The Ghost Host Has Arrived

Welcome foolish mortals to The Magical Mystery Blog; I am your host, your Ghost Host.

Today we’ll be looking at the ghoulishly glorious Haunted Mansions throughout the world. The Haunted Mansion is a classic Disney World attraction, tracing back to the first days of Disney. Walt Disney, Rolly Crump, and Marc Davis constructed the art, concepts, and ride. Each Mansion is different, having its own theme, musical score, and story.

There are five Haunted Mansions in the world in each Disney park. First there’s the original Haunted Mansion located in Disneyland, Anaheim California. Every September to January, they give this mansion a nightmarish makeover, combining Halloween and Christmas. This brief renovation is called the Haunted Mansion Holiday and I will be covering this one to showcase one of the Haunted Mansion Holidays.  Next, in the heart of Orlando, Florida is the Haunted Mansion of Walt Disney World. After that is Phantom Manor, found in EuroDisney in Paris, France. Then just across the sea, we have the Tokyo Haunted Mansion. Lastly, there’s Mystic Manor located in Hong Kong’s Disneyland.

I’ll be doing ten facts from every mansion, encompassing the most interesting, the extreme unknown, and the spooky secrets. 

10) The Mariner’s Two Stories (Haunted Mansion)

Just like the other characters throughout the mansion, nearly everyone has more than one story. The stories are created by fans and cast members of Walt Disney World. However, I’m focusing on the Mariner because he has an original story that’s taken over by something less spooky but more whimsical.

Not too long ago, the Florida Haunted Mansion finished its new queue where everyone could interact with the tombstones. The graves had tributes to some of the attraction’s creators and old art concepts. One crypt in particular was that of the Mariner’s, claiming he drowned in a bubble bath.  This is the one everyone knows because it’s his epitaph.

Before the new interactive line was even created, the Haunted Mansion already had fan stories buzzing around about this particular character. In one story, the Mariner was a sea faring individual who died during a terrible storm aboard his ship. In another tale, the Mariner was a captain of the ship who owned the mansion, and had seven brides (whose names can be seen on an epitaph when leaving the mansion). The seventh bride’s spirit haunted his ship, leading it into a violent storm, which killed him, and his crew.

9) The Travelling Hell Hound (Phantom Manor)

In Phantom Manor, just before you fall into a tunnel of corpses, there is a hell hound. He leaps to your face, attempting to devour your flesh, while snarling, and growling at your very existence. Sometimes he enjoys leaving the manor and roaming around the other mansions. He can easily be seen in the Disney World Haunted Mansion to your left after you pass by the Caretaker and his hound.

8) Lonesome Ghost (Tokyo Haunted Mansion)

In all of the Haunted Mansions, there is the famous seance room.  Within this room is a head in a crystal ball who chants for spirits to come join her in the mansion’s revelry of mystery, mayhem, and macabre. There are various takes on the room, some having the head floating, others having tarot cards or instruments dancing around her. However, there are no spirits whatsoever in the room.

Take a look at the 3:49 mark in this video. Notice anything levitating in the background? That would be a ghost and Tokyo’s Haunted Mansion is the only one to have a spirit flying around the seance room. If you want to see a closer look of this specter, it pops up at the 3:23 mark. Perhaps, this particular ghost has heard Madam Leota’s incantations and is responding to them.

7) It’s Dead in Here! (Mystic Manor)

Mystic Manor was built unlike the other mansions. As to where they focused on ghosts and the otherworldly, this estate decided to take a different road.  The Hong Kong Disneyland is located in China, where the Chinese view death as a negative concept and is regarded as an end to one’s life. Death is also a taboo subject which is ultimately avoided in conversation. Even those on their death beds in China refuse to speak of death in fear they may jinx their fate.

When it came to building Mystic Manor, the Imagineers understood they had a cultural conflict on their hands. If they built the Haunted Mansion of tombstones and spirits, it would be considered unpopular, and completely dishonorable. Yet if they constructed a new version of the Haunted Mansion, one with a lightheartedness aimed towards humor and adventure, then there would be a different outcome. So the Imagineers set forth to create a new brand of Haunted Mansion that abandoned its grim grinning ghosts and took up a comedic monkey in a fez.

6) A New Story (Haunted Mansion)

The Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion has received a new addition in the past. They have created another queue line which leads to a pathway of interactive tombs, tribute graves, and other oddities. Before you can walk by these crypts and creeps, there is a series of busts bearing a family with epitaphs on how they died.

These busts are supposedly the new owners of the mansion and it’s your job to find out who killed out and why. This has angered some fans (much like myself) because it takes over the fan stories and cast member tales we heard about through rumors, like forbidden secrets. It’s bad enough Constance did this when she became a part of the mansion, making her the focus of the attraction, and centering on her story as a gold digger bride who wanted everything for herself; including the mansion. 

