Day19: Disney's Grim Grinning Ghosts
When the crypt door creaks and the tombstones quake
Spooks come out for a swinging wake
Happy haunts materialize
And begin to vocalize
Grim Grinning ghosts come out to socialize
Whether Phantom Manor or the Haunted Mansion, Disney's haunted house ride is one of it's scarier offerings. While comical in many ways, not least due to the singing busts introducing us to Grim Grinning Ghosts, the storyline is a sad one turned disturbing. As I have never been to America, I will be talking about Phantom Manor prior to it's 2019 refurbishment.
Henry Ravenswood was a Western settler who struck gold in Big Thunder Mountain and founded the Big Thunder Mining Company, thus creating the city of Thunder Mesa. Ravenswood became rich and built himself a Victorian manor high on Boot Hill overlooking Big Thunder Mountain, where he lived with his wife Martha and his daughter, Melanie Ravenswood (born 1842).
Big Thunder Mountain was rumoured by natives to be home to the Thunder Bird, a powerful spirit possessing a treasure. According to the legend, its wrath could be materialized into a terrible earthquake. However, Ravenswood would not believe such stories. Years went by and the gold in Big Thunder Mountain became scarce, making miners dig deeper into the mountain.
Melanie grew from a young girl into a beautiful young woman and became drawn to several suitors who planned to take her far away from Thunder Mesa, much to the dismay of Henry. Henry did everything he could to stop this, with the first four being subjected to various cruel fates. Sawyer Bottom was sawed in half by a saw blade, Captain Rowan D. Falls fell off of a waterfall, Ignatius "Iggy" Knight was blown up by dynamite and Barry Claude was mauled to death by a bear. With Bottom, Falls, Knight and Claude all dead, Henry's attempts became useless in order to stop Melanie in the midst of being engaged to a train engineer named Jake. When a terrible earthquake killed him and Martha in 1860. It seemed the Thunder Bird had been awakened and the family was never heard of again. After several years, the story of what really happened came out from underneath the rubble:
On Melanie's wedding day, a mysterious Phantom unknown to anyone appeared in the house. Unbeknownst to anyone, this was the spirit of Henry himself, seeking vengeance on Jake for his defiance of him. While Melanie was preparing in her room, Henry lured Jake up to the attic where he hanged him by the neck from the rafters.
In the ballroom, the bride sat alone. Hours went by with no sign of the groom. Guests slowly filed away, leaving Melanie alone in the house with the staff of maids and butlers. "Some day", she told herself, "he will come". And so, having never taken off her wedding dress or dropped her flower bouquet, in preparation for her loved one's return, she wandered the house aimlessly, singing melancholy songs of lost love.
But Henry was still in the house, laughing at his daughter's devotion to her intended husband. One after one, Henry invited his dead, demonic friends from the afterlife to fill the house in an eternal party. A dark curse fell upon the house and the shape of the house was slowly transformed by the evil forces. No one ever set foot in the house ever since.
Inside and outside, the house was decaying with age. Dusty cobwebs covered every inch, the disheartened staff not caring, for it was rumoured that Melanie had lost her mind. She wandered the house for years and years, singing softly to her groom, while all around her demons and ghosts revelled and danced. Everywhere she went she was reminded of the wedding. Her father's eternal laughter still carried through the walls of the house. Outside, the once beautiful grounds were falling apart and crumbling. The gilded staircase and structure were dotted with mould and trees and every plant on the grounds died. As if sensing the evil inherent in the house, nothing living ever trod there. Even so, Melanie kept her hopes, waiting for her love's return and never figured why he didn't show up at the wedding.
The earthquake that killed her parents all those years ago cut a huge gouge in the west half of the property and in the crumbling ghost town of the old Thunder Mesa. The deserted buildings were rumoured to be called Phantom Canyon, the dark supernatural version of the town and anyone who entered the ghastly old town at night never came back.
If Melanie Ravenswood is still alive in that old house on the hill she is well over 100 years old. Her beautiful voice still carries over the town at night though, through the walls of the house and night air. And sometimes, people still see lights in the house.
Some nights, when the moon is full and the sky is clear of clouds, one can still hear the lonely mourning of the bride, the maniacal laughter of Henry, and the faint tinkle of glass and the laughter of party guests. Whether she is alive or not, what is well known is that poor Melanie never really left the crumbling mansion. She waits for a groom until Judgment Day.
