Disney's Haunted Mansion inspires wild stories, urban myths
The mystery that surrounds the Haunted Mansion to this day is a testimony to the wit and creativity of the designers of the attraction. Today, most Disney theme park guests recognize the fun blend of chills and thrills that the Haunted Mansion provides - though there is always someone new, approaching the Haunted Mansion trepidatiously, unsure of what to expect to find inside.
There have been myths and rumors about the Haunted Mansion floating around since the early 1960s... long before the ride was even completely designed and built. In fact, by 1965 there was a persistent rumor among fans of Disneyland which claimed that "test-audiences" to the upcoming haunted house attraction (for which the facade had been erected in 1963) had reacted so strongly to the shock of the horrors inside the doors of the house that the ride had to be recreated from top to bottom to make the terror more bearable! Of course, this was impossible, since as we now know, the scenes inside of the ride take place in a large show building, not the tiny facade... and the show building wasn't even constructed when this rumor started circulating. Yet the story persists.
Listen to DoomBuggies host Jeff Baham talk to "Rebecca," a Disneyland fan, as she describes the stories she remembers hearing about the Haunted Mansion's long-delayed opening when she was growing up in Anaheim in the late 1960s.
The rumor mill runs hot
"Disney is going to tear down the Haunted Mansion!" We at DoomBuggies have heard various forms of this claim for years, and to date, it's always been an unfounded rumor. The truth is that the Haunted Mansion, long a Disney theme park favorite, is not in danger of being torn down or removed. Nor are there plans underway to scrap the original "Ghost Host" narrative track by Paul Frees and replace it with a track by another vocal talent, another long-standing rumor. (The Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay DOES use a new narration soundtrack, though the vocal talent responsible (Corey Burton) was hired to sound as much like Paul Frees as possible - so rather than being seen as a replacement, the holiday narration seems more of an homage.)
Johnny Depp was placed into "Pirates," so Eddie Murphy can't be far behind
The Haunted Mansion movie starring Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Tilly (pictured at left) managed to add a bit of fuel to the fire, as rumors flew that the ride would be fitted with characters from that film. Disney does see fit to retrofit some of its attractions with stars from its films (such as the recent addition of Johnny Depp's "Jack Sparrow" character to the venerable "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction), so this rumor was not completely unfounded. Furthermore, Jennifer Tilly (who played the role of the body-less Madame Leota in the film) has been quoted in TV Guide as saying:
"If the movie's really successful, Disney's gonna revamp the ride and I'll be the head in the ball at the beginning of it! They're gonna totally update it. So that's why I wanted to do this movie - I want to be a bigshot at Disneyland. I'm hoping I'll become another American icon."
Of course, Jennifer was speaking tongue in cheek. And as it turns out, the Haunted Mansion film, while not a box office failure by any means, didn't prove to be the cultural flashpoint that the "Pirates" film franchise has become, so the attraction was never in any danger of being altered or updated with characters from the movie.
Proposed Haunted Mansion enhancements
Walt Disney Imagineering and Disneyland executives have revisited the Haunted Mansion from time to time to consider how it is aging and what might be done to keep it fresh. (The 2001 "Haunted Mansion Holiday" makeover is an example of this, as are the humorous pet cemetery in the front queue from 1993; the Hatbox Ghost from 2015; and the side lawn pet cemetery, which was renovated in 2016 to include an elephant's tomb.) However, back in the 1980s and 1990s, Walt Disney Imagineering explored a number of potential enhancements to the Disneyland version of the ride, sketching out some ideas that were eventually left on the drawing board.
