Fragment of Horror 2

Since it's Halloween, all the theme parks and Halloween inspired locals from all over the U.S. and the world will be opening up. Knott's Scary Farm, Halloween Horror Nights, the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride in Pennsylvania (Running 28 years! Congrats guys!) Terror on the Fox in Winsconsin, Thrillvania in Texas, and others opening their doors and getting ready for a new season of terror and fright. But the most common of all these places is that at least they all have a big haunted house. And the idea, since the early Victorian Literature era, has influenced pop and high culture for so long.

(Concept Art for a famous attraction. Read further for the reveal of my second fragment of Horror)

Like the concept that we in this picture for the haunted house we'll see in this article, many stories either have ghosts or Gothic drama that happens and that gives a home/manor, a haunted house atmosphere. You have manor houses like Northanger Abbey, Manderlay from Rebecca, Shirley Jackson's Hill House (Soon to be a Netflix series and the trailer looks great. I hope the re-imagining of the story is a success.), Collinswood from the series (NOT THE MOVIE!) Dark Shadows, and who could forget The Overlook Hotel and Rose Red from Stephen King. But my second fragment of horror was a collaborative effect. One so famous that the concepts and ideas had so much that they had to find ways to remake the ride from a walk through, to a museum holding weird and creepy objects, a home to evil and treasonous people from history, and had a Bluebeard type wife killer. But it all eventually came to a simple philosophy about the ride "We'll take care and clean up the Outside, and the ghosts can take care of the Inside." This was said by Walter Elias Disney and the concept art you're looking at is ...

(The Haunted Mansion in all her Southern Gothic Antebellum Glory)

The Haunted Mansion, my second Fragment of Horror.

You're probably wondering, why the hell is this on here? It's not a scary ride. Well it scared me when I was young and I took thinks literal but don't insult me for it! But this article is more about the concepts and the impacting legacy of one of the most rumor and fan theory laden rides and sadly a dying part of a great theme park. A true and somber Gothic tale in it's own right. But most don't know that the concepts for this Haunted Mansion went as far back as the first days of Disneyland. In fact, Walt Disney himself wanted such a house in the most oddest of places.

In the early days of acquiring some orange groves, Anaheim would be forever changed by the vision of Walt Disney himself, his 9 Old Men animators and newly solidified cast of artists and designers who though, never made theme park attractions before, would now begin with innovating technology and ride ideas to make a theme park in Walt's vision. From a simple train ride though his Burbank back lot to grow ever bigger into the theme park we know today, Disney's original concept pitch for the mansion would be to put it, in all places, Main Street U.S.A.

The concept art you saw earlier was supposed to be in Main Street U.S.A. with the house on a hill, (All the Haunted Houses are on Hills, what is up with that?) And so you got a Haunted House near Main Street scaring the kids before they got into the park in contrast to the happy and nostalgic view of Main Street with late 19th-early 20th century America. But the main issue was how would this ride be sold to the audiences? Enter one Disney's greatest concept rivalries, Claude Coats, animator and set designer, who wanted a scary haunted mansion which would be attributed to how Disneyland would promote innovation and design in creating a new standard for theme parks, and Marc Davis, legendary animator and one of the 9 old men, who wanted a silly and family friendly ride since Disneyland's main attraction was to be sold as an experience for all to come.

(And our first two major players are here. Claude Coats, Disney's Gentle Giant)

(And Marc Davis, working on art for Pirates of the Carribean)

This rivalry happened for quite a long time. Two major and important members of the Disney staff, influencing the tone of what would be a beloved E-Ticket Experience. But in the end, we got a combo of both but this doesn't end the main problems of this ride. After all, it did take 16 years to get it all together. And 3 were without the main man at their side. But with a concept finally revealed, now it was the time to get the settings and illusions ready for the mansion. And with that, we have two other guests to introduce but here's a picture of my favorite illusion that stumped me for a while thinking ghosts did exist.

(The Ballroom Scene, depicting the famous stage and ghost illusion The Pepper's Ghost Trick)

Another reason why the Haunted Mansion works so well is because the Illusions are surprisingly effective and timeless. Though the illusions were developed by 19th century phantasmagoria thanks to magicians and illusionists who were popular at the time. Pepper's Ghost, the effect used in the ballroom. was commonly used in theatrical productions of A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and Hamlet, and other plays that feature ghosts. (If you wish to know more about Pepper's Ghost, click this link. It features a talk with Rolland (Rolly) Crump, one of the two illusionists and designers of the Mansion.) The Endless Hallway is another such illusion of the 19th century. (A Mirror being used and the lighting and darkness to make it appear as endless.) But with 20th and 21st century technology, we have the animatronics and the Holograms (some even describe holograms as perfected Pepper's Ghosts because they are inspired by the same technological idea but have more clarity for realism or whispiness for ethereal-ism.) that are made to look real towards us. It combines so well with the dark lighting to make the illusions realistic to make the haunting real towards us.

(Yale Gracey attending to the Hatbox Ghost)

(Rolly Crump taking a Tiki Room Tiki out of Disneyland)

All of the original Illusions came from the two guys who experimented with it, (Yale Gracey (who many attribute to being the surname of the owners of the mansion due to the Gravestone Tribue) and Rolly Crump (designer and Disney Legend)) And Rolly helped design some of the concepts for what would be included in the Mansion, The Museum of the Weird and it was as weird and scary for it kept Walt Disney awake and in his clothes the next day after he witness the designs.

