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==History==
===Origin in Disneyland===
Like many of the original Magic Kingdom attractions, the Haunted Mansion began as an idea for Disneyland. Before the park was even built, Walt Disney and artist Harper Goff were working on an idea for a haunted house type attraction. The original sketch by Goff was titled, "Church Graveyard and Haunted House" and featured a Gothic style mansion on top of a hill <ref> http://blogs.disney.com/insider/2015/06/08/the-horrifying-history-of-the-haunted-mansions-hatbox-ghost-part-1/ </ref>. The original haunted house attraction was originally envisioned as a walkthrough attraction, in which guests would see various haunted scenes <ref name= "DoomBuggies1"> http://www.doombuggies.com/history1.php </ref>. Some of the original ideas for the attraction included: a ghostly sea captain who killed his wife, an unfortunate family living in the mansion, and a ghost wedding which would have featured various Disney villains including, Captain Hook, the Lonesome Ghosts, and the Headless Horseman <ref name= "DoomBuggies1"/>.[[Image:MansionConcept2.png|400px|thumb|The idea of a ghostly bride was a part of the Haunted Mansion's early design]]
When the addition of the Haunted Mansion was being planned for Disneyland, the Mansion was to be located off a crooked alley on Main Street <ref name= DoomBuggies1/>. Soon however, plans for the Mansion were put on hold , and when Disneyland opened in 1955, The Haunted Mansion was nowhere to be found. Despite this, shortly after Disneyland opened the Haunted Mansion project was brought back into the spotlight. In 1958, Walt Disney decided that he wanted to create an expansion for Disneyland called “New Orleans Square”. The Haunted Mansion was chosen as one of the attractions for the new area <ref name= "DoomBuggies1"/>, and construction began in 1962 <ref name= "DoomBuggies2"> http://www.doombuggies.com/history3.php </ref>. From the beginning however, problems began to plaque the Haunted Mansion. Story line problems were a constant for the Haunted Mansion, and in 1964 Disney's attention was turned towards the New York World’s Fair. Another blow to the struggling project came in 1965 when Walt Disney, the driving force behind the project, died <ref name= "DoomBuggies2"/>. With Walt gone, Imagineers were divided about what tone to give the Haunted Mansion. Imagineer Marc Davis wanted to present the ride in a comical matter (giving the attraction a lighter tone) while Claude Coats thought the Haunted Mansion should be a real haunted house with a dark and ominous tone. Eventually, Imagineers decided on a compromise. The beginning of the attraction was given a darker tone while the latter half would be more "silly" and feature a "swinging wake" <ref> http://www.doombuggies.com/history4.php </ref>. Imagineers also decided to make the Haunted Mansion a dark ride, with "Doom Buggies" as the attractions vehicles (the change from walkthrough to dark ride helped solve the problem of guest capacity) <ref> http://www.doombuggies.com/history4.php </ref>.
With the story line and tone finally decided, the Haunted Mansion officially opened in Disneyland on August 9, 1969. ====Museum of the Weird====
One of the other ideas for the Haunted Mansion that Rolly and Walt explored, was the Museum of the Weird. The museum was to be a part of the entrance and queue to the Haunted Mansion. Showing guests various oddities "discovered" around the world, the Museum of the Weird would also have doubled as a restaurant (similar to Disneyland's Blue Bayou restaurant which is connected to [[Pirates of the Caribbean]]) <ref> http://www.doombuggies.com/history2.php </ref> [[Image:Crump.jpg|400px|thumb|Rolly Crump working on models for the Haunted Mansion]]. Rolly Crump came up with various ideas for the museum including: coffin clocks, candle men, man-eating plants, tiki busts, a mirror with a face, and a "living gypsy cart". With the death of Walt Disney and the subsequent uncertainty about the tone of the attraction however, the Museum of the Weird portion of the attraction was eventually scrapped.
