The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion
Expanded 50th Anniversary edition!
Welcome, Foolish Readers!
Chill to the creepy but captivating history of Disney's Haunted Mansion. Come experience the mansion with the "lights on" and learn its ghostly history, its sinister secrets, and its ghoulish special effects. There's room for one more—and this time you're it!
Noted mansion authority Jeff Baham lifts the shroud and tells the stories on Disney's original plans for a "haunted house" attraction, why the mansion is there, who built it, how it became haunted, and the dastardly deeds done by some of its residents in their corruptible, mortal states.
Board your Doom Buggy for:
- Exclusive photos and commentary by Disney Imagineers, including Haunted Mansion "architect" Rolly Crump
- Insider accounts of the creative clashes over whether the mansion's haunts should be humorous or horrific, and the internal workflow behind each mansion rehab or addition
- An analysis of the ride, scene by scene, with insight into how the effects work, delightfully eerie trivia, and anecdotes from Imagineers and cast members
- The stories behind some of the mansion's many denizens, including the Hatbox Ghost, the Knight, the Sea Captain, the Raven, the unhappy couple Constance and George, and the Ghost Host himself
- A discussion of the most notable mansion collectibles released by Disney over the years
Any volunteers?
Reviews (152)
Now as they say, Look Alive!
Really fantastic read! Just completed this book and it left me wanting more! I'm a big Disney fan and Haunted Mansion is by far my favorite ride in the park. I loved reading all about it's rich history and fascinating back story. Also being a loyal WDW visitor, this entire story made me more motivated than ever before to plan a trip out West to the original park. I would recommend this to any person interested in delving further into the world of past imagineering. Jeff also takes part in a very entertaining podcast called Mousetalgia, which is how I found this book. I would also recommend that for a fun listen. Keep up the great work!! My only comment is that I would have enjoyed learning more about the WDW and Disneyland Tokyo versions also, as well as their counterparts Paris and Hong Kong (Phantom and Mystic Manors? What's that all about??) But maybe that's for the third edition!
Baham is a true historoical expert on Disney's Haunted Mansion
If you're looking for a pretty picture book full of glossy color photos and cute Disney anecdotes then this is not your book. If, however, what you want is to know how the Haunted Mansion came in to existence then this is the book to get. Baham painstakingly delves into Walt Disney's life to speculate on his desire to have a haunted house in the Mickey Mouse park years before ground was ever broken on Disneyland. You get a sense the many false starts and conflicting direction the mansion took in preproduction. Disney was announcing it before they really had any idea what it was going to be: IE ride through or walk through, scary or funny. Politics and conflicting personalities, as well as Walt Disney's death, almost killed the attraction deader than its 999 resident ghosts. This book is a history book that lays all that out with a few b&w photos along with written descriptions of the various attraction's effects and experiences. I liked the book quite a lot, but if you're more of a casual fan or looking for glossy photos of how the ride works it might not be the book for you. I recommend it for the fan who comes off the ride realizing the tremendous amount of work, collaboration, and determination that went into creating this unique haunted house experience and who wants to know more about those people that created it.