Not only does this new story of who killed who ruffle the fans’ feathers, it’s also the style of the busts. Look at the new busts and compare them to some of the busts you’d find in the mansion. The new busts are more cartoony, drawing away from the realism Walt had intended when creating the attraction. 

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5) “Upstairs? I didn’t know we had an upstairs!”  (Haunted Mansion Holiday)

Years ago, there was a rumor that circulated around the Internet claiming that Emily, our beloved Corpse Bride, would be taking part in the Haunted Mansion Holiday. As seeing she was a bride, it only seemed fitting that she would roam around the attic portion. Even a store in Disneyland started to sell Corpse Bride items.

However, this myth was debunked by a few facts: 1) Burton made Corpse Bride with Warner Bros. Disney did not offer to make the movie with him or vice versa. (2) Even if Disney did ask, it’s a matter if Burton would go with them to make it. Burton has worked with Disney before and isn’t too fond of their “selling out” method.

Fans speculated that Emily would be appearing in the Haunted Mansion Holiday because she is a product of Burton. To this day, they still dream of entering the attic and a whispered,”You may kiss the bride” echoing through the darkness as they stumble upon the doe eyed bride of death.

4) Melanie Ravenswood was Inspired by a Charles Dickens’ Creation (Phantom Manor)

If you’ve ever read the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, you may recall a character named Miss Haveshim. In this piece of literature, she was a forlorn bride who waited in her wedding gown for her beloved to return. On her dining room table was a rotting wedding cake, complete with table settings, and spiders crawling about. Miss Haveshim not only inspired the character of Melanie Ravenswood but the ballroom scene as well. As you pass the ballroom sequence of the ride, you’ll notice a decaying wedding cake, ruined table settings, and other details of a wedding that never occurred.

3) In with the Old (Tokyo Haunted Mansion)

Japan’s Tokyo Haunted Mansion is the only mansion that has not received an upgrade. Unlike the other mansions, it has kept the old charm of walking books, and staring portraits that follow your every move. When people step through the threshold and witness the old technology, they feel as though they’re going through an abandoned, haunted mansion. It’s also why Phantom Manor has very few upgrades and they do nothing more than touch ups. Mystic Manor, the Florida Haunted Mansion, and the Haunted Mansion Holiday are all about up-to-date technology which widens eyes and stuns souls. Yet Japan and Paris choose to keep their old, antique quality to warm the spirits of many who enter.

2) 13 Surprises  (Haunted Mansion Holiday)

Since this is the Haunted Mansion Holiday’s 13^th anniversary of scaring up screams, Jack decided to scatter thirteen surprises throughout the attraction.  What these thirteen items were no one knew. However, on some sites, it’s been briefly noted as to what these thirteen objects are. It seems like the thirteen surprises are different décor to match the Haunted Mansion Holiday. Most of them you would never take notice of during the ride.

In the attic, there are thirteen bows, some imprinted with the number thirteen on them. When Zero welcomes you to the mansion, there are thirteen bones in his dish.  But what really has fans boggled is the towering gingerbread piece in the center of the ballroom.

Since it’s started, the Haunted Mansion Holiday has had a different gingerbread house on the ballroom’s dining table. At first, the gingerbread pieces were stagnant and merely stood to impress guests.  As the years rolled on, Imagineers decided to let their creative spirit loose, and give life to the gingerbread pieces. One year, the gingerbread masterpiece was a spinning carousel. Another year, Jack himself popped out of a gingerbread version of the attraction, complete with miniature pumpkins modeled after the singing busts. But this year, the 2013 gingerbread house has not moved an inch.

Not yet, anyway.

What makes this year’s gingerbread piece so special is that it’s an advent calendar. An advent calendar is used in December to count down the days to Christmas. Every day an advent calendar door is opened, there is a treat or present waiting for those who looked inside. This gingerbread house works in the same function but instead of a gift, there is a different expression of the Pumpkin King himself. Every face and number is supposed to represent each year the Haunted Mansion Holiday has been running. Since the gingerbread advent calendar is only marked with thirteen numbers, the doors may start to open thirteen days before Halloween and/or Christmas.

1) Look Ma! No Tracks! (Mystic Manor)

Mystic Manor opened in Hong Kong Disneyland with an alternative look and feel to a scary house. As opposed to terrifying its guests with ghosts and ghouls, it took on the story of a wealthy adventurer showing you his house with his monkey as a tour guide. This attraction is aimed more towards the funny bone with a whimsical design from audio to vehicle. The car you ride in is not your average Doom Buggy and is entitled the Magneto-Electric Carriage.

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Because of this updated carriage, Mystic Manor is the first Disney ride built without a track. Instead of having a guided railway to follow, its carriages are lead by radio frequency identification (RFI).  The cars receive direct instructions from the RDI technology within the floor and Wi-fi. It is also the first vehicle of the mansions to be able to spin as opposed to only turning left, right, and straight.

So what mansion is your favorite and why? Feel free to leave a comment below and as always, followers are welcomed.