===Disney World Construction===
During the time the Haunted Mansion was being finalized in Disneyland, plans were made for the creation of an identical version in (the (not yet open) Magic Kingdom. Unlike the Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion however, the Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World was set in the American Northeast, not New Orleans (due to the fact that Liberty Square replaced New Orleans Square in the parks design). The change in location is evident when looking at the attraction’s architecture, which took on a colonial or Hudson River Valley style <ref> http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index335.html </ref>. The Haunted Mansion opened with the rest of the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971 <ref> http://thisdayindisneyhistory.homestead.com/disneyworldgrandopening.html </ref>.
===Changes Since Opening Day===
Throughout the attractions first 35 years, the Haunted Mansion saw a relatively few number of changes. Most notably, during this period, the original bride figure was replaced first in the late 1970s/early 1980s and again in the mid 1990s <ref> https://longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com/2010/05/here-comes-bride-part-three-two-lost.html </ref>. In 2006 however, the Haunted Mansion closed for its fist extensive refurbishment. At this time,
[[Image:brides.png|400px|thumb|The original Bride figures. Photo: Long-Forgotten Haunted Mansion. Alt= Haunted Mansion Brides]]
* The exterior of the mansion was repainted
* The queue received a new canopy
* The foyer received new wood and carpet. Furthermore the Master Gracey portrait was digitized
* The Sinister Eleven portraits were moved to the load area and a couple other spots around the attraction. In their place (the first hallway that the Doom Buggies travel down), new portraits which change when lightning strikes were added.
Finally, at this time the Haunted Mansion also received two new scenes. The first scene replaced the Spider Staircase scene and features stairways that seem to go to different dimensions, denying the laws of physics. This scene was inspired by the lithograph print "Relativity" by M.C. Escher.
Most notably however, during the refurbishment the Haunted Mansion's attic scene was reworked. At this time, a new bride named Constance Hatchaway was added to the attraction, and the attic was rethemed to reflect her dark backstory. When entering the attic the Doom Buggies now passed three portraits of Constance and a different husband surrounded by their wedding gifts. As guests pass by, the heads of each groom disappear. At the end of the attic, guests come face to face with Constance who ominously references her wedding vows, while making a hatchet appear in her hands. With the addition of the Constance backstory, the original bride figure and the "pop-up" ghosts that were originally found in the attic were removed.
In October 2010 the Haunted Mansion closed for refurbishment. At this time, the attraction's queue was overhauled and given new interactive elements <ref> http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/03/video-sneak-peek-haunted-mansion-interactive-queue-at-magic-kingdom-park/ </ref>. When the queue reopened it featured an interactive cemetery, which now housed a sea captain's crypt, a composers crypt, a family of headstones, and a library crypt.
==The Queue==
===The Composer's Crypt===
Continuing on through the queue guests pass by a series of crypts, beginning with the Composer's Crypt. Here, musical instruments are carved into both sides of the a crypt and when they are pushed; the instrument plays a portion of the attractions theme song "Grim Grinning Ghosts". One side of the crypt features basic instruments (such as those used by the band in the graveyard scene), while the other side features more ghoulish looking instruments. The Composers Crypt also features a large pipe organ (identical to the one in the Ballroom scene) with banshee heads and a red-eyed raven sitting atop it. When guests push the keys to the organ it plays “Grim Grinning Ghosts” while also shooting guests with a blast of mist. The organ is engraved with the name "Ravenscroft" which is a reference to Thurl Ravenscroft, the lead vocalist of the singing busts in the Graveyard scene.
===The Sea Captain's Crypt===
===The Library Crypt===
The final crypt guests come across in the Haunted Mansion queue is the library crypt. Two sides of this crypt look like the bookcases found inside the mansion, which hold haunted books that move in and out by themselves. Guests can also push the books themselves, adding some entertainment for younger guests. More importantly however the books on the cases are marked with ghostly symbols, which gives guests a letter, giving guests them the task of deciphering the message that the books spell out.
