I thought I knew something about the Haunted Mansion until a few months ago when we met up with friends who are huge Haunted Mansion fans and know so much about this awesome ride at the Magic Kingdom. I then realized I didn’t know much at all and needed to do some research of my own. One thing was clear to me, to better know the Haunted Mansion I would need to get to know more about the main characters in it and that’s exactly what I did.
Let’s Start from the Beginning
The Haunted Mansion is a slow-moving ride at the Magic Kingdom that opened along with the Magic Kingdom itself on October 1, 1971. The ride length is approximately eight minutes long. The ride is open for guests of any height and any age. It is considered to be a spooky ride but with friendly ghosts which means that everyone would enjoy it. There are versions of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland California, Disneyland Tokyo, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. Each of these versions have their own little bit of history behind it.
Picture: Yale Gracey
The Best Spooky Fun
As part of the ride queue at Magic Kingdom, be prepared to walk through some tombstones including the one for Master Gracey, who is the owner of the Mansion. Make sure to have your hands free for some supernatural hands-on experiences as well. Once inside, you will see a room actually stretching along with a hanging body from the ceiling and yes this part is actually a little scary.
Then you climb aboard a Doom Buggy for a grave tour through a dark maze of haunted chambers. The ride is narrated by the voice of The Ghost Host as your private guide through a very Haunted Mansion, home to ghosts, ghouls and supernatural surprises. You will go by a casket-filled conservatory, Madame Leota’s chilling seance room and a ghostly graveyard of singing ghosts as you try to find your way out. Beware of hitchhikers and be careful because a ghost may follow you home.
Master Gracey
Master Gracey was a very rich man and the owner of the Mansion. After his passing, you can see Master Gracey's tombstone as part of the queue of the Haunted Mansion. Many believe he is also The Ghost Host which will make him also be the hanging body from the attic on the first part of the ride. There's also an interesting and mysterious fact, fresh flowers appeared for many years in Master Gracey’s tombstone. Who do you think put those flowers there?
Now let’s go over the true story of Master Gracey. He was created as a tribute to Disney Imagineer Yale Gracey who was murdered in 1983 at the age of 73 at his home. He was responsible for pretty much all of the illusions found within the ride. The association of him being referred to as, "Master" Gracey lead the majority of cast members and guests to presume of him having been the Master of the Haunted Mansion. This was supported by how every morning a red rose was placed on Master Gracey's tombstone, this was most likely started during the 1980s by cast members as a way of mourning Yale Gracey after he was murdered.
The Ghost Host
Many people believe that Master Gracey and The Ghost Host are one in the same and that he died by suicide. Master Gracey as the owner of the Mansion acts as the host as he welcomes mortals into his haunted home. His evil laugh once you enter the mansion as he displays his own hanging body from the attic is just priceless.
Regardless if Master Gracey and The Ghost Host are the same or not, I couldn’t think of a better voice for this ride and you will hear his spooky narration throughout the entire ride. He is voiced by actor Paul Frees, who appeared in many Disney movies and was the voice of many famous characters over the years. You can hear his voice in another ride at the Magic Kingdom, Pirates of the Caribbean. He recorded the ghost voice saying the iconic "Dead Men Tell No Tales", as well as lending his voice to several audio-animatronic pirates.
Constance Hatchaway
Constance Hatchaway is bride in the attic and one of the figures depicted in the Stretching Room’s portraits. She is the scariest character in the Haunted Mansion, because not only she is a bride ghost but when she was alive she murdered all her five husbands. She’s also known as The Black Widow Bride. She would marry the richest of the richest then she would murder each husband by cutting their heads off. This is why you see her holding a hatchet in the ride next to the portraits of her husbands with no heads. Pretty creepy, right?
Madame Leota
Madame Leota’s character is a disembodied head that speaks from inside a crystal ball, how cool is that? Madame Leota got her name from Leota Toombs who was a Disney Imagineer and the face of Madame Leota. Yale Gracey (Master Gracey) asked her to pose for the floating head character to test it out and the rest is history. However, Madame Loeota was voiced by Eleanor Audley, who had the perfect villain voice. You can hear Eleonor’s perfectly villain voice in Cinderella as the evil stepmother and in Sleeping Beauty as Maleficent.
The Hitchhiking Ghosts
The Hitchhiking Ghosts have to be the coolest characters of the Haunted Mansion. They are the three ghosts that you see towards the end of the ride. These ghosts are established residents of the Mansion known as The Traveler (Phineas), The Skeleton (Ezra) and The Prisoner (Gus). Since they “hitchhike” be ready for them to jump on board your Doom Buggy for a little ride. They might also mess with you just because they can.
The three ghosts got their names from a backstory created by a cast member. Since the creation of the story, their names have become official for all Disney lovers and you will even see their names in Haunted Mansion merch in the parks.
Hatbox Ghost
The Hatbox Ghost character is a crazy and evil looking skeleton with a big hat on. He was at the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland when it first opened in 1969 then removed then made a permanent return in 2015. Even though he’s located in Disneyland and not in Disney World, it is worth mentioning him since in September 2022 during the D23 Expo, it was announced that the Hatbox Ghost character will be added to the Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion at some point in 2023. We are patiently awaiting.
The Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World is loved by many but learning more about its characters can give you a better appreciation for the ride. So next time you ride the Haunted Mansion, don’t forget to bring a red rose for Master Gracey, or to count how many portraits of Constance’s headless husbands you can see, or to try to see which Hitchhiking Ghost you can identify by name. Lastly, don't forget to say this awesome line out loud with Madame Leota: “Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat. Call in the spirits wherever they’re at!”
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