The Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion
Disneyland
Anaheim, California

No, I'm not pulling your leg. The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland's Anaheim resort is...haunted. Yes, a fake haunted mansion is really a haunted fake haunted mansion (If your brain just exploded from an aneurysm, I apologize). Call it truth in advertising, there has been numerous stories about the famous ride being a place for more than just fake specters and ghosts, but a host to many real ones. The ride opened in the summer of 1969 and though that means the ride is forty-three years old now, the animations are timeless and really show why Disney is a magical place to go and experience.

For those who haven't had the joys of riding the ride at either it's California or Florida counterpart, the ride goes (without giving away too many details): you get in these carts (also known as "Doom Buggies") and it's basically a tour through a haunted mansion where this scary narrator takes through a journey of fright through haunted ballrooms to spooky graveyards. The ride isn't really all that bad and actually had me laughing through it while I was a child riding the one in Florida (course this was after my grandfather told me to scream back at the ghosts, which helped). But what about the real haunted history?

There is one story about how a man crashed his single pilot plane into a lake nerby the park. Some employees have said that this man, known as "the man with the cane", has settled in the Haunted Mansion. He is seen mostly at night, after park hours. Another man, known as "The man in the tuxedo", this shadow figure type spirit actually caused a ride employee to quit her job, because it spooked her so much. She was standing by where the visitors exit the ride and there's a mirror where she can see when riders are coming up behind her. She kept on seeing a shadow, but when she checked there was no on there. She then stated that she felt a cold presence and a hand on her shoulder.

Death at the mansion? Yes. Actually there has been a real life death at this attraction. Attraction deaths are sad, but common accidents, and the Disneyland Haunted Mansion is no stranger, but only one such death has happened. One night, two teenagers were riding the ride, and they came to this point called "The Séance Room." Basically it's a room where this woman's face inside a crystal ball is conducting a séance and all these items are flying around the room. One of the boys wanted a closer look, so he got out of the doom buggy and walked along a walkway. What he did not realize though, was that there's a gap and he ended up falling fifteen feet to his death.

If you're planning a trip to Disneyland, remember the ghost you're screaming at may not be just an illusion after all. Until next time, this has been Scared Sheetless. Happy hauntings, graveyard disciples.

Resources: theshadowlands.net

For more scares go to scaredsheetlessncn.blogspot.com