The third side of the library crypt features a glowing book surrounded by decaying flowers. In the book, the ghost of the "Poetess Prudence Pock" is working on her poetry. Prudence will usually need guests to help her finish the poems, by giving her rhyming words. Guests can speak to Prudence by using the "Spectrecom" which lets guests “speak with the nearly departed." A sign above the book says:
{{Quotation| "Her plaintive pleas can still be heard: O ' muse provide the perfect word"}}
The final side of the crypt has another plaque dedicated to Prudence which reads:
{{Quotation| "Here lies Poetess Prudence Pock, she died it's said from writers block}}
NOTE: If you want a key, to figure out what the haunted books are trying to tell guests, check out Inside the Magic's guide below:
http://www.insidethemagic.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/haunted-mansion-cryptogram-symbols.jpg
Main Article: [[Haunted Mansion Tombstones]]
The original graveyard in the Haunted Mansion queue is still in place, however during the 2010 refurbishment the headstones that paid homage to Marc Davis and X Atencio have been moved from the hillside to the middle of the interactive queue. Likewise, the tombstone marking the resting place of Master Gracey has been moved into the queue. Added to the hillside graveyards graveyard at this time were headstones for Gus, Erza, and Phineas (the Hitchhiking Ghosts) and Neb Nub (one of the singing busts found in the Graveyard scene) <ref> http://www.insidethemagic.net/2011/03/videophotos-inside-new-haunted-mansion-interactive-queue-at-walt-disney-worlds-magic-kingdom/</ref>.
==Attraction==
===The Stretching Room===
After the Ghost Host introduces guests to the Haunted Mansion, they are ushered into an octagonal gallery known as The Stretching Room. This room features vertically stripped wallpaper and menacing green gargoyles. The room also has four seemingly normal portraits of unknown people hanging on the walls. Inside the room the Ghost Host once again speaks to guests saying:
[[Image:Stretching.jpg|thumb|350px400px|The full portraits guests see after the room has "stretched". ]]
{{Quotation|"Welcome! Foolish Mortals, to the haunted mansion, I am your host, your ghost host. Hmmmm. Our tour begins here, in this gallery. Here where you see paintings of some of our guests, as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state. Kindly step all the way in please, and make room for everyone. There’s no turning back now!}}
===The Staircases & Endless Hallway===
[[Image:endlessstair.jpg|400px|thumb|The Haunted Manson's Staircase scene.|alt=Haunted Mansion staircase scene]]
When the Haunted Mansion was renovated in 2007, a new scene was added to the attraction. Known as the staircase scene, the new room is located after guests leave the music parlor but before they reach the Endless Hallway. The staircase room is a space filled with various staircases and doorways that apparently lead to other dimensions. The staircases look like a maze and some even seem to defy gravity, as they twist and turn or even go upside down. On the staircases, ghostly glowing footprints appear going up or down the stairs before fading away.
===The Grand Hall (Ballroom)===
[[Image:ORganistDancers.jpg|thumb|300px400px|The ghostly Organist playing ballroom dancers waltzing in the BallroomGrand Hall.]]
After leaving the Séance Room, guests enter perhaps the most famous scene in the Haunted Mansion, The Grand Hall (also known as the Ballroom). Here ghosts have begun to gather for a "swinging wake" (apparently arriving by hearse). The Doom Buggies actually look down into the Ballroom where guests can see ghostly couples waltzing as they disappear and reappear. Nearby, an organist plays a crazed version of the attractions theme "Grim Grinning Ghosts" on a large pipe organ. When the organist strikes the keys ghostly banshees come flying out of the pipes and then disappear.
===The Attic===
Following the Ballroom scene, the Doom Buggies go up one floor to the attic. Here guests see a crammed and dusty room full of wedding gifts and furniture. As the Buggies progress, guests see five wedding portraits of Constance Hatchaway and her different husbands. Next to each portrait are wedding gifts, which seem to increase in quality after each subsequent marriage. The portraits include:
*Frank Barks & Constance Hatchaway (1872) (if guests look closely at the cabinet near this portrait, they will see a female porcelain French aristocrat looking down on a fallen porcelain man, whose head has been removed)
[[Image:Brideimage.jpg|thumb|300px|Constance Hatchaway in the Haunted Mansion's attic. Photo by Rain0975]]
*Marquis de Doom & Constance Hatchaway (1874)
===The Graveyard===
Following the close encounter with Constance, the Doom Buggies fall out the window and turn backwards. When they land on the ground, ghosts appear to be flying all around and guests now find themselves at the gates to a graveyard located near the mansion. Outside the gates, a caretaker named Dick O’Dell quivers in fear as his dog "Boney" whimpers. After passing some scary looking trees, guests enter the graveyard where the ghosts seem to be having a party. A ghost band known as the Phantom Five play a jazzy version of "Grim Grinning Ghosts", as various other paranormal beings enjoy themselves. The Phantom Five is made up of a drummer (banging on headstones), a flutist, a harpist, a bagpipe player, and a horn player. Various cats and owls harmonize with the band, and demon dogs can be heard howling in the distance. Near the band, a king and queen teeter on see-saw while a duchess sips tea behind them.
