Amicus Arcane

Amicus Arcane as he appears in the Tales from the Haunted Mansion books

**Amicus Arcane** is a Haunted Mansion character from the *Tales from the Haunted Mansion* books.

## History

Amicus Arcane has yet to appear in any primary continuity Haunted Mansion works.

### Tales from the Haunted Mansion

Amicus Arcane was a man who was alive during the mid-19th century with him having served as the librarian of an antebellum manor in the French quarters of New Orleans. He had a love for horror and ghost-stories which lead to him retaining his position as the manor's librarian even after he died and it became, "The Haunted Mansion". A crypt in the cemetery behind the manor labelled, "Arcane" would be constructed although it would not hold his corpse but rather a secret passageway to the mansion.

Amicus posthumously served as a ghost-author and transcriptionist, recording many events which transpired in or which were in some way affiliated with the Haunted Mansion. He left these books for author John Esposito to publish in the series, "Tales from the Haunted Mansion" while being credited as author. At some point in time he decided to retire from his position and choose his successor via holding a competition where different horror authors would compete to see who had the scariest story. The victor of this event was one Prudence Pock though she declined the position as she wished to continue haunting the man who murdered her in life.

### Merchandise

Amicus looks considerably different in merchandise than he does in the Tales from the Haunted Mansion books. In the Host a Ghost line he is shown to be balding with spectacles and a demure, bookish appearance. The description for Amicus Arcane in merchandise reads, “*Our mansion librarian is quite the book lover/He read every one, cover to cover/Catalogued every title in our collection/Tends to them all with care and affection/Every first edition his own memento mori/He’ll even help you finish your personal own ghost story”.*

## Appearances and allusions

### Disney Kingdoms

Amicus Arcane makes a cameo on the cover for Disney Kingdoms: Haunted Mansion #4 where an illustration of his face appears within a book in the manor's library.

### Merchandise

Amicus appeared in the, "Host a Ghost" merchandise line where his spirit was bottled and sold for guests to take care of from Madame Leota's shop Memento Mori.

## Connections

### Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

Amicus Arcane mentions having once met Abraham Lincoln and having been complimented by him on his spats. This is likely an allusion to the influential Abraham Lincoln animatronic featured in Disneyland's Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction.

### Mystic Manor

In  *Tales from the Haunted Mansion Volume III: Grim Grinning Ghosts* there is a story revolving around one Colonel Bartholomew Tusk as he exploits the tomb of one Prince Amenmose. Tusk is identified as being a rival of Lord Henry Mystic and makes comments to rationalize his actions by saying that if he didn't do it someone like Mystic would.

### Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

In Midnight at Madame Leota's, the protagonist finds a large number of Hollywood ghosts in storage at a place called *Unit 1939*. The inclusion of Hollywood ghosts and 1939 is a tribute to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the tragedy which transpired at the Hollywood Tower Hotel on the Halloween of 1939.

## Trivia

* In the continuity established by the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion, the Haunted Mansion's librarian was one Prudence Pock while in the books she declines the position. Prudence was also a poetess and implied member of the Pock family that is connected to the mansion's history.
* It is possible that Arcane is connected to the Haunted Mansion's, "Ghost writers".
* The name Amicus Arcane roughly translates to, "*Friend of the occult*".