How to Haunt a House

How to Haunt a House is an animated short from Mickey Mouse Works, it was aired on October 30, 1999. It was also featured on House of Mouse episode "House Ghosts" and in Mickey's House of Villains. It stars Goofy and features Donald Duck with cameo appearances by Mickey Mouse and Clarabelle Cow.
==Summary==
Goofy prepares to leave as the Narrator (voiced by Corey Burton) explains to the public that the story will show how to haunt the living, but first one needs... not to be alive. Goofy leaves home and suffers a car accident, which (without Goofy knowing) ends his life, Goofy returns home calmly like a spirit and begins to walk, then the Narrator explains to the audience that the specimen that Goofy has become is commonly known as "Ghost", Goofy is scared when he hears that the Narrator said ghost and hides, Goofy asks him where the ghost is, to which the Narrator tells him that it is him, Goofy manages to understand what is happening and calms down, but then he realizes that he is dead and declares that he is not ready, but the Narrator assures him that it's only temporary, just enough to demonstrate...
===How to Haunt a House===
===Step 1: Choose a House to Haunt===
The Narrator states that to find the right house it's all about location, so Goofy decides to search the classified ads, he finds a house with creaking hardwood floors, fog-enshrouded breakfast nook and fog-enshrouded breakfast nook and he thinks it's perfect and goes to the house to haunt it.
===Step 2: Selecting a Hauntee===
The Narrator introduces three hauntees for Goofy to choose one to scare away, hauntee number 1 is Mickey whom the Narrator describes as "A likeable mouse and popular American Idol." and Mickey declares that he is scared, hauntee number 2 is Clarabelle whom the Narrator describes as "A cow who's a real moo-ver and shaker." and Clarabelle declares that she is scared, too and finally, hauntee number 3 is Donald whom the Narrator describes as "A hot-headed duck who's a real quack-up." and Donald complains about the Narrator and declares that nothing scares him, Goofy says that he already knows who to choose and Donald is surprised.
===Step 3: Being Creepy===
The Narrator tells the audience that nothing is scarier than the creaking front door that opens by itself, Donald arrives at the house and Goofy proceeds to open the door to scare him but Donald thinks that the house has automatic doors and enters happily which leaves Goofy disappointed, the Narrator declares after successfully creeped the intended hauntee, one is ready to...
===Step 4: Looking like a Ghost===
The Narrator tells the audience that with an ordinary bedsheet carefully placed on top of them, what they must do is sneak about in a menacing manner, Donald packs up to move into the house when Goofy enters following the Narrator's instructions, but Donald doesn't see him and Goofy can't see anything with the sheet on, causing him to get tangled up in a lamp, a bookcase and a dissected bear, the Narrator tells the public to continue with his instructions and watch as panic and terror wash over the victim, Donald leaves and Goofy falls out of the window, Goofy falls along with the bear, the books and the lamp on some chairs and the Narrator adds that that method of haunting is only made possible by the eyeholes that must be cut in the sheet and Goofy complains to the Narrator for telling him about the eyeholes until that moment.
===Step 5: The Dark===
The Narrator declares that everyone is afraid of the dark and tells the public to use that as their haunting advantage, Donald is bathing in the bathtub when Goofy comes out of the sink and turns off the light switch, Donald lights a lamp but Goofy turns it off, later Donald lights a flashlight but Goofy turns it off, later Donald uses a miner's helmet but Goofy turns it off, later Donald lights a candle but Goofy puts it out, later Donald lights a match but Goofy puts it out, finally Donald uses a light stick, Goofy takes it, declares that the situation is getting silly and throws the light stick into the toilet and flushes the toilet.
