The Long-Forgotten Haunted Mansion Effect Thread 7: Further Realms of Fright

[ww12345]

Back to the "Creepy Old Flicks" topic for a second - has anyone ever seen "Dead of Night?" It's an 1945 movie about premonition, subdivided into a number of different tableaus. To the point, one of the tableaus features a girl going with a friend into the attic of a "Haunted House." As they are entering the attic, we see a lone 'cello. Not exactly the bass viol that is in the original attic mockup for the HM, but an interesting note nonetheless.



---------- Post added 10-16-2011 at 11:34 PM ----------

Also, can anyone tell who the bust is that is in the background? That may be another interesting connection...

---------- Post added 10-16-2011 at 11:37 PM ----------

Another note - the murder that was supposedly committed in the attic was by a girl in a long white nightgown, who strangled a male, and then "half-cut his head off!" Sound familiar?

---------- Post added 10-16-2011 at 11:45 PM ----------

Wow, it's like this tableau was the inception for the entire HM attic scene! The name of the girl who committed the murder?


Constance!

[HBG2]

The bust could be Geo Washington. There's been a Washington portrait of one type or another in the DL attic since the 1995 rehab at least. But the bust could just as easily be any number of 18th c. guys, like Jefferson, for example.

The ropes draped in front of the window have a HM analog, of course, unchanged since opening day.

The best case would be that the Constance Imagineering team in the mid-00's took a page or two from this movie, but as far as earlier influence is concerned, the needle on my meter peaks at "intriguing."

[ww12345]

I thought it might be Washington, but the girl says that they were spending that Christmas in Somerset. I don't know if any well-respected Brit would have a bust of Washington - although that could explain why it is in the abandoned attic...

[RequiesCat]

What year was "Dead of Night" made? Could it be a bust of Churchill?

--------------added: 12:45am---10-18-2011--------------------

Back to the "Creepy Old Flicks" topic for a second - has anyone ever seen "Dead of Night?" It's an 1945 movie about premonition, subdivided into a number of different tableaus. To the point, one of the tableaus features a girl going with a friend into the attic of a "Haunted House." As they are entering the attic, we see a lone 'cello. Not exactly the bass viol that is in the original attic mockup for the HM, but an interesting note nonetheless.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55). - Wikipedia on Winston Churchill

Answered my own question. I think it's very likely that the bust is of Mr. Churchill... not definitive, but likely.

[HBG2]

It's not Churchill. That looks like some 18th c. guy. 1945 is much too early for honorific Churchill statuary, and remember, this is old attic junk.

[Grinning Ghost]

It's not Churchill. That looks like some 18th c. guy. 1945 is much too early for honorific Churchill statuary, and remember, this is old attic junk.

That is almost certainly a bust of Washington.

[Grinning Ghost]

Here's a little clearer version with a bit more detail. Sure looks like the profile on the Quarter to me...

[ww12345]

Yes, it most certainly does. That is who I thought it was initially, but dismissed it because of the US/British relationship in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Interesting that the HM attic also has memorials to Washington...

---------- Post added 10-18-2011 at 10:52 AM ----------

You know who else it could be - Lord Horatio Nelson.
He looks similar to Washington, and is still a well-known hero in the UK...

[HBG2]

Or Voltaire. Or a musician. There's just too many possibilities.

I watched the movie. Not bad. The haunted mirror sequence was particularly nice.
There was one shot, lasting only about a second, that I thought was gorgeous, so I did a screen grab.

[ww12345]

What segment was that from? Is that from the "Motor Accident" sequence?

I thought it was a pretty good film, and definitely had some good HM-type moments.

[RequiesCat]

It's not Churchill. That looks like some 18th c. guy. 1945 is much too early for honorific Churchill statuary, and remember, this is old attic junk.

That's actually the thought that was bothering me all day today. Not only was he not around long enough for honorific statuary, he wouldn't have been around long enough for that bust to be a fixture in an attic. Attics are used to house old stuff, junk, or things that just don't fit with everything else.

Such a poorly thought-out theory... I really shouldn't write things so late at night. *hangs head in shame*

[ww12345]

It's all right. I've been mulling the idea over all day as well. I can think of a number of hasty responses that I would like to take back. No need to hang your head in shame...

[HBG2]

Hat tip to Guy the Ghoul over at DB.com for spotting this one.

Disneyland is being sued for too-high lead levels in places, mostly from exposed lead (leaded stained glass windows in Fantasyland that you can touch with your hand) and brass fixtures like chains and doorknobs that you can wipe your hand on and get lead on your hand that way (I didn't know brass did that). The Haunted Mansion is specifically mentioned. Most likely the bat stantions are the culprits. Dude, their days may be numbered, at least in their current metallic form. Wonder what the solid brass ones will get at auction.

Attractions, other sites at Disneyland expose visitors to lead, group says - latimes.com

I keep telling people not to lick the bats, but do they listen? Ha.

[HMF]

There have been updates at PLQ not that they help much
New sign at the Haunted Mansion queue graveyard on Twitpic
New signs in the Haunted Mansion queue! on Twitpic
New signs in the Haunted Mansion queue! on Twitpic
Harper Goff Tribute
http://twitpic.com/70clo4

[RegionsBeyond]

I like Harper Goff as much as the next old-school Disney fan (Nautilus design for 20,000 Leagues, Jungle Cruise concepts, sketch of the haunted house on Main Street) but basically putting his name on a thing I presume is for talking/interacting with the dumb poet ghost lady tomb....more trying to appease the hardcore, I daresay.