Haunted Mansion (location)

**The Haunted Mansion**, also sometimes referred to as **Gracey Manor** is a prominent location in the S.E.A. mythos and the main setting for the Disneyland attraction of the same name. It has an alternate version in Walt Disney World set in upstate New York however at time of writing only the Disneyland version has been integrated into the greater Disney Park mythos.

## Description

The Haunted Mansion is an antebellum estate overlooking the Mississippi River to its west entry. It is located on Esplanade Street in the French quarters New Orleans, Louisiana within a community known as New Orleans Square found between the Mississippi and the Blue Bayou of the Louisiana parish. The mansion itself is directly adjacent to an expansive cemetery along with several crypts and a mausoleum with it also potentially hiding catacombs.

The manor has a long and bloody history which has earned it the moniker of the Haunted Mansion. To note it holds 999 spirits, some of whom are affiliated with its past while many others were brought in by the *Ghost Relations Department* to enjoy the estate as a macabre retirement home for the undead. The manor is also a vessel and/or portal for the Spirit World, a boundless realm of the supernatural which results in many paranormal and nature-defying phenomena within the mansion's geography.

### Features

#### Interior

##### 1st floor

* **The Foyer**: The front foyer of the manor which resembled a funeral-parlour.
* **Portrait Gallery**: This was an octagonal room located underneath of the mansion's cupola. It was decorated with four portraits of the mansion's former guests and residents as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal states.
* **Portrait Corridor**: This portrait corridor was used to portray two marble-busts and five haunted portraits.
* **The Grand Hall**: The grand hall was a dining hall and ballroom with several balconies, a door to the outdoor graveyard, and a pipe-organ built in.

##### 2nd floor

* **Endless Hallway**: The endless hallway was a seemingly physics breaking hallway of rooms presumably used for the 999 ghostly residents of the estate. The landing of the hallway was decorated with curtains, a macabre suit of armour and an arm-chair with designs resembling a face.
* **The Conservatory**: The conservatory held several plants and a sealed coffin containing a restless corpse.
* **Corridor of Doors**: The corridor of doors are dark corridors decorated with photographs of corpses, portraits of ghosts and other forms of morbid decor.
* **Séance Chamber**: The Séance chamber was used by the manor clairvoyant Madame Leota to summon the estate's spirits.
* **Alcove Library**: This was a small library located in an alcove connected to the Haunted Mansion's ballroom.

##### 3rd-4th floors

* **The Cupola**: The cupola was used by the Ghost Host to commit suicide, leaving his hanging corpse within it.
* **The Attic**: The mansion's attic was used by serial-killer Constance Hatchaway to store away the evidence of her murders and is where she resided as a ghost.

#### Exterior

* **Family Plot**: This was a berm cemetery used to hold the remains of the manor's late residing family.
* **Pet Cemetery**: Near the mansion's front and south wing was a burial-ground for pets and other animals.
* **Gardens**: The manor had gardens decorated with statues, busts and gargoyles.
* **The Cemetery**: Behind the Haunted Mansion was an expansive wooded cemetery.
* **The Mausoleum**: The flooded mausoleum is located adjacent to the Haunted Mansion and connects New Orleans Square to the cemetery.

#### Alternate versions

##### Unused

* **Catacombs**: The catacombs were planned to be the remains of an old pirate's lair underneath the mansion's cemetery filled with human bones. They are still referenced in New Orleans Square.
* **Kitchen**: The kitchen would have been shown to be decrepit and mended to by poltergeist chefs.
* **Trophy Room**: The trophy room would have been shown to have belonged to a big-game hunter to keep plush and taxidermy remains of tigers which he had killed while also having a fire-place that his portrait would be hung over. In death they would be animate and torment his ghost.

##### Printed materials

* **Endless Staircase**:
* **Music Room**:

## History

The mansion is believed to have been built at some point in the 18th or early 19th century given its antebellum architecture. In regards to its history it should be noted that in 1788 a massive fire spread throughout New Orleans which subsequently resulted in the construction of the city's French quarters. Due to this it can be assumed that the mansion's construction would have been affected by this event, either being built after it or predating the rest of the French quarters and having been affected by the fire requiring whitewashing.

