Happy Halloween! I pulled two Halloween-y Disneyland scans for you, along with some vintage photos of Trick-Or-Treaters, including a young Major Pepperidge.
The first two photos show the exterior of the Haunted Mansion circa October 1968; just under a year before the attraction opened to the public, to great acclaim. The antebellum house looks complete and ready to move into, and the grounds look beautiful. I'm wondering how our photographer got this photo - could he just aim his camera carefully through (or over) some wrought-iron gates?
These slides are a bit washed-out, but I still find the Anaheim Mansion to be the best. It's OK if you have a different opinion! I can't help wondering what we would have seen if we could have walked through the front door. Maybe a construction mess? Or it's possible that the entry area was mostly complete by then.
AND NOW... vintage Halloween pix! Starting with this 1970-ish photo from our house in Huntington Beach. That was peak Halloween for me! I had the best time trick-or-treating with neighbors and friends, and I remember that there were houses on our block that really went all-out, including a door that opened by itself when we rang the doorbell, and a coffin opened before our eyes, and Dracula climbed out to hand out candy! That's me to the right and my little brother to the left; the Frankenstein's monster mask was definitely my older brother's, but whoever is wearing it is too short to be him. Maybe it's my sister! Though at that age she always wanted to be a princess.
The next two are from 1968... location unknown. Four kids pose by the garage door, including Santa Claus, who was taking a break from the North Pole. Then there's a witch and a... um... er... what is that blonde "woman" supposed to be?? A middle-eastern maiden dazzles in silks.
Three more trick-or-treaters pose by the fireplace. A clown, a guy who looks just like me (including the mustache), and a boy dressed as a girl, which was a surprisingly common thing back then. The pumpkin is unusual - why carve one, when you can just draw on it with Magic Markers?
Have a safe and Happy Halloween!
Major-
ReplyDeleteI must admit the Haunted mansion looks awfully grand and stately in these images - clearly a deception as to what one would find upon entering its haunted corridors.
Oh - those costumes-! Oddly-enough my eyes were immediately drawn to the "carved", repeating, pine tree 'reliefs' on the sectional garage door and the 'feminine-looking' [uncarved] pumpkin; and although it resembles not-at-all the colors or shape, I can't help but think of Alice Bluebonnet - maybe it's the eyelashes...
Thanks, Major - and Happy Halloween to all.
The first HM photo looks like a publicity picture that you would see in a Disneyland guide book. A teaser of what to expect when the attraction (finally) opens.
ReplyDelete"I can't help wondering what we would have seen if we could have walked through the front door."
Ghosts! (obviously) ;-) The ghosts would be just milling around, not having been assigned to any specific area of the Mansion yet.
You little devil, you. :-p It's great hearing about how people used to go all out with their Halloween productions. I doubt that sort of thing happens anymore. For one thing, lots of kids don't go trick-r-treating these days, at least not like they did when we were kids. Now, kids mostly go to special events at malls... oh wait... most malls don't exist anymore either. Trick-r-treating was at its peak in the 1950s through 1970s.
The garage door pic is from an early, live version of "The Nightmare Before Christmas". The "blonde woman" looks like a mash-up of a clown and "She-Ra", sister of He-Man. Seems odd to have carved evergreen trees on a garage door.
I wonder if the 'transvestite' is supposed to be someone we should know, or just a random girl? Maybe they used felt pens on the pumpkin because mom is gonna cut the pumpkin up after Halloween and make pies out of it. I also wonder if your 'twin' with the mustache is supposed to be somebody famous? A French artist perhaps.
Thanks for the treats, Major.
In the first pic, we can see one of the large louvered panels that blocks guests from seeing into the Haunted Mansion's foyer. It's interesting to see that the panels were in place this far in advance of the attraction's opening. However, the large light fixtures that hang over both the first and second floor porches hadn't been installed yet.
ReplyDeleteMajor, so I'm assuming that your dad or mom went into the house with you, in order to get the photo? My brother had that same Frankenstein mask one year!
The boy in the last pic should have bought his wig from the "Dolly Parton Wigs" catalogue.
Happy Hallowe’en, everybody!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if the slight overexposure of the slides is to blame here, but it doesn’t look like they were using countershading yet on the undersurfaces of details on the HM exterior to make the shadows appear deeper and make the place seem more foreboding. I have not been able to find any definitive material that says they darkened things up in the push towards the 1969 opening, so maybe it really is just an overexposure.
