Long-forgotten Haunted Mansion Effect?

[DisneyIPresume]

Originally Posted by HBG2

Yes, those are the regular pop-ups, and maybe that's what pveticket is remembering. There were originally five. Two were "blast-ups," basically masks that quickly shot up and down on thin wires, and three were like you describe, basically heads on sticks.

You can see where the five were located in this blueprint of the original attic:



A couple photos of attic pop-ups:



These are all gone now, of course.

You know, these masks look strikingly similar to one of the masks used in that famous episode of the Twilight Zone, where the family is forced to wear masks until midnight, and then when they take them off, they find that their faces have taken on the shape of the mask.

[Opus1guy]

Originally Posted by DisneyIPresume

You know, these masks look strikingly similar to one of the masks used in that famous episode of the Twilight Zone, where the family is forced to wear masks until midnight, and then when they take them off, they find that their faces have taken on the shape of the mask.

You know what they say: All ghouls look alike.

[BellhopPrincess]

Originally Posted by DisneyIPresume

So it is probably a bit like Carrie or Poltergeist where the house ultimately destroys itself, or in the case of HM, goes into disrepair...

Well talking about the house keeping itslef alive through the minimalist materializations, wouldn't that be a bit more like the King movie Rose Red?

For the record, most of the pop up ghouls, and some of the AA's, and the portraits on the walls in the hallway with the doors, and the green face in Leota's circle, and the Hatbox ghost, and hitchhiker Ezra all have similar faces. One noticable eye, one less noticable eye or an empty socket, a very bony face, a grim grin, and hair differences? Talked about here on doombuggies.com.....

Most of the images are actual photographs of costumed prop heads that were actually created from the same molds as some of the animatronic characters found throughout the attraction....
Pictured right is the actual prop head that was used in some of the photos taken for the Corridor of Doors (showing glue remnants from where it had hair attached and was used as a "pop-up" ghost in the graveyard for a number of years), and two of the Corridor of Doors portraits which were produced from it. Many of the Haunted Mansion "face" props are used in different settings with different costumes. In fact, one of the ballroom ghosts shares an animatronic face with one of the pirates from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction!
The "sloping-eyebrows/one-eye-popping" visage is used a number of times throughout the Haunted Mansion. The skeletal "Hitchhiking Ghost" and the original "Hatbox Ghost" both had similar faces, but with their jaws clamped shut in a skull-like grimace.

[fo'c's'le swab]

Speaking of swapping heads, HB2 can correct me if I am wrong (maybe Constance would be the real authority here ), both "duellists" have Blaine Gibson POTC heads (one was the "Auctioneer" Head).

[RobotMirror]

I remember, and this was in 1985, the haunted mansion having several pop up ghosts, including the small high speed heads, and larger heads, almost EXACTLY like this one in the graveyard:

[pveticket]

Originally Posted by HBG2

Well, how old are you? Since 2001, they've had the Nightmare Before Christmas holiday overlay each winter, and there's this pop-up, "Jack-O'-Lantern-in-a-box" there in the attic that sorta matches your description, and also a giant stylized skull jack-in-a-box:

http://www.doombuggies.com/holiday1c.htm

Yup, im well aware. I'v had an AP since around 1995, i go to the parks twice a month, im just wondering if what i said was real or i dreamt it a long long time ago, and am confusing it with a real situation.

Originally Posted by Opus1guy

I remember him too. On the right. Basically a head on a stick with some sheeting on him for body. But yeah...I remember him. He popped up outta a box and shrieked. Just an up and down thing. He popped up fast, but retreated back down slower.

Never scared me though, but then again I was already an adult when Mansion first opened in 1969.

Probably looked a lot bigger and scarier to you as a kid.

Yeah, im begining to think that as well, i remember it being HUGE
But then again, i was 6 or 7

[RobotMirror]

Originally Posted by fo'c's'le swab

Speaking of swapping heads, HB2 can correct me if I am wrong (maybe Constance would be the real authority here ), both "duellists" have Blaine Gibson POTC heads (one was the "Auctioneer" Head).

Allow me to bring this discussion to a... er, "head". I don't see it, although it's possible (click on photographs to get larger sizes):

[fo'c's'le swab]

Originally Posted by Frogberto

Allow me to bring this discussion to a... er, "head". I don't see it, although it's possible (click on photographs to get larger sizes):

I am fairly certain I read this in Surrell's HM book, but I could be wrong--I am only the POTC fanatic...I leave the HM stuff to the guys and girls who know it best (however, to a POTC nut, those photos do look like refugee Gibson pirate heads)!

[Matterhorn Boy]

The one on the left is the Auctioneer, the one on the right is the bald surly Pirate in the same scene.

[HBG2]

Originally Posted by Madame_Leota

Where the "blast-ups" the smaller ones? I swear I remember there were smaller ones that didn't look like the other pop-ups.....but I could be imagining it.

The blast-ups were smaller. They were basically masks that were blasted up on a jet of air, and then slid back down, guided by two wires. Here's a photo sequence:



As for styles of pop-ups, according to what GRD has told me there used to quite a variety, but now there are only around four or five types out there. One of those does look like the "leering skull" used for Ezra (the tall HHG), also HBG, plus a few pix in the COD.

[HBG2]

Oh, incidentally. If that blast-up in the photos looks a lot like the organ banshees from the ballroom, that's because it's the same face!

[Walt Jr.]

Originally Posted by fo'c's'le swab

I am fairly certain I read this in Surrell's HM book, but I could be wrong--I am only the POTC fanatic...I leave the HM stuff to the guys and girls who know it best (however, to a POTC nut, those photos do look like refugee Gibson pirate heads)!

The Auctioneer's head is supposedly the head of one of the dueling ghosts.

[Walt Jr.]

In Jason Surrell's Book, it says that the HBG's heads may have been used for the popup ghosts!

[HBG2]

Originally Posted by Walt Jr.

In Jason Surrell's Book, it says that the HBG's heads may have been used for the popup ghosts!

Not to be picky, but Surrell doesn't say that. That claim is from Steve Fink, who used to work for DL's "Staff Shop": http://www.doombuggies.com/insiders_fink2.htm

Surrell is incorrect, by the way, when he claims in his book that the HBG was removed before the public saw him. Not so!

[GRD999]

Thrax,

The light going from window to window is still there. I think its down to one window now. I only saw it ONCE! The window I saw it in was if you are entering the gate, it was the window on the far right of the extended queue on the 2nd floor. It goes by kinda quick. The effect is VERY simple though! Just imagine a rotating Folgers can with a slit cut in the side! VERY simple but still cool.

As for the popups:

There used to be 3 styles of blast ups, and then there were numerous popup heads.

In the blast ups, there was the organ banshee (looks like the mask from SCREAM), a devil head (looks like the same one but with horns), then another ghoulish style face.

In the popups, there was the Hatbox style face, a similar one to that with a screaming mouth, a portlier ghost with drooping eye sockets, an old hag with a wart on its nose, a rounded skull ghoul with crossed eyes and I believe one more. But yes, the majority of faces from the COD portraits are popup ghosts. There is an image in there that is a pen sketch of a weird corpsy girl, but that wasn't original. A staff shop worker created it and put it in there. There are also some relief sculptures on the walls that are not popup heads.

As for the downsizing of heads, its most likely because of space. the molds for these items are large. They eliminated two of the blast ups and kept the one that shared the Organ Banshee face, one mold, two uses. Then they went down to I think 4 popup heads now. Again, downsizing the molds. I think at one point however you never saw the same popup head in the same scene more than once. Again... something that changed since the good ol' days.