Some of these are pictured here, such as a ghostly greenhouse which guests would walk through as part of the queue - perhaps containing some of Rolly Crump's "man-eating plants." In another concept which might have added some foreshadowing and additional meaning to the Attic Bride scene, a special effect was designed to be positioned in the Corridor of Doors across from the Conservatory, in which a young lady appears and disappears, "trapped" inside an antique mirror. The special effect would only have cycled on occasion, making a glimpse of the trapped lady a rare treat. One concept from the '90s involved new portraits hung in the Corridor of Doors alongside the 13-hour grandfather clock, which would be overshadowed by the image of a skull, which would mysteriously fade in and then fade out - a technological improvement over the rotating claw shadow that moves across the clock currently. After the opening of Disneyland Paris' Phantom Manor in 1992, Imagineering started to really take a closer look at the Haunted Mansion's Attic Bride, coming up with numerous concepts for the ballroom that would add her character to the scene, drawing a lot of inspiration from the successful telling of the story of the bride in the Paris attraction.
A dark and brainstormy night
In the mid to late '90s, Walt Disney Imagineering spent some time brainstorming ideas for possible attraction enhancements for the upcoming 50th birthday of Disneyland, which would be held in 2005. In terms of conceptualization, the ideas were radical, and involved completely re-imagining some of the park's famed "E-Ticket" attractions for the perceived future audience. For instance, according to an inside source, one idea tossed around for the Haunted Mansion included a completely redesigned ride system, in which guests would be introduced to the Mansion somewhere central to the show building (such as on the ballroom floor) and sent off in separate directions to explore the Mansion from an entirely different "ghost's-eye view" perspective. (It should be noted that this trackless system was finally developed and used in Disney's theme parks, and the Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor comes the closest to realizing the plans that began all the way back in the mid '90s.)
Brainstorming sessions such as this don't represent a disrespect for the achievement or integrity of the original attraction. Rather, this type of "outside the box" conceptualization - often called "blue sky" development - is a starting point for the flow of creative juices. As it turned out, both WDI and Disneyland Park went through some radical changes in management and direction throughout the period of time leading up to DIsneyland's 50th birthday, and while it appeared for a time that almost nothing (save a few fresh coats of paint) would be done to enhance the park for the 2005 celebration, WDI ended up adding some subtle but effective enhancements to many of the classic rides at the last minute, while maintaining the heart of the original attractions. For the Haunted Mansion, this included a new Madame Leota effect and the new "Black Widow Bride" attic scene, both of which have been largely (but not unanimously) praised by Disneyland's guests.
Ghostly Biographies?
Many characters from the Haunted Mansion have been given new backgrounds and histories courtesy of a number of publishing ventures. SLG Publishing's "Haunted Mansion" comic was the first serious attempt to add some layers of storytelling to the various characters and scenes from the Haunted Mansion. Licensed by Disney, the artists at SLG came up with many new plotlines that can serve as potential biographies and explanations for the familiar characters (such as our beloved Attic Bride, as illustrated here by artist and Haunted-Mansion-fan Roman Dirge). While wildly entertaining and worthwhile reading, the stories are best viewed as an "alternate reality" rather than an authorized history of the actual characters in the attraction.
Disney's publishing department also started to take an interest in the rich crop of potential characters held inside of the Haunted Mansion, publishing first a collection of creepy tales aimed at the "Goosebumps" crowd. "Enter if You Dare: Scary Tales from the Haunted Mansion" was published in 2005 and was written by Nicholas Stephens, and it contains a series of stories based on themes found inside the Haunted Mansion, though direct ties to the attraction's characters are few. Still, the tales (aimed at a children's market) are familiar: a psychic loses her head to a crystal ball; a ghost appears in a mirror to issue a warning; corpses dance to a graveyard jamboree; portraits on the wall follow you with their eyes, which are stolen from the living; and, of course, a bride meets her nuptial doom.
In 2016, Disney returned to the fertile field of stories offered inside the Haunted Mansion and began an ongoing library of ghostly tales, again aimed at teens. This time, the stories - while still tied thematically to the attraction - have stronger direct links, using character names and artwork taken directly from the Haunted Mansion for inspiration. Calling the series "Tales from the Haunted Mansion," each book is credited to "Mansion Historian Amicus Arcane," a pen name for writer John Esposito, who previously had worked on projects for Stephen King and R. L. Stine.