[[Image:SingingBusts.jpg|400px|thumb|The Singing Busts in the Graveyard scene.]]
As the Doom Buggies move through the graveyard, they pass a group of singing marble busts. Located on guest’s right hand side, these marble busts sing (and express) the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts". All around the graveyard, ghosts pop up and try to scare guests, while other specters simply enjoy the party. Those enjoying the party include, a mummy who is drinking tea, a Renascence era oracle, and various ghosts riding bicycles around tombstones.
Upon entering the crypt the Ghost Host once again joins the guests:
{{Quotation|"Aaahh, there you are! And just in time, there’s a little matter I forgot to mention, beware of hitchhiking ghosts! They have selected you to fill our quota, and they'll haunt you until you return! hahahaha"}}.
[[Image:Hitchiking.jpg|thumb|300px400px|The Three three Hitchhiking Ghosts: The Prisoner (left), The Skeleton (center) and the The Traveler (right)]]
While hearing this warning, guests pass by the three hitchhiking ghosts (the prisoner, the skeleton, and the traveler) before venturing further into the crypt and encountering a mirror. When guests look into the mirror, they will notice that they are no longer alone. One of the three hitchhiking ghosts will be seen inside the Doom Buggies, and will interact with the guests (for example one of the ghosts will switch two of the rider’s heads).
===Pun Crypts===
Next to Bluebeard's tomb, a large crypt which houses various bodies can be found. Each of the names on the crypt create a pun. The names on the crypt are listed below, with the pun the name creates in parenthesis.
[[Image:Toad.jpg|thumb|250px|The statue of Mr. Toad located in the Pet Cemetery.]]
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===The Pet Cemetery===
Located on guests left as they walk down the exit path, the Pet Cemetery houses the deceased animals of the Haunted Mansion. Some of the tombstones feature humorous epitaphs, while other are simply just headstones. The animals laid to rest in the Pet Cemetery include:
* A duck named Little Waddles. Died in 1928. The epitaph reads, "Little Waddles saw the truck, Little Waddles didn't duck".
* A snake who's epitaph reads "Here lies my snake whose fatal mistake, was frightening a garner gardener who carried a rake".
*A cat named Miss Kitty who epitaph reads “After losing eight lives you still had no fear. You caught a snake in your mouth and that's why you're here."
Main Article: [[List of Haunted Mansion Ghosts]]
The primary cast of the Haunted Mansion is:
[[Image:PaulFrees.jpg|400px|thumb|Paul Frees voices the Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion. alt= Paul Frees Ghost Host]]
*'''Ghost Host'''- Paul Frees
==Imagineers==
Disney Imagineers (WED Engineers) that worked on the creation of the Haunted Mansion included:
==Fun Facts and Trivia==
[[Image:MarcWalt.jpg|400px|thumb|Marc Davis showing Walt an early model of the Stretching Room]]
*There are two books on the table at the end of the library in the Haunted Mansion. They are both separate volumes from “The National Encyclopedia”, with book being open to the letter D, so that the word "death" is shown <ref name= "wdwradio"/>.
*The prisoner Hitchhiking ghost Ghost can also be seen in the Graveyard scene, near the executioner.
*Before the 2011 refurbishment of the queue, a fresh flower would be placed on the tombstone of Master Gracey every day <Ref> http://www.disneydispatch.com/content/columns/the-626/2011/06-the-13-tombstones-of-the-haunted-mansion/ </ref>.
