Lord Henry Mystic

**Lord Henry Mystic** is a member of the *Society of Explorers and Adventurers* and character from the attraction Mystic Manor and its themed, "Land" Mystic Point at Hong Kong Disneyland.

## History

### 19th century

#### 1800s-1850s

   Lord Henry Mystic was a British nobleman born in the early 19th century. When he was a younger man, Henry enlisted in the Society of Explorers and Adventurers during its apparent expansion under club-president Vitale Robustelli. Lord Henry himself founded and held rank within one of the expanding chapters of the society. In 1851, Henry attended the indoctrination of S.E.A.'s first female member Camellia Falco in Porto Paradiso, Italy where the society was originally founded.

#### 1850s-1870s

Lord Henry continued to be a prominent member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers when it changed leadership from Robustelli to Jason Chandler, an inventor and the former club-secretary and who was seemingly also a founder of the club's expansion-based ranks. Over the years Lord Mystic became particularly close with fellow members Prof. R. Blauerhimmel, Charlton J. Taboret, Maestro D'Elfman and Dr. J.L. Baterista. Taboret would frequently accompany Mystic on his adventurers, assisting by making portraits of the journeys to commemorate them.

In 1874, Lord Henry Mystic travelled to India where he traversed the Yangtze River in an expedition which SEA later commemorated. At some point in the late 1870s/early 1880s, Lord Henry Mystic went on an expedition to Papua New Guinea where Henry Mystic rescued a young monkey from the web of a giant spider. Henry adopted the monkey, and named him Albert after a beloved uncle with the two becoming an inseparable pair on many adventures across the globe.

#### 1880s

In the June of 1882 the pair went to Morocco where they became particularly attached to middle-eastern fashion, namely the fez. It is likely this esplanade which resulted in the fez becoming a staple garment for members of S.E.A.. In 1889, Mystic and Albert went to India where Lord Henry attempted to learn to play the Tanpura much to Albert's dismay.

#### 1890s

In 1896 Lord Mystic went on to establish the colony of Mystic Point in the jungle of New Guinea where he rescued Albert and brought his nephews James and Edward Mystic to the port to aid in construction. Here, Lord Henry created a victorian estate known as Mystic Manor where he kept his collection of what would come to be 7000 artifacts from across the globe.

In 1899, Albert and Lord Henry travelled to India and returned in the December of that year. In late December they attended the Hotel Hightower in New York City to attend a meeting for the Society of Explorers and Adventurers held by Mystic's contemporary Harrison Hightower III, seemingly for the presentation of his most reason stolen treasure, Shiriki Utundu. Not long after this, Harrison disappeared at a New Year's Eve event in the hotel due to the wrath of Shiriki Utundu.

### 20th century

#### 1900s

In 1900, Henry and Albert attended the l'exposition de Paris where they showed off an invention of the lord's, an electric vehicle known as the *Mystic Magneto-Electric Carriage*. The carriage received a first-place prize and would inspire one Henry Ford in a new design for his own gasoline automobiles (which contrary to Mystic's belief were not invented by Ford but rather Karl Benz in 1889). In the April of 1903, Lord Henry Mystic and Albert went on a Siberian expedition in Russia with several other adventurers.

In 1908, the lord opened up Mystic Point and his manor to the public to serve as a sort of museum to people from across the globe. On the June 12th of 1908, Lord Henry Mystic established the Explorers Club restaurant in Mystic Point which contained many artifacts from his collection that he did not wish to keep in the manor such as several animate masks he was afraid of. In this same year, Henry and Albert travelled to Paris where they watched the construction of the Eiffel Tower and took part of it as a souvenir.

In 1909, Lord Henry Mystic was in Bali in Indonesia, when he came across an ancient music box with two monkeys carved into the front with a bright red jewel on the top. According to legends and superstitions, it had the power to bring inanimate objects to life when played. Mystic brought it back to Mystic Point, housing it in the Acquisitions and Cataloging Room at Mystic Manor. Albert, was intrigued by the box, and had trouble keeping his hands off of it only to discover that the legends were true

When Albert opened the music box, magic spread across the manor, bringing the inanimate to life. Instruments played its song by themselves, paintings changed, and suits of armor and statues came to life. At first, they were harmless, but as the ride progressed, the magic became more aggressive, attacking Albert and the guests. These events climaxed when the Chinese Salon was ripped apart, and Albert frantically tried to run after the box. Albert managed to close it, and all of the magic returns. Lord Mystic was ultimately none the wiser of these events.