While never explicitly stated it is frequently inferred that the mansion's original owner was a sea-captain, likely a pirate who built the manor with his blood money. Many nautical motifs can be found built into the manor as a result such as its barometer, spy-glass and weathervane in the shape of a sailing-ship. The manor is probably better affiliated with a wealthy New Orleans family which owned it that is often assumed to be named the Gracey family though again, explicit sources are scarce and dubious. The Gracey family suffered many tragedies during their ownership the the mansion, all dying violent and sudden deaths before being buried on the house's grounds.

At unspecified points in time the manor would also play host to different dark individuals. One was a deformed transatlantic man referred to as, "The Hatchet Man" who was likely an owner or head of staff to the mansion but who wound up committing suicide in the house's cupola by hanging himself. He would go on to become the Haunted Mansion's disembodied, "Ghost Host" and seem to be the head-most authority of the manor. The other figure was a Romani clairvoyant woman called Madame Leota who might have been affiliated with the Gracey Family and who operated out of a vardo which would come to make stop in New Orleans Square. In death she became the mansion's resident clairvoyant who summoned ghosts to the estate and seemed to have some relation to another ghost known as, "The Ghostess" or, "Little Leota" as they looked identical and are frequently put forth to be relatives. Given her moniker, Little Leota might also have some connection to the Ghost Host as-well.

By 1877, the mansion would come into the ownership of a wealthy California man named George Hightower. Hightower was engaged to a beautiful woman named Constance Hatchaway, unknowing that she was a serial-killer who aimed to murder him to inherit his wealth and property. Constance's plot proved successful and she would use the attic's mansion to hide all evidence and twisted souvenirs of her serial-killings. Constance had some affiliation with another Victorian man who she might have also killed who would become, "The Hatbox Ghost" and who resided in the attic with Constance, keeping the hatboxes which she used to stuff her victims' heads. This man would come to be murdered (presumably by Constance) and be decapitated with his own head being put in a hatbox.

Constance would live into her old-age with her assumed wealth, dying in 1927 before becoming a ghostly bride that would terrorize the Haunted Mansion's attic in search of new blood to spill. In between the time of Constance losing ownership of the mansion and 1936, at-least three families attempted to move into the mansion only to be terrorized by the manor's spirits. One family was the prestigious Johnson family which fled in 1936. At some point in time the mansion established the Ghost Relations Department which appeared to include the likes of Little Leota and three hitchhiking ghosts named Phineas, Ezra and Gus who would go about bringing new spirits to the mansion be it by inviting in outside apparitions or turning mortals into ghosts. By the time of the ride's setting, the house is home to 999 happily hedonistic haunts.

### Alternate versions

#### Gore Manor

Gore Manor was an unused backstory developed by imagineer Ken Anderson to serve as the Haunted Mansion's backstory while also connecting its story to that of its sister-attraction *Pirates of the Caribbean*. Here the manor was built by one Captain Gideon Gorelieu, formerly a pirate known as Captain Gore (in some versions an assumed alias by historic pirate Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts) who faked the identity of a sea-merchant to construct the mansion with his blood-money. Gore lived in the manor with his new bride Priscilla only for the maiden to discover the truth of his identity in the mansion's attic and confront him about it.

To keep Priscilla silent, Gore murdered her although the specificities of the crime changes with some versions saying he locked her in a chest which he threw down a well and others having had him walled her up behind a chimney in their bedroom. Priscilla's ghost however did not rest and haunted her widowed groom along with the spirits of all those who he murdered in his life of crime. Gore was driven to madness which he eventually ended by committing suicide, taking his own life by hanging himself in the rafters of the manor only to be trapped in the mansion as a ghost for eternity where he would be forever tormented.

#### Voodoo Queen's manor

One Captain Gore inspired draft of the mansion's origin had it as the home of New Orleans' *Voodoo Queen* who practiced Haitian voodoo in the nearby bayou. She is inferred to have acquired a groom for herself via voodoo only for him to take his own life upon learning of her practices.

