Sunday, December 16, 2012

Haunted Mansion, March 1981

I don't have a lot of Haunted Mansion-related photos, so I am sharing today's examples even though they rank low on the "so-so" scale.

Mysterious spirits clearly fiddled with the photographer's camera, resulting in this odd double-exposure.  Spooooooooky!


One of my favorite features in the Mansion is the part at the end in which a hitchhiking ghost hops into your doombuggy. This was an extremely dark slide, but you can still make out the buggy's mortal passengers (two adults and one kid) as well as the grinning skeleton ghost that has acquired the name "Ezra". I always hoped to get Ezra!


"Little Leota" is another one of my favorite parts of the Mansion; you see her after you've disembarked from your doombuggy and travel up the ramp toward the exit. A breeze gently moves her clothing as she mournfully encourages everyone to "Hurry back....". I've always wondered, is she supposed to be a tiny ghost, or is she supposed to appear as if she is far away?


I almost didn't include this last photo, but then figured "Why the heck not?". It's a blurry picture of what I assume is a "pop-up ghost", although the red light puzzles me. 


7 comments:

Nanook said...

There's an interesting thought - grafting the Sleeping Beauty Castle onto the Haunted Mansion.

Major - I love the shot of the hitch-hiking ghosts.

Anonymous said...

The hitchhiker ghost pic is very good! When the doombuggy spins around it takes a moment for you to spot the "guest" as its happening...this picture looks just like the real thing!

Bill in Denver

HBG2 said...

No complaints from me, natch. The red light is probably the bride's red heart. This is the popup that used to be on the right side as you starting your long swing to the right. He's just in front of (meaning before) the spot where the Marquis portrait is today. At this point the bride is in the background, to the right of the exit, and it's possible the photographer was getting set to shoot her when this fine fellow jumped up right in front of him.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I love the HHGs too. Did you see the new effects at the Florida HM? On video they look kind of cool.

Bill, I suppose that photo is about as good as you could expect from your average visitor back in 1981!

HBG2, I thought about the red heart, but it seems so low, I guess I thought that the heart would be higher up because the bride was above us. But you are probably right!

PsySocDisney said...

I dunno why I think that first photo is so COOL but I do :) Can never get enough HM!

Melissa said...

Little Leota wasn't working when I was at the WDW Mansion a few weeks ago. I was so disappointed!

"MasterClaw" said...

The red light is probably one of the infrared safety lights. They're invisible to our eyes, but they tend to show up in photographs and videos as a red light without any cast.