Casey Recommends: The Haunted Mansion

When the calendar flips to October and the veil between the earthly world and the spirit realm becomes whisper-thin. . . that’s when this foolish mortal loves to cue up a Haunted Mansion ridethrough on YouTube and pretend she’s at Disney World.

Disney World Haunted Mansion ridethrough:

Disneyland Haunted Mansion ridethrough:

The Haunted Mansion teeters at the edge of scariness I could handle as both a kid and an adult. Much like Pirates of the Caribbean, which had a fair number of skeletons to creep me out and an equally unsettling atmosphere — in the first portion of the ride, at least — the Haunted Mansion felt more advanced and “grown-up” than other top-level attractions in the park.

But unlike Pirates, The Haunted Mansion goes beyond presenting its riders with an straightforward narrative as they’re guided through the attraction. It’s more of an atmospheric journey, a tone poem, a vibe. This is both its magic and its mystery.¹

If you know the backstory of creating the attraction, you know that it was mired in development for decades as Imagineers “squared off on the greatest debate regarding The Haunted Mansion – funny or scary?” as Jonathan Briehl writes in his brief history.

And you might know that there were competing funny/scary plotlines associated with the ride at various stages of its development, which is why one minute you’re at a rollicking ghost dinner in the ballroom, then you’re in an attic with a serially murderous ghost bride, then you’re tumbling into a graveyard party with singing stone busts.²

But you don’t have to know any of this to fully enjoy the ride.

I didn’t know about Master Gracey or Constance Hatchaway or the Hatbox Ghost³ as a kid, and none of that backstory would have made me fall in love with The Haunted Mansion any more deeply than I already did.

All you need to do to “get it” is to walk from the outdoor queue through the darkened foyer to the stretching room. Once you’re in, the experiential transformation can begin. Because the Ghost Host explains it quite succinctly: you’re going on a tour.

Welcome, Foolish Mortals, to the Haunted Mansion! I am your host, your Ghost Host! MUAHAHAHA! Our tour begins here in this gallery.

This is a more fully embodied experience than simply stepping into a boat in Pirates or It’s a Small World. It lets you become part of the mansion in an immersive way, so once you’re in the Doom Buggy, you can allow the experience to unfold around you.

It’s not like any old-school Disney attraction requires a lot of active thought or brain work on the guest’s part. But the feeling of gliding in a Doom Buggy feels more surreally comforting to me than any other.

As if by spirit hands, I’m guided down hallways, through the library and the music room, catching glimpses of worlds beyond, wondering at floating candelabras and wallpaper that’s watching me. The technology of some effects might be more cutting-edge than on my initial visit, but these haunts still feel like home.

And while Mary Blair’s design of It’s a Small World remains iconic and Galaxy’s Edge is a mind-blowing contemporary update to the idea of an immersive world — Oga’s Cantina, I love you — the hot and cold running chills of The Haunted Mansion are a non-negotiable every time I am lucky enough to be in a Disney park. Little Leota knows I’ll be back.

The classic spooky charm of The Haunted Mansion never gets old. It is, in fact, immortal.

1. My other favorite immersive, sit-back-and-let-it-wash-over-you Disney attraction is the Enchanted Tiki Room, which exists in its most perfect state as an afternoon recharge oasis. You go eat a Dole Whip, and then sit for 15 minutes in a dim, air-conditioned room as animatronic flowers croon at you. What could be more soothing?
   ↩︎
2. This nebulous narrative is why every attempt to adapt the ride into a movie or other content feels weirdly misguided to me. I have a copy of the 1969 vinyl album (featuring Ron Howard!) that fails spectacularly in this way, taking the magic out of the tour and trying to fit it into the mold of a generic teen horror trope.
   I honestly feel like Muppets Haunted Mansion nailed it more than any other, because the whole special plays out like a wink to the ride itself. ↩︎
3. Which I didn’t even know about until I was an adult, because it wasn’t in any version of the attraction I saw until we went to Disneyland in 2019! And even then, I only witnessed it as part of Haunted Mansion Holiday. ↩︎