A darker and stormier knight
If you frequented the Disneyland Haunted Mansion way back in the 1980s, you may have experienced a rare treat. For a brief time, Disneyland experimented with including live characters inside of the Mansion, including a phantom or groom character of sorts up near the attic, and a knight in armor inside of the Corridor of Doors.
"That suit of armor, which contained a cast member that roamed the halls, was indeed there - but for a very short time," said Rick West, former Haunted Mansion cast member and founder of Theme Park Adventure. "There is even a picture of it in the book "Disneyland: The Inside Story" (pictured above, right). The suit was an idea that both Operations and Entertainment joined forces on, because the person in the suit was (eventually) a different person from Entertainment each day. This posed a major problem, because the Cast Members coming from the Zoo Crew (the characters) didn't have the concept of hourly counts down. The problem came when the suit of armor was given a remote which all of the Mansion Cast Members carry that has the ability to shut off the ride system. It is used to this day, but only in extreme situations such as folks with disabilities, the elderly, etc. trying to board and disembark. The suit of armor would shut the ride off for anything - from people trying to hit him or her to people spitting at him or her. It became a major pain in the butt, and so the position and idea were short-lived. Another no-no was the fact that the Castmember in the suit occasionally touched guests as well, which is way out of line. The dressing room is still there, behind the breathing doors - but the suit of armor is a thing of the past, dwelling only in peoples' memories."
The idea of a decorative suit of armor coming to life in some spooky manner was a plan for the Haunted Mansion from the beginning, as evidenced by this conceptual art by Ken Anderson from 1957. But no one could have predicted how wildly effective the brief scare would be. The scene quickly became one of the most popular - and dangerous - elements in the whole park.
"I was a character who played the knight in the Haunted Mansion and thought I would add some history," said former Cast Member Joe Dagostino. "The role was originated through Entertainment and pioneered through a gentleman named David Mink. For the first year he was the only character authorized to be the knight. After this trial period, others were allowed to play that character - but only after a training session and test. The character was so popular that at one time there were two knights on duty, one relieving the other after a 30 minute shift.
"One thing that is not often mentioned is the actual costume - it only had a front side to it," Joe continues. "You had to be dressed in tights and a plastic breast plate, and thigh pads and elbow joints went over this. This meant that your back was exposed to the elements, and it was very hard to be frightening dressed head to toe in tights with a chilled breeze going up your backside!" (The breeze Joe notes is from an air-conditioned blast of air that is sent into the Corridor of Doors to give guests an unnatural chill as they enter the scene. - Ed.) "Originally, we were armed with a six foot axe, or lance," Joe said. "We were supposed to slam this on the floor to add to the guests' experience - but other creative uses soon popped up. Hooking it around the Doom Buggy before the car swung around to reveal you to the guest was a popular move, as was slamming it on the back of the car. Needless to say, we were soon 'disarmed' for safety sake."
"Some of my best shifts were as the Knight in the Haunted Mansion, and the character was so popular that there was talk about adding a live character groom in the attic," Joe added. "The costume was even designed and produced, but both characters were cut before anything happened."
"I'm probably part of the reason they no longer have him," said forum member AlohaStitch on the Micechat message boards. "While in the Doom Buggy, the knight reached out and grabbed my shoulder. Unfortunately, my "fight or flight" instinct kicked in, because it scared the holy crap outta me, and I instinctively reacted by cold cocking him. My last view of the knight was him completely knocked out and sprawled eagle on the floor. I felt horrible and immediately reported what I did. They called in a lead and told me that he was under no circumstances to touch the guests. So I wound up with an apology and an "it's ok.. you reacted understandably" and was sent on my way. I later learned that I was not the only one this happened to, and not the only one who reacted the way I did, (which is) one of the main reasons the living knights were removed from the attraction. Years later, the opportunity arose for me to apologize to the knight who I had hit and he apologized to me saying that he was told not to touch people but thought it was fun to do so. He also said he never did it again after that. As he did remember being completely knocked out by a female guest, I'm assuming it was the same knight. So there you have the behind the scenes of one of the reasons they were taken out."