TM!, I did an AI search trying to find out when the louvered panels were added, and it told me that “Photographic records and historical accounts verify that the large louvered wooden screen structures framing the entryway on Disneyland's Haunted Mansion porch were installed between late 1963 and late 1967.” When I clicked on the reference link, it took me to the GDB post for Hallowe’en, 2020, in which I am answering your question about when the louvers were added. I never dreamed that anything I’ve written would become a standard reference work. I also never thought I’d find myself in an internet loop of circular reference, but here I am. Just waiting for Rod Serling to step into frame and finish the episode with some wry comment. I smell a burning cigarette just off camera, so I know it’s coming. Hey - when did everything turn black and white?
Loving the vintage costume photos! You really are a handsome devil.
I think the blonde in front of the garage door is supposed to be a harlequin. And I agree with JB - the presence of Santa along with the conifer motif on the garage door does give that a Nightmare Before Christmas sort of vibe. I’m OK with that here, but please get it out of my Haunted Mansion.
Nanook, forgive me, but the “artist” in the last photo has a “Kid Nanook” sort of look about him. It’s probably because we can see so little of his actual distinguishing facial features and my brain is filling in blanks it shouldn’t be. And speaking of invisible facial features…I’m wondering if the kid in the clown mask is actually smiling. Or…is he horribly disfigured from falling into a vat of chemicals and this is how he copes between criminal rampages and his ongoing feud with Batman and Robin? We may never know.
Looking forward to sitting in the driveway tonight in front of a portable fire pit and handing out candy to all the kostumed kiddos. Hope you all get plenty of treats and no tricks!
Aw, you cute li'l devil, Maj! The Underwood deviled ham folks should have signed you up as their new mascot!
ReplyDeleteThe mustachioed kid in the fireplace picture reminds me a lot of how Groucho Marx looked in that era; dollars to doughnuts he's holding a fake cigar out of camera range. And I was just talking to someone the other day how generic "fancy lady" - wig, makeup, jewelry, Mom's old dress, optional chest stuffing - was a staple costume for a lot of us Gen X kids, both girls and boys. I had those exact same TV trays, black with pink roses and gold leaves, well into the 90s.
Thanks for the Halloween & Haunted Mansion pix! Pretty scary, kids!
Frightfully fun fotos.
ReplyDeleteWas just thinking (uh oh) the other day...how Disneyland is best because we get to walk right up to and thru the Mansion columns , Castle archway, Pirates lair, jungle Temple - most other parks have you enter through a side door, not the grand obvious entry points which make you a star of the story.
Live your Halloween dreams team.
MS
Trick or treating has definitely declined in my area. Storms that took down power lines just before Halloween several years in a row, covid, and all the kids in the neighborhood growing up mean I only get a few dozen kids a year. Down from around a hundred 15 years ago or so. And after I go through the trouble of buying candy from "Johnny Razor's Totally Normal Candy Store" (sigh)
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween, Major and fellow Junior Gorillas!
ReplyDeleteMy Favorite Mansion does look a little washed-out, maybe the shadow accents are yet to come?
Fun pics of costumed kids. We lived miles from town and other neighbors so the only visitors we had were school friends whose parents drove them out to our place on purpose, ditto for me. Mom would drive me into town to knock on Grandads door.
Like Dean, our neighborhood here used to draw 200+ visitors, but those kids are now in their 40’s and haven’t been replaced, so we see very few little ones now. It’s a fun holiday even if I don’t recognize most of the characters now.
Thanks Major!
JG
Halloween-y, Major? Isn't that a punchline to a joke?
ReplyDeleteI am helping a friend install his Halloween stuff including a coffin that squeaks open and a ghoul that jumps out at you. Kids from all over come to see it, but not as many these days.
Boo!
Zach
@ TM!-
ReplyDelete"The boy in the last pic should have bought his wig from the "Dolly Parton Wigs" catalogue".
Always good advice-!
@ Chuck-
"... forgive me, but the “artist” in the last photo has a “Kid Nanook” sort of look about him".
You never know. At least I was wise-enough to procure my moustache from the Groucho Marx Look-alike Store, rather than the poor decision my fellow treat-or-treater made, foolishly failing to take TM's 'suggestion' and ending-up with that sorry excuse for a wig-!