queer community.

​Sometimes, the real monsters don't live in the haunted house. Sometimes, they own the deed to the property.

Sources & Further Deep Dives:

• ​Documentary: Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2021). A groundbreaking investigative series that blew the lid off the police cover-up.
• ​News Report: Claims Sydney underworld figure Abe Saffron orchestrated Luna Park Ghost Train Fire (ABC News).
• ​Documentary: King of the Cross: Abe Saffron - For a closer look at the sheer scale of the corruption and the empire Saffron built in Kings Cross.

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