While short-lived, the memories of guests who were startled by a costumed knight are vivid. You can read all about the suit of armor in our interview with Cast Member Kyle Clark, who played the Knight for an entire summer during its short tenure in the Mansion. The character of the knight is also discussed in-depth in episode 8 of The DoomBuggies Spook Show podcast.
A random Phantom
The knight was not alone in roaming the halls of the Haunted Mansion. Opinian, a YouTube user, actually performed as a Phantom-type character in the Haunted Mansion for Disneyland special events in the 1990s. "I played the character during one of two early incarnations of Mickey's Halloween treat in the 1990s," Opinian opines. "They only had the character in there for a few nights in October and I was stationed by the coffin in the corridor. It wasn't a Phantom like in Disneyland Paris or Phantom of the Opera - it was a hooded cloak and a skeleton face. They also brought the knight back for that particular event. They brought the Phantom back one more time in 1999 for the 30th Anniversary party." While Opinian's character actually most resembled a grim reaper - down to the scythe - his appearance makes a point: Disneyland has toyed with bringing live characters into the Haunted Mansion a number of times. In fact, Opinian also recalls playing a vampire named "Lord Ravenscroft" in the Mansion for one of the early Disneyland "trick-or-treat" Halloween events - an event which also populated the Mansion with cycling spooks including a mummy, a gravedigger, and the original knight.
Guesses, gaffes, and ghastly ghost stories
The following are a few more story submissions for your perusal. Enjoy reading (although DoomBuggies.com will make no claims as to their accuracy!)
The "Man with the Cane:" Is he Haunting Orlando to this Day?
"I worked the Orlando Mansion in 1978. At that time, a story about "The Man with the Cane" was already circulating. I was told he would appear in an empty Doom Buggy in the load area late at night when ride operators were by themselves at the load position. Story goes a girl was working load late one night, and they had gone down to one stretch room and the crowds were light. This meant there was usually a lapse in guests between stretch room dumps. This left you, the operator, alone for a few minutes, walking the load belt, listening to that music and the sound effects, peering into the darkness that stretched into the ride at one end and from the unload area at the other. So one night this hostess is working load when from the unload area a Doom Buggy rounds the corner with a man sitting in the middle of the seat, looking very gaunt, staring straight ahead, hands resting on a cane positioned in front of him.
"The operator tries to make eye contact and say 'hello', but the man does not respond and instead disappears with the Doom Buggy as it works its way into the ride. The hostess goes to the load console, calls the unload operator on the phone to say, 'Who was that you just sent me? He wouldn't say hello!' To which the unload operator responded, 'I didn't send anyone around to you.' They contacted their lead, and all waited for the car to come out of the ride and of course when it did... it was empty. We were always told it was the ghost of Yale Gracey. Whether this is true or not I do not know, but I can tell you I cursed the employee who told me the story... especially on those late nights when I was alone, walking the load belt, listening to the music, staring at the wallpaper, the wallpaper staring back at me... I was so relieved when the stretch room doors would open and those guests would pop out!" (Contributed by Michael Jamis)
Ashes to Ashes
"A woman came to Disneyland with the ashes of her little boy who always loved the Haunted Mansion. She tried to get permission to scatter his ashes in the attraction, but of course Disney wouldn't allow it. She did it anyway, adding his remains to the dust in the Mansion. To this day, Cast Members (CMs) and Guests have claimed to see a young boy near the exit lift, sitting by the speedramps and crying.
