A Storyline behind the Haunted Mansion - WDW Hints (2024)

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What is the story behind the Haunted Mansion? ›

The official story is that the Mansion was built by the Imagineers and the Ghost Relations Department in an effort to re-house various ghosts made homeless by the destruction of old haunted buildings. Walt Disney himself stated that the mansion was meant to house lost souls from all over the world, and a sign hung up ...

The attraction's theme is a visit to a haunted house in which the ghostly residents have taken full possession of the premises. The attraction inspired the 2003 movie of the same name, starring Eddie Murphy and its 2023 reboot Haunted Mansion.

Plot. Ben Matthias is an astrophysicist who meets a woman named Alyssa, a ghost tour guide at a New Years Eve party, and becomes entranced with her belief in the supernatural.

During a New Year's party, Ben Matthias, an astrophysicist developing a camera to detect dark matter, meets ghost tour guide Alyssa and becomes entranced with her belief in the supernatural. Ben marries Alyssa, who later dies in a car crash. Distraught, Ben gives up his career and continues to run her ghost tour.

The Haunted Mansion

Following this murder, Constance inherited George's estate and stashed the trophies and evidence of her crimes within the attic of the mansion. While known to at-least some as, "The Black Widow Bride", Constance was never convicted of her various murders.

Little Leota appears in the exit crypt in all versions of the Haunted Mansion where she stands atop the ledge of the crypt holding a bouquet of dead flowers as she invites the guests to, "Hurry Back" and to remember to bring their death certificates.

While the mansion itself is not modeled after any specific real-life structure, a few houses did inspire the look of the mansion.

Haunted Mansion Disneyland Exterior. The Mansion's antebellum exterior was designed to resemble the architecture found in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Victorian Shipley-Lydecker House in Shipley Hill, Maryland also inspired the design.

Disneyland has now released on the refurbishment calendar that the Haunted Mansion will close starting on January 22, 2024. The attraction will remain as the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay until this date.

They eventually learn that all of the mansion's residents are actually ghosts, cursed a century ago by Gracey and Elizabeth's suicides and can only move to Heaven when they are reunited, and Gracey believes Sara is Elizabeth's reincarnation.

Who is the dark spirit in the Haunted Mansion? ›

A bit of research (and a cameo from Hasan Minhaj) leads the team to discover that the Hatbox Ghost is actually the spirit of Alistair Crump, a sad*stic millionaire who murdered countless people before being beheaded — hence the hatbox.

Tater Tot Is A Callback To Ben's Wife In Haunted Mansion

In the Haunted Mansion ending, after the crew has defeated the Hatbox Ghost, Ben returns home to his New Orleans house where he finds a seemingly stray cat. Ben looks at the collar and sees the cat's name: Tater Tot.

The millions of guests that have explored the shadowy confines of the Haunted Mansion have seen Leota “Lee” Toombs Thomas—or at least the likeness of her face. She appears as Madame Leota, the disembodied head that speaks from inside a crystal ball at Disney's creepiest and most ghoulishly fun attraction.

Travis is missing his father a lot throughout the film. The story hides that his father died until the finale when Crump tempts the boy by faking being his ghost. He sends messages and tries to get the child to make a deal. However, one has to wonder why Crump antagonized the boy in the first place and scared Gabbie.

Madame Leota is a ghostly character from the Haunted Mansion franchise. Originally conceived as a character to be featured in Disneyland's version of the attraction, Leota's character has been expanded, to be featured in multiple Disney attractions, as well a few feature films.

In the 2003 film, the Haunted Mansion is apparently cursed in its entirety due to its owner Edward Gracey having had commit suicide after his butler Ramsley murdered his bride Elizabeth and faked the death as suicide.

There is a real bullet hole in the Haunted Mansion. Near the end of the ballroom scene, two portraits are shooting at each other. Several years ago someone shot at the portraits and put a bullet hole in the glass. Look closely and you can see it, even though it is covered by a spider.