A tragic story with a Miss Havisham feel to it, some who don't know the story came up with a slightly more sinister one of their own. They said the skeleton is actually the Bride's groom, actually not human and leaving her alone on her wedding day the dancing ghosts are the guests she never let leave. A decaying wedding feat is visible in the ballroom and they say "the food went bad and she went rotten". Her heart broken by her false fiancé she was driven mad but kept her hope that she would still have her wedding day and therefore never took off her dress, never let the guests leave and never cleared away the rotting wedding feast, essentially keeping everything ready for when her groom would come and fulfil her dreams. The section of the ride with a broken down town is the remains of Henry Ravenswood's once affluent town now derelict with only a few residents who have no where else to go remaining. Essentially passing the time the only way they know how until they die. They are trapped by their way of life.
Even in the day light, Phantom Manor is an eerie sight, really a perfect looking haunted house. What has become cliché works for Disney.
One part of Phantom Manor that has always stuck with me is the lift (elevator). While I have since learnt that if I had looked up before leaving it I would have seen Jake, Melanie's unfortunate fiancé, hanging from the rafters, I'm both glad and sorry to say I never did that. What stuck with me was the stretching portraits. Seemingly pleasant paintings stretch to show the horror just beneath the frame.
A couple (Melanie and one of her suitors, possibly Jake)enjoying a picnic becomes creatures, including snakes and spiders, descending to eat their food. Melanie paddling in a river becomes her about to be dragged under by a green monster. Melanie in a rose garden then shows a zombie climbing out of the grave beyond. Melanie enjoying a boat ride becomes her about to plunge over a waterfall. The corridor we next walk down shows pictures that change as you pass them. A pretty woman becomes a were-panther, a ship becomes a ghost ship with shredded sails, a young woman becomes a stony gorgon and a knight on horseback becomes a skeletal knight on a skeletal horse. I actually thought these were pretty cool when I first saw them as they change back and forth as you walk along the corridor.
As it has been over twenty years since I last enjoyed this ride, there is a lot of it I can't remember. Watching a ride through via Youtube did jog my memory a little but there are some parts I don't remember. I do remember the graveyard and Melanie's ghostly singing from the house.
The Graveyard has it's share of dark and comical tombstones. There are the graves of Henry and Martha Ravenswood and an unnamed grave in which a beating heart can be heard which is probably Melanie's. The Graveyard does give a bit of humour to the end of the ride. If you don't want to read all these (or get bored) scroll down to the next (graveyard) photo.
Henry (1795 - 1860) and Martha's graves (1802-1860) : Quarrelled And Fought As Man And Wife, Now Silent Together Beyond This Life
Jasper Jones, Loyal Manservant, Died 1866 'Kept The Master Happy'
Anna Jones, Faithful Chambermaid, Died 1867 'Kept The Master Happier'
Mary Murphy 1837-1858 "'Til death..."
Frank Ballard 1829 -1859 "...do us part"
Ma Ballard 1800-1859 "Over my dead body"
B Arnold "Cold Is My Bed But Oh, I Love It, For Colder Are My Friends Above It"
Here lies Leadfoot Fred "Danced Too Slow And Now He's Dead" 1802-1866
Rest In Peace Barroom Benny "Seems He Took One Drink Too Many"
"Shorty" Smith 1862
Red Hot Harry "He Was Hot But He Was Slow So He Got Put Six Feet Below"
Valentin "dit le Desosé Ici reposent les miettes d'un homme brisé" ("the boneless" Here lie the pieces of a broken man)
Dakota Dick "Pendu le 17 octobre 1867 Descendu le 18 janvier 1868 Poignardé le 18 décembre 1868 Empoissonné le 21 mai 1869 Il Reviendra" (Hanged 17th October 1867, Shot 18th January 1868, Stabbed 18th December 1868, Poisoned 21st May 1869 He'll Be Back)
Jacques Shrillman "Lynché par une poignée de melomanes Une fause note l'aua tue le 9 mai 1865" (Lynced by a bunch of music lovers A wrong not was his end 9th May 1865)
These Miners Were Told About Digging Too Fast They Lost All Their Gold In A Dynamite Blast
Peg Leg McBrogue the River Rogue Walked the Plank and Sank.
(squirrel tombstone) November 13, 1865 - Breakfast time
(Cougar tombstone) November 13, 1865 – Lunch time
(Hunter tombstone) November 13, 1865 – Dinner time
(Bear tombstone) November 13, 1885 – Hibernating in Happiness
After Years of Hearty Hunting
Whether Phantom Manor or The Haunted Mansion (I honestly thing Phantom Manor sounds better) Disney's haunted house mixes humour, horror and tragedy to bring us a spooky ride that has lasted for over 50 years. If you choose to visit this attraction ant time of the year, there is one important message Melanie has for you.
Hurry back, be sure to bring your death certificate. We've been...dying to have you.
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