At some point in time between 1908 and 1935, Mystic Point was visited by the trading-organization known as the Adventure Trading Company. The trading company specialized in the trading of, "Jujus" representing different virtues of exploration and adventuring. Mystic completed the trials responsible for said jujus and became indoctrinated as a member of the Trading Company. Amongst the jujus he most notably received the, "Elephant Juju" which demonstrated his expert tracking abilities.

#### 1920s-1930s

In 1929, Lord Henry Mystic revoked the membership of Society of Explorers and Adventurers member Garrett Reed. Reed was a grave-robber with connections to the criminal underworld, leading to Mystic ousting him (though Mystic himself was blatantly guilty of many of the same colonial crimes). In 1932 Lord Henry Mystic was interviewed by the Daily Colonial Journal newspaper in regards to the 1929 ousting of Garrett Reed from the society when Reed was on the run and hunting down the mystical Emerald Trinity jewels. By 1938, Mystic would write several books including *A Manor of Fact*, *Primates as Shipmates*, and *Treasures of the Manor*.

## Appearances and allusions

### Adventure Trading Company

"The Daily Gnus" newsletter for the former Adventure Trading Company game at Disneyland mentioned Lord Henry as a noted recipient of the Elephant Juju, given for demonstrating one's tracking skills, for "assembling the largest collection of lost goods of the last century". Mystic's name also appeared first on a list of adventurers that ran the Trading Company.

### Mystic Point/Mystic Manor

Lord Henry opens the tour of his home with a slideshow introducing himself and Albert as well as the museum's newest acqusition: the Balinese Music Box. He briefly appears in animatronic form at the beginning of the attraction, looking for Albert, who unleashes the magical power of the Music Box on the Manor. When Albert manages to close the box and restore order, Henry appears again telling Albert not to open it, having not noticed any of the chaos unleashed.

### Oceaneer Lab

A portrait of Lord Henry and Albert opening up Mystic Manor is hung in Captain Oceaneer's vessel the RV Oceaneer Lab.

### Skipper Canteen

S.E.A. membership fezes of Henry Mystic and Albert can be found near the library. Additionally, books written by him can be found on the shelves including "A Manor of Fact", "Primates as Shipmates", and "Treasures of the Manor".

### Soaring: Fantastic Flight

A young Lord Henry has a small cameo in a portrait in the attraction's queue - one can tell that it's him due to the mustache and the monocle. He can be seen in the crowd at Camellia Falco's acceptance into the Society.

### The Tropical Hideaway

Lord Henry is one of the SEA members that has contributed to the Tropical Hideaway's display of expedition paddles and oars, with Henry's paddle coming from an 1874 expedition on the Ganges River in India.

### In other media

#### Tales from the Haunted Mansion

Lord Henry is briefly mentioned in the third *Tales from the Haunted Mansion* book as a collecting rival of Colonel Tusk. Tusk rationalizes his grave-robbing and exploitation of the Egyptian mummy Prince Amenmose by saying that if he didn't someone like Lord Mystic would, an apparent reference to how Lord Henry Mystic grave-robbed the, "Lost Pharaoh" in Mystic Manor.

## Connections

### Adventurers Club

The animate masks from Henry's collection in real-life originate from the defunct Adventurers Club of Pleasure Island. Given the Adventurers Club 1937 setting and how it is cannon to the lore of Mystic Manor (namely through Merriweather Adam Pleasure having been a member of S.E.A.) it is likely that the Adventurers Club's masks in-lore originated from Lord Mystic's collection.

### Oceaneer Lab/Miss Adventure Falls

Lord Henry Mystic was a contemporary in SEA of Captain Mary Oceaneer.

### The Timekeeper

The Expo Universelle of 1900 is notably featured in this attraction where Jules Verne encounters the time-travelling Timekeeper and 9-Eye.

## Trivia

* Based off of his appearance in Soaring: Fantastic Flight, it can be presumed that Lord Henry would have likely been born at some point between 1810 and 1830 given his age in 1851 likely being somewhere between 20 and 40.
	+ This would make Lord Henry somewhere between 78 and 98 in 1908 when Mystic Manor is roughly set. It would also make him somewhere between 102 and 122 in 1932, the furthest chronological references to the lord to-date.
* Lord Henry Mystic and Harrison Hightower III are both incredible similar as they are both wealthy, fez-wearing, white-haired aristocrats who travelled the world obtaining goods for their collections alongside their respective sidekicks. Mystic tends to be characterized as being benevolent as opposed to the villainous Hightower however they both commit many of the same crimes such as grave robbing, pillaging and colonial theft.

## References

1. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/sea/members/leonardo-da-vinci
2. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/news/terrors-of-the-jungle
3. ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/disneyindiana/24149303127/in/photostream/