Excellent, highly-detail history of the Haunted Mansion attraction
Just finished this book, and the kid in me still LOVES Disney's Haunted Mansion, and also remembers the wide-eyed 10-year old I was in 1975 when I first rode on it and was blown away. That trip to Disney influenced me enough to go to college for engineering and enjoy a 30-year (so far) career in industrial automation. Jeff may go into too much detail or some (devoting entire passages to the architecture of the façade, for example) but I loved the scene-by-scene description of the ride and detailed histories of the illusions, who designed them, how they are maintained. The chapter about the opening night an Disneyland was very interesting, and unknown to me (even though I have studied much about the ride systems and Disney's audio animatronics). If you love the ride I highly recommend this book, UNLESS you prefer to not know about the inner workings and prefer it to remain a mystery. :-)
Amazing info even if you're not a Haunted Mansion enthusiast
I am a life-long fan of the Haunted Mansion and have been following Doombuggies.com for many years, so I was extremely excited for the release of this book from none other than "Chef Mayhem"! This book is a very intricate look at the Haunted Mansion, through the development and planning, delays and setbacks, and amazing engineering and "imagineering" feats that were accomplished through its creation. For those who may have limited familiarity with the attraction, the descriptions and walk-through of the attractions in California and Florida (as well as some mention of differences in Tokyo and Paris) will help orient you in the discussion. This attraction was designed and influenced by some of Disney's best artists (in my humble opinion) and it's so much fun to read Baham's interviews with them and get their insight -- and even a little gossip! To be fair, you will have to have at least a basic knowledge of the attraction to find the appeal of this book. (I don't mean to frighten you prematurely) But if you've ever ridden it and wondered "how'd they do that?" or "what kind of person came up with the idea of haunted wallpaper?" this book will answer all those questions and more. I'd recommend to any fan of the Disney theme parks - or theme parks in general, as the Haunted Mansion is one of the penultimate "dark rides" found anywhere in the world. Fun reading, excellent material, wonderful insight and anecdotes -- perfect, all the way around!
The last word in Haunted Mansion history
As a hardcore Disney (and Haunted Mansion, in particular) fan, I was dubious when I read that this book contained material that hadn't been included in other histories of this great attraction. But who am I, a mere foolish mortal, to question the guy who created the legendary DoomBuggies.com website? And indeed, he did a first-class job on this project. No Mansion collection is complete without it.
Fun and Informative, Great for all Haunted Mansion fans!
As a Haunted Mansion fan, I must say I enjoyed this book. Most of the information I have learned through other books and various Haunted Mansion websites. Mr. Baham writes in a simple but entertaining manner. While I considered getting the book I was concerned with how factual the information contained in the book was. However all the facts are footnoted with a great index at the back of the book. The book is divided into two parts, the first being the history of the attraction and the second half of the book a walkthrough of the attraction with some behind-the-scenes facts thrown in. I purchased the book mostly for the first part, as I love to learn about the thought process that goes into the Disney attractions, however I must say the second half of the book was just as enjoyable. I learned some things about the mansion I didn't know before. If you're a fan of the attraction you will definitely enjoy this book. A quick, fun and enjoyable tribute to a classic Disney attraction.
Clearing away the cobwebs and sharing the magic behind the Mansion!
I LOVED reading this book--the inside story of what happens and why in Disney's Haunted Mansion. I was a Tour Guide at Disneyland during college and thought I knew quite a bit about it, but I was amazed at how much I learned. The interviews with the people who actually worked on the project were informative and explained so many things I had always wondered about. The book is detailed but easy and fun to read. It's the kind of book I will read again because there is so much information to absorb. Thanks to Jeff Baham, one of the foremost experts on this topic in the world, for clearing away the cobwebs and sharing the magic behind the Mansion.
Must have for your Disneyland collection
I'll admit, I've purchased this book originally to fill myself up on facts about the Haunted Mansion for a fanfiction I'm writing and while it's more of a history on the making of the mansion rather than -say- the fictional history/storyline of the ride itself, it does highlight notable parts of history like Disney's constant pursuit of a haunted house for his guests, the conflict of the imagineers trying to come up with ideas of the ride, and a inside look into the opening day and detail tour of the ride itself. Highly recommended this book
Amazing Book!
Great book to learn more about the Haunted Mansion. I felt that it gave a great history of the creation of the mansion and how all the effects work. I've always been fascinated by how the pepper's ghost effect works and this book goes through all the effects used. I felt like it added more magic to the ride after reading this book, just knowing the story of the ride and interesting facts I had never pieced together before. Well written and the information in it was credible. I highly suggest it to anyone who wants to know more about the Haunted Mansion.
A complete companion to the Haunted Mansion attractions
Part 1 is a complete history of The Haunted Mansion, from concept through design and up to implementation. Part 2 takes the reader through the ride, pointing out details that are overlooked when actually on the ride. Full of insights from the designers and operators of the attraction.
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