(A Candle-holder Lizard and a Vampiress Statue)

(A Gypsy Caravan: A possible influence for Madame Leota)

(The Fortune Teller's Room with a Grandfather Chair. One would be in the Haunted Mansion in Disney World.)

Spooky isn't it! You Couldn't possibly imagine that people would accept this stuff in Disneyland. In fact, showing you this is actually part of all the concepts of the Haunted Mansion. You had the Museum of the Weird but some of the few mentioned usually focused upon Captain Gore. And God it was a lot bloodier than imagined. He was a Pirate who would tie into the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as a bloodthirsty pirate whose wife, Priscilla, learned of his pirating ways and would be silenced forever. The WDW tombstone tributes has a slight reference to this Bluebeard style evil with having a mausoleum an actual  Capt. Bluebeard have 7 wives who would die one after another except his last wife who would kill him.

(Concept Art from Ken Anderson of Gore and Priscilla)

But now for the rumors and theories. One of my favorites is why it took so long for it to come together. People actually thought it was so scary one person had a heart attack and that the Disney animators did their job too well. Some have also claimed in the trial run of the ride, someone tried walking out of bounds and fell into a snake pit and got nearly poisoned to their death. (I Learned about this one recently!) Another too scary theory goes into one of my favorite characters of the ride, the renewed variation of The Hatbox Ghost! Some people have wondered whether it was an illusion or just a Disney Secret that they had experimented with gone wrong and was too scary. It was seen in media of the Mansion but never made an appearance. It turns out it was there but it was removed because the head removal and reappearance trick didn't work out too well in the dark.

(Because nothing Screams Walt Disney and The Happiest Place on Earth like Suicide, Murder, and over morbid Death)

And now for the theories. One popular theory claims that you actually die in the Haunted Mansion. When you first enter through the doors of the mansion, you see simple tricks of the light and optical illusions, nothing too concrete. But one you finish your seance with the Madame, you are brought to the Ballroom to see the ghosts who vanish and reappear before you. After the Bride scares you, you fall down to your death from the attic and the reason the Caretaker is so scared is because he sees new ghosts to join the fray! And the Graveyard swinging wake opens ups to welcome you as newly made members and residents of The Haunted Mansion. Another is that people actually believe the mansion is actually haunted with real ghosts. The mansion is a popular resting place for beloved one's ashes and are usually distributed around the ride illegally and some have claimed they see ghosts that weren't audio animatronics. One lady spread her son's ashes saying this ride was his favorite and she would love for him to officially rest in peace here. (I mean The Haunted Mansion was advertised as a Retirement home for Ghosts.)

But yes, it's a lot to take in with everyone involved and it was a primarily collaborative effort. But in hind site, it references and is a sad reminder of what now happened to Disneyland. For this ride was one of the last remaining original Rides that would be in Disneyland. Think about it, most of the rides are all based on Disney properties. It's not a bad thing but it reflects a creative drive now gone that has to be molded to the style and appearance of that attractions property. Tom Morris (another Imagineer who retired in 2016)  confesses in this article some days back that "Walt allowed all of these people to show their own style. It wasn't a big corporate guidebook or style guide. Walt allowed there to be a Marc Davis style, a Claude Coats style, a Mary Blair style and Rolly — Rolly is definitely one of the Disneyland styles." Disneyland was the allowing of multiple artistic and aesthetic styles blended beautifully together and sadly, the Parks have mostly forgotten this. And this is why I noted this is a tragedy in the similar style of a Gothic Romance because The Haunted Mansion is truly the ghost of a Concept of Disneyland far forgotten. The last original Ride was Big Thunder Mountain with Tony Baxter (my favorite Imagineer) helping conceive the ride altogether.

Tony Baxter helping Shape the E-Ticket Ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

It's a dying art that Tony might be one of the last Imagineers to have his own style to the parks. In fact he himself shaped the European Village aesthetic most of us grew up with and don't even realize. So let's take a look at this Haunted Mansion with a new appreciation. A Gothic Southern Belle, like in "A Rose for Emily", reflecting days since past but instead of living in the past truly dead, let's live it up like the Ghosts and have a swinging wake of a time, with all the creative and artistic freedom to truly make wonderful things.

(A Panorama View of the mansion. And no that hearse wasn't carrying Brigham Young for his funeral.)

Thanks for reading this little gem. I would go on longer but there is so much more about this and would need a second article to reference more.  (From the Sister Mansions of Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor, to the expanded Dutch Colonial cousins that have a Library, Music Room, and in one, a room that M.C. Escher would love. And of course, the cast of voices to chill your spine and even the awful film (but it did have beautiful set designs) and also the new Ryan Gosling and Guillermo del Toro and other fun facts too. Even two different comic book series.) But enjoy the following YouTube posts and articles referenced and cite sources for this article.

Chef Mayhem's Doombuggies: A Tribute Site to the Haunted Mansion (You'll need to run adobe flash)

David Oneal's Haunted Mansion Documentary

LA Times: An early Disneyland designer won over Walt Disney with his rebel reputation. Now he laments: ‘The park is gone’

Disney's Haunted Mansion (Florida) Behind the Scenes Tour with Tony Baxter

Check Out Offhand Disney's 31 Nights of Halloween to some Haunted Mansion facts.

And for some Gothic Horror, here's the fan story Nuptial Doom: The Haunted Mansion and the Bride in the Attic. It features Kat Cressida, voice of Constance Hatchaway: The Black Widow Bride.