Haunted Mansion | Deep Dive

THE ULTIMATE FANDOM NEWSLETTER

Next release: January 17 | 4 PM EDT

WELCOME FOOLISH MORTALS

With the The Haunted Mansion hitting theatres later this month, we wanted to take a closer look at the frightening fun that awaits us and where the movie draws inspiration from.

Three blue ghosts try to hitchhike with their thumbs out

WHAT IS THE HAUNTED MANSION?

Starting all the way back at Disneyland in 1969, Walt Disney and his team created a ride called The Haunted Mansion. Throughout the attraction, the rider journeys from being a normal mortal and experiencing some ghostly shenanigans, to being selected as the next 'Happy Haunt' to join the Mansion while seeing all of the 999 different ghosts come out to socialize.

To be honest, the ride isn't really that scary. The songs are catchy and the animatronics are more fun than they are creepy.

A caretaker and his thin dog holding a light lamp

THE MANY HAUNTED MANSIONS

Both the 2003 and 2023 The Haunted Mansion movies were based on the Disney theme park rides. The original from Disneyland was so popular that it spawned two other Haunted Mansion rides and two spin-off/similarly themed rides.

DISNEYLAND

Opened: August 9, 1969

WALT DISNEY WORLD

The Haunted Mansion facade in Disney World

Opened: October 1, 1971

TOKYO DISNEYLAND

The Haunted Mansion facade in Disneyland Tokyo

Opened: April 15, 1983

OTHER SPOOKY ATTRACTIONS

PHANTOM MANOR

Opened: April 12, 1992

MYSTIC MANOR

Opened: May 17, 2013

SOME FAN FAVE GHOSTS

HATBOX GHOST

a ghostly skull smiles while holding a blue hat box

A creepy ghost who can teleport his skull between his body and the hat box that he carries everywhere.

THE BRIDE

a blue ghost in a bridal dress floats in the air

The ghost of a widow who haunts the attic. All of her husbands had mysterious and sudden deaths.

LEOTA

a floating head in a blue orb with candles around

A disembodied head that floats in the middle of a glowing crystal ball.

SINGING BUSTS

A group of busts in the graveyard that sing songs for all to hear.

A woman in a glass ball looks at Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy looks concerned while staring at a skeletons arms

A person wearing curtains as if they were a ghost stands in a foyer

The 2003 Movie

In 2003, Disney released the first film adaptation of the ride starring Eddie Murphy as a mortal who gets trapped in the real-world Haunted Mansion. While initially not well received, the movie has now become a classic film to watch at Halloween.

Three characters stand around a ball while a fourth has her head floating in said ball

An endless hallway stretches on forever as a child looks into it

The 2023 Movie

Over the last decade, there have been updates and developments on a possible Haunted Mansion reboot film, with an all-new cast, director, writer, and more. Finally, throughout 2020/2021, we started getting real concrete announcements, culminating with the release of the film later this month.