With its mix of spooky special effects and light-hearted humor, the Haunted Mansion has never stopped being a fan favorite. Just goes to show that a good scare never goes out of style!
When Disney’s Haunted Mansion first opened at Disneyland, it introduced guests to a world where the line between the living and the dead is delightfully blurred. The ride is filled with a mix of chills and chuckles, thanks to a blend of ominous atmospheres and playful spirits. From the iconic stretching portraits to the ghostly ballroom dancers, every inch of the mansion is designed to keep visitors on their toes.
A lot of thought went into creating this ghostly wonderland. The design of the Haunted Mansion is a masterclass in storytelling, using a mix of practical effects, animatronics and clever illusions to create an experience that feels both timeless and fresh. What’s particularly fascinating is how the ride’s creators managed to balance the spooky and the silly, ensuring the experience is just the right amount of scary for everyone.
Below, we’ve gathered a collection of photos and articles that give us a look back into the history and magic behind this iconic attraction.
Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion
An old Victorian mansion stands peacefully in the warm, southern sun. From the outside, it seems to beckon you. But inside… suddenly, an unseen voice welcomes “foolish mortals” to… the Haunted Mansion!
The Mansion is filled with 999 retired spooks and spirits from around the world who have taken up permanent residence in Disneyland. Under the watchful “eyes” of your Ghost Host, you find yourself passing through eerie galleries and dark corridors to the misty regions beyond.
Strange sights and sounds abound on every side: rooms with no doors or windows, pictures that change before your very eyes, a seance of the supernatural, and even a ghostly ball where everyone is “living it up.”
Then on to a graveyard — out of this world! Ghosts and ghoulies of every size and shape cavort cadaverously in their private playground. Some even want to accompany you home.
And as you depart, newfound “fiends” urge you to “hurry back” to Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.
$7 million worth of ghosts floating around in Disneyland’s New Haunted Mansion (1969)
From The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, California) August 15, 1969
Anaheim (Special) — The Haunted Mansion, Disneyland’s long-awaited fun-scare adventure, opened its creaking doors to a wary world this week.
Hovering above the riverfront at the edge of New Orleans Square, the stately old mansion has been offering “post-lifetime leases” to ghosts, ghouls, specters and other restless spirits since the exterior was completed in 1963.
Today 999 creatures — the famous and the infamous — from all over this world and the next have moved in to enjoy a most active retirement. Every person entering is eligible to become the one-thousandth.
And while residents were signing leases, the living were making this the most asked-for adventure in Disneyland’s 14-year history.
“It’s been a case of mutual anticipation,” notes a spokesman for the Park’s Ghost Relations Department. “While Mansion occupants have been just dying to meet Disneylanders, those of this world have been just living for the day when they could meet the ghouls.”
As many as 2,616 mortals an hour can ride in two-passenger carriages through the Haunted Mansion’s labyrinth of cobweb-screened halls, pitch-black corridors, stone-cold chambers, creepy attic and, of course, a misty graveyard.
Along the way, visitors will see — or ‘feel’ — everybody from an Egyptian mummy to the mysterious Madame Leota, medium of the wildest seance ever.
Ghosts have taken up residence in such happy haunting grounds as the Picture Gallery. Corridor of Haunted Portraits. Endless Hallway, Corridor of Doors and a dreadful Conservatory.
Other flesh-tingling experiences await the brave in the Clock Hall, spirit-filled Seance Circle, a Dickensian Grand Hall, Attic, surprising Graveyard and very finally, The Crypt.
The Haunted Mansion’s skeleton staff is headed by a Ghost Host, whose mysterious voice accompanies those who dare to journey through the frightfully funny adventure.
From the first terror-producing words whispered by the Ghost Host welcoming all “foolish mortals” to the eerie strains of The Screaming Song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” the mansion keeps its promise to be a ‘delightfully dreary adventure suitable for every age.’
And every guest can expect to be aged during the visit.
Among the supernatural sights and nerve-jangling sounds are portraits that change while being viewed, a headless knight who sings an operatic aria, and naturally, baying hounds.
Adding to the bedlam are fluttering bats, phantom musicians accompanying dancers drifting above a ballroom floor, ghosts that materialize and disappear at will, marble statues that come to life — and even a group of hitchhiking ghosts playfully seeking the seat right next to Haunted Mansion visitors.
Created at a cost of $7 million [that’s approximately $61 million in 2024 dollars], the spirit-infested house is Disneyland’s 53rd major attraction. Like all of them, this new “phantom-phantasy” was designed by WED Enterprises. Inc., the Disney architectural, engineering, research and “Imagineering” subsidiary.
History of the Haunted Mansion extends over more than 10 years, since Walt Disney first assigned his staff to research supernatural phenomena and “haunted” places.
“We’ll keep up the grounds and things outside,” Walt promised, “and the ghosts can take care of the inside.”
During the course of their research, the WED staff developed many new “illusioneering” techniques to make possible an adventure based on the strange, the occult, and the psychic.
Opening of the Haunted Mansion in the New Orleans Square area brings Disneyland’s capital investment to more than $126 million, including all 1969 additions and improvements.
Ghostly Mansion — This mansion houses 999 restless ghosts and other eerie spirits. The adventure will include a tour with the “Ghost Host” through cobwebbed halls and a haunted graveyard.
First Arrival — “Illusioner” Yale Gracey welcomes the first of a number of happy ghosts moving into Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion. The project includes elastic rooms, demonized doors, a ghostly graveyard and happy spooks who appear and disappear at will.
MORE DISNEYLAND FUN
- See Disneyland’s original Pirates of the Caribbean ride, before the changes
- Vintage Disneyland tickets: The A B C D E rides and attractions at the Magic Kingdom
- Early Disneyland, from when Walt Disney’s magical new theme park opened in 1955
Haunting changing portraits (lenticular versions)
Miss April becomes Miss December
And here’s Medusa