#### Bloodmere Manor

In this unused draft of the mansion's origin, the manor was owned by the wealthy Bloodmere family which had a long history of violent and sudden deaths. The mansion was eventually purchased by Disney to be brought brick-by-brick to Disneyland only for construction workers to go missing within its halls, presumably dying.

#### Ghost Gallery

The Ghost Gallery is a non-canonical backstory for the Haunted Mansion which was created by cast-members of the attraction in Walt Disney World. While not in the attraction's main continuity it has been responsible for many elements of the Haunted Mansion's lore in official materials and spin-offs. It is predominately set in the New York/Magic Kingdom version of the Haunted mansion though it contains a counterpart to the Antebellum manor.

In the Ghost Gallery, the New Orleans Haunted Mansion was a plantation belonging to Franco-American Jamie Padgett in the early 20th century. Jamie was seduced by Little Leota, the illegitimate daughter of Master Gracey and Madame Leota who wished to inherit the mansion for herself. To do this she and her lover Nicholas Crown convinced Jamie that Crown was a vampire who infected Jamie with his curse. When Jamie tried to hide inside of a coffin from the daylight, the two nailed him shut in the coffin where he died and left the murderous couple as owners of the plantation.

#### SLG Comics

In this comic-book series, the Haunted Mansion was called Gracey Manor and was constructed by one Captain William Gracey. Gracey was a merchant turned pirate-captain who operated under the moniker of, "Captain Blood" and retired with a fortune in pirate blood-money. Gracey fell in-love with a woman named Emily DeClaire who he became engaged to much to the resentment of his clairvoyant Madame Leota who held affection for Gracey. To deal with this, Leota used her magic to summon the souls of those who Gracey killed in his life of crime to torment the captain and murder Emily on her wedding-night. This drove William to taking his own life by hanging himself in the rafters of the manor only to become a ghost, bound the mansion until it would be home to 1000 ghosts at which point his soul would be freed.

#### 2003 film

Within the continuity of the 2003 Haunted Mansion film, the estate was called Gracey Manor and was constructed in the early 1800s. It was built by the wealthy merchant Captain Ambrose Gracey, a man who was close with smuggler and pirate Jean Lafitte which assisted him in building his shipping empire. His bride was one Juliet was a French aristocrat whose family fled France to avoid execution as a result of the French Revolution. Together they had a son named George Gracey. Captain Gracey ultimately died when he was run over by a stray carriage leaving George to inherit the estate.

When George became master of the estate he travelled the world collecting rare antiquities and befriended an escaped criminal named Ramsley in Europe. Ramsley came under George's employ as the butler of Gracey Manor while George married Abigail Gracey, the daughter of an English ambassador. The couple had several children together though many would die of Scarlett fever, leaving only a son in the form of Edward Gracey. George died when Edward was young prompting Abigail to become obsessed with séances, hiring a Romani clairvoyant in the form of Madame Leota to contact their spirits.

When Abigail died, Ramsley became a surrogate father for Edward who became the new master of the Gracey estate. Edward would come to fall in-love with a black woman named Elizabeth Henshaw which Ramsley objected to due to being a racist. At a Mardi Gras party held in Gracey Manor, Ramsley would murder Elizabeth with poisoned wine and forge a letter which framed the death as a suicide. Due to this, Edward commit suicide by hanging himself in Gracey Manor's cupola but resulted in the mansion becoming haunted.

#### Disney Kingdoms

In Disney Kingdoms continuity, the original owners of the Haunted Mansion came through unknown means into possession of a legendary treasure hidden in an undisclosed location. They designed the architecture of the manor to be comparable to a labyrinth and filled with secret rooms and passage-ways. The further fate of the original owners is a mystery. The mansion also held, "The Endless Staircase" which was connected to haunted and mystical locations all over the globe.

Within this continuity only four of the mansion's spirits had actually died within the estate: The Hatbox Ghost, Madame Leota, Constance Hatchaway, and "The Captain" (Captain Gore). Gore died in the 19th century, searching for the original owners' treasure only to drown within the catacombs below the manor's cemetery. Constance Hatchaway moved into the manor c. 1877 to marry its owner George Hightower and later die young within the estate, supposedly after having been abandoned by a 6th groom.