"Another ghost inhabits the Mansion. Near the unload area, there is a mirror so the CM can see if anyone comes down the speedramp. Once, a CM saw a figure that they though was in the CM costume — probably their replacement "bumping" them to another location. But when they turned, there was nobody there. After a few more guests unloaded, the CM saw the figure again. This time, she noticed he was wearing a tuxedo, and he walked up right behind her. She turned, to see an empty hallway. Later that night, she saw the same figure, who walked up behind her, tried to talk (but no sound was heard), and placed his hand on her shoulder. Feeling a chill, she turned to once again see an empty hallway. Completely freaked out, she took off running out of the Mansion. She quit shortly afterward." (Contributed by Scott M. Leonard)
It should be noted that ashes have been surreptitiously spread in the Haunted Mansion on both coasts many times, as well as all over the Disney parks. It is definitely against the rules, of course, and will get you ejected from the park if you are caught.
"The Beating Drum"
"I had been a CM at the Magic Kingdom for about six months. Before coming to the Mansion I was trained as a Jungle Skipper. Needing the money (like most CMs), I would pick up 'greeter' shifts at the Mansion. One night in July I was scheduled to close the attraction. It was a midnight closing so it was going to be pretty late when I got out of there. After chaining the main entrance, I walked inside to help with "walk-through". We do this after the ride stops to clean up and look around and all. We turned off all the sound, turned on all the worklights and went on in. Everything was fine until we reached the part of the ride known as "Seance Circle." When we walked in, all the worklights were off, which we thought was odd, because they were still on in the previous show scene. Upon entering, my fellow CM asked if I heard anything. I said "Not really, why?" He then asked me to listen. I listened and heard this faint beating, like the sound of a drum. We were like, 'ok...'? So we kept walking and the further we got in, the louder it would get. We walked even quicker and got out of there! The minute we passed into the next show scene, the sound stopped and it was silent again. I tell you, it made me believe those stories about the Mansion being haunted..." (Contributed by Jay Lacano)
The Disappearing "Blob"
"I worked at Walt Disney World this past summer on the Walt Disney World College Program from May until mid-August. I lived with five other roommates and had one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Anyway, one night, we decided to go visit the Magic Kingdom. We were one of the last people in the park. It had been a crummy day weather wise and the crowds had died down. We decided we'd go over to the Haunted Mansion during the Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks so there would be no line and it would be the last ride of the day that they sent through. Well, there were four of us waiting by the doors all alone; no one else was there. One of my roommates decided to take a picture of us in with the gravestone in the background. So, we all grouped together, snapped the picture and went on the ride a few minutes later.
"About a week later, my roommate developed his pictures. We were looking through the pictures and we came across the Haunted Mansion pictures. We just stared at it and couldn't say anything. You could see us all together, but the guy who was standing on the end, closest to the doors there was something wrong. Over his left shoulder, in the graveyard, there was this blob of white. We first thought that something was wrong with the film or it was developed wrong, but if you looked closely, the blob doesn't overlap my friend's shoulder. It appears as though the blob is physically behind him. Needless to say, we were a little unnerved. It's probably nothing, but we pinned the photo on our apartment wall and it was our claim to fame. We tried to take another picture but we never saw the shape again." (Contributed by "Steve" - Disney College Program Alumni '97/'98)
Skinny Puppy Origins
"The ledgedary Vancouver 80's/90's industrial band Skinny Puppy was on vacation as teenagers in the pre-puppy years and became infatuated with the dog in the Haunted Mansion; hence the name SKINNY PUPPY. I heard them say that in an old interview. They also happen to be one of my favorite bands of all time." (Contributed by Dan D.)
Piper Dreams
"Years ago, when I worked at the Haunted Mansion in Florida (1978-1981), there was a story circulating about a pilot who crashed into Bay Lake (on the other side of the Contemporary Resort) in a small plane and died. This was reported to have happened in the 1940's, before WDW existed, of course. His ghost would be sighted in the Mansion late at night by Cast Members, working alone in position, waiting for the next group of guests. He may have been the infamous "Man with the Cane." This tale was also told by third shift maintenance, who would catch glimpses of this phenomenon after closing." (Contributed by Tim McNamara)
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