===Step 6: Things that Go Bump===
Donald goes to bed and starts reading a book, Goofy approaches and the Narrator says that a ghost has a wide array of scary sounds with which to frighten the unwitting victim, Goofy tries different methods: removing his head, dragging chains, growling like a zombie, cutting his body in two, hitting cymbals, walking with accordions on his feet, using a leaf blower, walking past a crying baby and driving an AJAX truck, but Donald remains calm and Goofy doesn't understand what is happening, then Goofy sees that the title of Donald's book is "How to sleep with your eyes wide open" and Donald snores, revealing that he is asleep with his eyes open, Goofy complains, declares that he's tired of being a ghost and wakes up Donald, Donald wakes up, sees Goofy and jumps out of bed scared for having seen a ghost and runs away.
Donald runs down the stairs, Goofy goes through the ceiling and Donald goes through it (making his body disappear, except for his head, hands and feet), Goofy tries to say something to Donald but Donald gets scared, tells him to get away and continues running, Donald leaves the house and suffers a car accident, which (without Donald knowing) ends his life, Donald re-enters the house like a spirit, Goofy apologizes to him and explains that he just wanted to tell him that he is a ghost and adds, laughing, that he is one too, Donald gets angry when he discovers that he is dead, he rolls up his sleeves and tries to grab Goofy, but Goofy detaches the parts his body, he tells Donald to calm down and that it is only temporary, then the Narrator says that that's right and that just enough to demonstrate...
===How to End a Cartoon===
The Narrator tells Goofy and Donald to start the end by chasing each other into the distance on a hill, then that they scream comically as they jump off the hill and fall... followed by an iris out.
==Trivia==
*In one scene, Goofy is seen dragging chains around in his ghost form, a la Jacob Marley. This is a reference to when he did the same thing in Mickey's Christmas Carol, where he also played a ghost.
**This is also a reference to the Goof Troop episode Wrecks, Lies & Videotape, in which Goofy pretends to be a ghost to teach Pete a lesson.
*The stuffed bear that Goofy crashes in to does share some physical similarities to Baloo from The Jungle Book.
*Unlike other MouseWorks shorts, which were outsourced to Toon City in the Philippines, this one was made by Walt Disney Feature Animation's unit in Florida. This could possibly explain why this short had higher quality animation than the other MouseWorks shorts, not to mention the characters having colored outlines. Also this is one of the 7 Mickey Mouse Works shorts that using traditional cel animation
*The background designs and layouts during Step 2 are a reference to ABC's TV Show, "The Dating Game".
*By the cartoon's climax, it is revealed that Donald Duck sleeps with his eyes wide open (complete with the book "How To Sleep With Your Eyes Wide Open" in his hands), much to the ghost Goofy's chagrin. Ironically, Goofy himself would later do the same of sleeping with his eyes wide open in the ending of the How to Stay at Home short "Binge Watching" 22 years later.
*At several points of the cartoon, Corey Burton's narration mimics the voice of the Ghost Host from the Haunted Mansion ride.
**A few years later, Corey Burton actually voiced the Ghost Host, in the Haunted Mansion Holidays overlay.
== Voices ==
*Wayne Allwine – Mickey Mouse
*Tony Anselmo – Donald Duck
*Bill Farmer – Goofy
*April Winchell – Clarabelle Cow
*Corey Burton – Narrator
==Gallery==
How to Haunt a House.png|How to haunt a house
File:STEP 1 - CHOOSE A HOUSE TO HAUNT.png|Step #1: Choose a house to haunt.
File:STEP 2 - SELECTING A HAUNTEE.png|Step #2: Selecting a hauntee.
Housevillains-animationscreencaps.com-2317.jpg
Housevillains-animationscreencaps.com-2331.jpg
File:STEP 3 - BEING CREEPY.png|Step #3: Being creepy.
2002-mickeymechant-04.jpg
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File:STEP 4 - LOOKING LIKE A GHOST.png|Step #4: Looking like a ghost.
File:STEP 5 - THE DARK.png|Step #5: The dark.
File:STEP 6 - THINGS THAT GO BUMP.png|Step #6: Things that go bump.
Howtohsuntedhousedonald.jpeg
Category:Animated shorts
Category:Goofy shorts
Category:Donald Duck shorts
Category:Mickey Mouse Works shorts
Category:Halloween shorts
Category:1999 shorts