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

[Backside of Water]

Um - never heard either of those stories before. They are probably fan fiction. The only officially written bit about the Hatbox Ghost came from The Story and Song From The Haunted Mansion

Well, yes. I am going off of many fan based stories most of which are here on micechat. I just wanted to know what kindof story or film plot could possibly revolve around that character. (I do think it was established somewhere that he is a hat salesman of some sort. but other than that, it seems like an odd character to pick as the "center of the web that ties the mansions together")

I read in an article the other day that Del Toro said something about the RIDE in disneyland being the most haunted place on earth. I really want to find that article because I can't seem to find it anymore.

However, in an IGN interview, Del Toro said something like this:

The story will revolve around the character of the Hatbox Ghost, as seen in the attic portion of the ride. A new mythology centered on the mansion as the most haunted place in the world, will revolve around this pivotal character.

The writer may change Hattie's origin a bit in order to make him more of a pivotal character. but would that make him more like the Ghost Host?

I'm just wondering.

[MasterGracey13]

Well, yes. I am going off of many fan based stories most of which are here on micechat...

Fan based stories hold no weight in the Haunted Mansion. Imagineers have their own idea of who is who, and since they are imagineers, what they say goes. (ex. in most fan based stories say that Master Gracey=the Ghost host, but Imagineers are trying to make it perfectly clear that he is not).

(...I do think it was established somewhere that he is a hat salesman of some sort...)

No, I think that is also a fan based assumption.

[MasterGracey1969]

Quick Update: Leota was out of sync as of 7/25 and the Singing Busts look great as of 7/25 as well.

[HBG2]

There was book at one time with various stories about the Haunted Mansion, and in one of those the HBG was a hatter, but those stories have no more weight as "canon" than do the HM comics. The book was similar to Enter If You Dare! Scary Tales from the Haunted Mansion, but it wasn't that one. Enter If You Dare! is only related to the HM very, very loosely, and the same goes for the other one with the title I can't remember.

The only canonical fact about the HBG is that he was the groom or the intended groom to the attic bride.

[MasterGracey13]

Quick Update: Leota was out of sync as of 7/25 and the Singing Busts look great as of 7/25 as well.

WDW or DL?

[HBG2]

Good News: Marc Davis concept art for a changing portrait that you've never seen before. Yo, Kreepy Karl, time to update your list.

Bad News: It's smaller than a postage stamp.



This is in the background of the HM section of the DL 10th Anniversary show. Any of you who have a sharp, clean version of that program should do a screen grab for us so we can see this thing more clearly. Anyway, the artwork is up on a board with other Marc Davis art, including HM concept art. As bad as this is, I think we can figure it out partly. It's a missionary cooking in a pot. He's fat in the first one and emaciated (or skeletal) in the second. We can even figure out why this one wasn't used. All the others look sober and normal in the first frame and horrific or comical in the following one(s). With this one, the first frame is already comic/horrific, so it jumps the gun.

[MasterGracey1969]

wdw or dl?

dl

[Captain EO]

If anybody is curious as to the background of the Hatbox Ghost, here's a cool site to check out:

http://www.hatboxghost.com



I'm pretty excited about this! I love the mystery behind this character, and Del Toro is a dream pick for this project! This also means we'll most likely seem him return to the ride! This is the film I've been dying to see.

[Corruptible*Mortal]

Good News: Marc Davis concept art for a changing portrait that you've never seen before. Yo, Kreepy Karl, time to update your list.

Bad News: It's smaller than a postage stamp.



This is in the background of the HM section of the DL 10th Anniversary show. Any of you who have a sharp, clean version of that program should do a screen grab for us so we can see this thing more clearly. Anyway, the artwork is up on a board with other Marc Davis art, including HM concept art. As bad as this is, I think we can figure it out partly. It's a missionary cooking in a pot. He's fat in the first one and emaciated (or skeletal) in the second. We can even figure out why this one wasn't used. All the others look sober and normal in the first frame and horrific or comical in the following one(s). With this one, the first frame is already comic/horrific, so it jumps the gun.

I suppose I'll finally have to "delurk" and see if I can add to this discussion.

The DL 10th Anniversary show was made available on DVD in the "Walt Disney Treasures: Disneyland, USA" collection. From that DVD I managed to take the following screengrab:



Playing around, I cropped and slightly brightened the image in question to get this:




It's still quite poor quality, so hopefully someone with a little more technological know-how will come along with something a little clearer.

In the meantime, I think it's interesting that the subject matter for this concept was as a changing portrait. Am I the only one who can see the "man-in-a-pot" setup being used as another quirky stretching portrait?

[Grinning Ghost]

How do we know it was for a changing portrait? Or that it was even intended for the HM? (I've not seen this particular video.)

To me, it looks more like it was a sketch for an animatronic figure - more suited to the Jungle Cruise than HM.

[DisneySarah]

From one lurker to another, nice work, Corruptible*Mortal!

[HBG2]

Yes, thanks. This is the best I can do with it:



GG, the reasons I think it's a HM changing portrait are:

• I'm not aware of any changes or improvements planned for the Jungle Cruise in 1965. They had done a major JC overhaul in 1962, and they had plenty of other things on their plates.
• It's a two-panel gag similar to many other Davis changing portrait gags. Most of those had more than two panels, but many of them had only two.
• The bulletin board it's tacked to has HM changing portrait artwork on the other side and all over the wall, and on this side it's tacked up right next to concept art for a changing statue in the HM foyer.

It's not art for a stretching portrait either. Those are just a tall, single scene.
You can easily find the "Disneyland 10th anniversary" show in various Youtube videos.

[TheHatboxGhost]

That tiny art grab looks to me like there's somethin' cookin' inside a heated cauldron.

HATTER? Ugh! I am NO hatter (although I may be somewhat mad). And I am no real estate or other salesman either, as a recent batch of Disney Haunted Mansion pins suggest:

Me thinks (and I hope) that I am either victim, accomplice or, perhaps, a little of BOTH. Save for the shoes (loafers), I look like a Dickensian curmudgeon.

P.S., I know for a fact that the initial replacement Hatbox Ghost has already been built. Whether that is the figure that is eventually installed, or if it is restored to The Haunted Mansion at all, remains to be seen.

[HMF]

There was no "Constance" in 1969 in the attic scene, only the original Constance in the stretching portraits.

Ever heard of Retcon?

[HMF]

And consider this dismaying observation. So long as a certain TF is in power, she's safe, because she was his personal brainchild (or pet project, whatever). Even after TF is gone, they'd have to have a very strong reason before they would insult him (or his memory†) by pulling her out as if she never were.

I thought she was the brainchild of CG. If not this is one of the few things TF did right. (The other being his Spaceship Earth scripts and Star Tours and a few others.)