The Haunted Mansion later became a sort of retirement home for spirits all across the world, bringing in 995 spirits to join its ranks. The mansion's spiritual operations seemed to be connected with Madame Leota and an organization known as the Ghost Relations Department. Around this time the Hatbox Ghost also disappeared from the manor, traversing the mansion's endless staircases to haunted places across the world while documenting them within the manor's hidden, "Ghostly Materials Gallery".

## Appearances and allusions

### Camp Discovery

A photograph of the mansion along with the story of the Johnson family can be found on a newspaper by First International News in the League of Adventurers' Camp Discovery on Adventure Isle.

### Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is the titular location of this attraction where guests are taken on a tour of the estate by the Ghost Host.

#### Haunted Mansion Holiday

In this seasonal overlay for the attraction, the Haunted Mansion is visited by Jack Skellington and the residents of Halloween Town to aid its happy haunts in the celebration of the winter holiday season.

#### Walt Disney World

In the Servants Quarters of the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion is a mounted piece of wood which was supposedly taken from the New Orleans mansion. This piece is used as a mantle for a clock.

### Disney Kingdoms

The Haunted Mansion is the titular setting for Disney Kingdoms: The Haunted Mansion, set in an alternate shared continuity. It is identified as likely possessing a massive treasure with some connection to *Pirates of the Caribbean* and as having an Endless Staircase which connects it to paranormal locations such as Rainbow Ridge, Ravenswood Manor and the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

## Connections

### Fantasyland

In the *Beauty and the Beast* themed gift-shop *Bonjour! Gifts* is a portrait depicting a man representing a fictionalized version of *Magic Kingdom* president Phil Holmes. In the man's possession is a roll of wallpaper from the Haunted Mansion. In the Walt Disney World version of the attraction, the pet cemetery contains a tomb dedicated to Mr. Toad from *Mr. Toad's Wild Ride*. It is unknown is Mr. Toad is also a ghost in the New Orleans mansion though it might be likely given Occam's razor and shared lore elements.

### Marvel Comics

In the pre-show video for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT!, the Collector is shown to have a miniature figure depicting the Hellhound of the **Haunted Mansion**.

### Museum of the Weird

The Museum of the Weird was originally conceived to be an expansion to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion and while unused was later retconned into S.E.A. lore with Adventurers Club member Madame Zarkov working at the establishment and using it to assist Jason Chandler and Barnabas T. Bullion with the Spirit of Big Thunder Mountain.

### Tower of Terror

The manor's late-owner George Hightower and his bride Constance were both members of the Hightower family, a wealthy American clan which most notably included Harrison Hightower III of New York's Hotel Hightower.

### Mystic Manor

Certain characters and items from the Haunted Mansion can be found within Mystic Manor such as a mosaic of Medusa and two staring busts. The Tales from the Haunted Mansion books also mention *Lord Henry Mystic* as having been rivals with one Bartholomew Tusk who in that story obtained the Haunted Mansion's mummy.

### Phantom Manor

Characters and items including Madame Leota, the Singing Busts and the Staring Busts carry over into Phantom Manor from the Haunted Mansion.

#### Mark Twain Riverboat

In Disneyland, the captain of the Mark Twain makes references to the ghost stories and urban legends which he has heard about the Haunted Mansion as he passes by New Orleans Square.

### 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

While of unknown canonicity, the pipe-organ in the Haunted Mansion's ballroom is a recycled item from *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea*, having originally been Captain Nemo's pipe-organ from the Nautilus.

## Trivia

* The mansion was modelled after the Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland.
* The address of the mansion is frequently put forth to be 1313 Esplanade. The number 1313 here being an allusion to how 13 is considered an unlucky number which is frequently found within the mansion, Disneyland's address being 1313 Buena Vista Drive, and 1313 being numeric-conversion code for MM AKA the initials of Mickey Mouse.

## References

1. ↑ https://wdwmousing.com/chapter-19---magic-kingdom---liberty-square-part-5---haunted-mansion.html
2. ↑ http://ultimateorlando.blogspot.com/2012/10/magic-kingdom-president-has-tribute-in.html
3. ↑ https://insidethemagic.net/2017/04/mysterious-manifestation-mr-toad/
4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j58mw6xxWI