Did a Mute Man Speak for the First Time in Over Five Years After Riding the Cyclone?
Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to amusement parks and whether they are true or false.
AMUSEMENT PARK URBAN LEGEND: A man who had been mute for over five years spoke after riding the Cyclone.
Built in 1927, Coney Island’s Cyclone roller coaster is one of the most famous roller coasters in the history of roller coasters…
It had its perhaps most famous testimonial to its greatness in 1949 when a West Virginian coal miner named Emilio Franco rode the coaster.
You see, Franco suffered from a condition called Aphonia since 1943, which struck him unable to speak.
While riding the coaster, he screamed.
And when he got off of the coaster, he spoke his first words in SIX YEARS.
Those words?
“I feel sick.”
Awesome.
The legend is…
STATUS: True
Thanks to Nick Cook’s Roller Coasters, Or, I Had So Much Fun, I Almost Puked for the informtation!
Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is bcronin@legendsrevealed.com.
