Somewhere, on the edge of New Orleans Square – or Liberty Square – sits an old, seemingly abandoned mansion.
It is shrouded in a veil of mystery and intrigue. Legends have persisted for years, and rumors have spread about the goings-on inside this age-old mansion. Sightings of ghosts and odd noises are among the eccentricities reported.
For years, the scene has pleased guests in Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Now, the Haunted Mansion has come alive on the big screen.
Eddie Murphy, starring as real estate agent Jim Evers, and his family trek to the mansion, postponing a family getaway after the manor’s butler, Ramsley, summons his wife, Sara, to the mansion. The house, it is revealed, is on the market. Or is it?
When the nearby river swells, Evers, his wife and their two kids are forced to spend the night in the mansion. During their stay, they discover something isn’t quite right in Gracey Manor.
“Honey, you know they have dead people in the backyard,” Murphy notes upon first inspection of the mansion. The dead people, however, aren’t limited to the backyard. They’re in the attic, the bedrooms and, of course, the ballroom.
What most viewers might not realize is that the movie’s plot loosely follows that of the theme park attraction. While no formal storyline is given to park guests, cast members have spread several over the years. According to the most common version, Master Edward Gracey’s fiancée Elizabeth dies, and then stricken with grief, he hangs himself.
Over time, the Louisiana mansion becomes infested with ghosts. According to the narrator at Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion: “Actually, we have 999 happy haunts here,” the attraction’s Ghost Host tells guests. “But, there’s room for 1,000. Any volunteers?”
(Why is the mansion in Louisiana, you ask? In Disneyland, the attraction – which opened on Aug. 9, 1969 – is set in New Orleans Square, hence placing the mansion in Bayou country made perfect sense.)
In the Walt Disney World attraction, the tour begins in a gallery, “where you see paintings of some of our guests, as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state.” The room stretches, and guests realize “this chamber had no windows, and no doors.” Then, a flash of lightning and clap of thunder reveals a secret – a man, Master Gracey, hanging in the rafters above.
From there, the tour heads to the mansion’s library, down haunted hallways, past a music room and up the stairs and into a ballroom, where the ghosts are assembling for a “swinging wake.” Afterward, guests head to the mansion’s attic – where, according to some rumors, the ghost of Master Gracey’s bride waits – and then into the graveyard.
In the theme park, foolish mortals – that would be the guests – find themselves taking a voluntary tour of the mansion. In the movie, the mansion’s guests also get a close look at the estate, albeit involuntarily. Even so, all of the locations immortalized in the theme park attractions – along with some memorable quotes and unforgettable characters – are recreated for the big-screen version of the Haunted Mansion.
And for the diehard Disney fan, that’s the best part of the flick – picking out scenes from the theme park attraction. That’s not to take away from the movie, but let’s remember, the ride did come first and has thrilled people for over 30 years.
In the end, the most significant point to remember about the Haunted Mansion is: “Beware of hitchhiking ghosts.”