History Characters / HauntedMansion2023

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Justified. He ''can't'' just kill one of the main characters for his final sacrifice because the last soul has to offer itself willingly.

* ScienceHero: Subverted. He was an astrophysicist and particle physicist before his current FallenOnHardTimesJob, and his ability to create a "quantum lens" that can photograph ghosts is what the heroes use to try to identify their spectral opponents early on. [[spoiler: But the lens is broken halfway through the movie, preventing him from identifying the Hatbox Ghost, it instead forces everyone, including him, to rely on more occult solutions like [[AstralProjection the reverse seance]] to get out of their predicament.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: He accuses Harriet of being a fraud shortly after just meeting her. Turns out later, Kent [[spoiler: isn't a real priest, and is swindling people out of their money]].

* ManipulativeBastard: He's tricked many people into becoming the mansion's ghosts by making them believe its the only way to rejoin their lost loved ones (something he tries on Ben [[spoiler: and Travis]]).

* WouldHurtAChild: When Ben starts moving on from his grief, the Hatbox Ghost pivots to targeting Travis instead, trying to manipulate the child into an ambiguously-deadly situation [[spoiler: while impersonating his dead father.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: He took his own life with arsenic after his wife perished. [[spoiler: It's revealed the Hatbox Ghost impersonated her and wrote him messages asking him to reunite with her.]]
* {{Foil}}: A deliberate one to Ben, a fellow grieving widower who also wanted to see his lost wife one more time, using occult forces to try to do it instead of Ben's quantum science. But while Ben gave up on the existence of the supernatural after he failed to contact her, Gracey [[spoiler: instead doubled-down, demanding more and more seances. (In both cases, it is implied that their failure happened because their wives were at peace and so beyond their reach.) And while Gracey ultimately succumbed to the Hatbox Ghost's manipulations, Ben, partly with aid from Gracey himself, ultimately learns to live with his grief and let go, saving both of them.]]

* DemonicPossession he briefly possess Ben's body [[spoiler: while Ben travels through the spirit realm via astral projection.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: Although originally one of the spirits tormenting the living cast to force them to return to the mansion [[spoiler: implicitly under Crump's influence]], partway through the movie the human characters manage to talk the captain into giving them some vital information and [[spoiler: helping them locate Crump's severed head and the hat on top of it so he can be banished.]]

** And refers to AstralProjection as “reverse seance”.

* BlackAndNerdy: Dresses in tweed and bow ties, tries to make sure everyone follows the rules on the playground, and gets picked on a lot as a result. He also has a number of Marvel action figures, including Film/BlackPanther.

* SerialKiller: In life, he murdered those who he believed wronged him. He continues he spree after his spirit is summoned to the mansion.

* SerialKiller: In life, he murdered those who he believed wronged him.

A nurse and Travis’ single mother. She moves with him to Gracy Manor for a fresh start, only to find that it’s not only haunted, but the ghosts can and will follow them.

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: She is initially dissmissive of Travis’ ghost claims their first night in the mansion, but the very second something supernatural happens, she grabs him and runs for the car.

* WouldHurtAChild: When Ben starts moving on from his grief, the Hatbox Ghost pivots to targeting Travis instead, trying to manipulate the child into an ambigously-deadly situation while impersonating his dead father.

* AffectionateNickname: Sorted of. Trying to communicate directly with him, Ben calls him "Captain," since it is the first sea-related name he can think of.

* GhostShip: [[spoiler:When Ben fulfills his promise of taking him to the sea, he soon steals a boat from some living people, invisibly driving it away.]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: Constance never displayed any redemption in the original ride, even telling riders to return with their death certificates when they leave. [[spoiler:Here, she joins in the fight against Alistair when asked to be a hero.]]

* GhostShip: When Ben fulfills his promise of taking him to the sea, he soon steals a boat from some living people, invisibly driving it away.

* AdaptationalNameChange: The Hatbox Ghost's name in his original backstory was actually Randall Pace.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Constance never displayed any redemption in the original ride, even telling riders to return with their death certificates when they leave. Here she joins in the fight against Alistair when asked to be a hero.