History Franchise / TheHauntedMansion

* '''Disneyland Paris''' has a DarkerAndEdgier WeirdWest version of the ride known as Phantom Manor, located in Frontierland, in which a malevolent phantom torments a woman by killing her fiancé and haunting her into old age. The ride has [[http://www.ravenswood-manor.com/originalstory.html an extensive backstory that ties the house to the town of Thunder Mesa that forms the rest of Frontierland]], and underwent significant refurbishment for the first time in 2019 to bring it more up to date.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrant: Before the 2019 refurbishment, one of the stretching portraits in the Phantom Manor depicted Melanie wading through a river while a crocodilian humanoid reaches for her ankles. Another depicted her having a picnic with Jake while a snake, along with several venomous insects, is about to attack them.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent:
** One of the stretching portraits in the original Haunted Mansion depicts a young woman with a parasol walking across a tightrope over an aligator with its mouth open.
** Before the 2019 refurbishment, one of the stretching portraits in the Phantom Manor depicted Melanie wading through a river while a crocodilian humanoid reaches for her ankles. Another depicted her having a picnic with Jake while a snake, along with several venomous insects, is about to attack them.

* A long in DevelopmentHell reboot film initially developed by Creator/GuillermoDelToro before his version was passed on in favor of a new take by screenwriter [[Film/TheHeat Katie]] [[Film/Ghostbusters2016 Dippold]] and director [[Film/DearWhitePeople Justin Simien]]. Creator/RosarioDawson, Creator/TiffanyHaddish, Creator/LakeithStanfield, and Creator/OwenWilson will star with Creator/JamieLeeCurtis as Madame Leota.

->''"When hinges creak in doorless chambers, \\
When strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, \\
Whenever candlelights flicker though the air is deathly still, \\
That is the time when ghosts are present, \\

-->--'''Opening lines'''

!! "Kindly step all the way in, please, and make room for everyone. There's no turning back now..."

** In the classic Mansions, there's the Corridor of Doors, whose knobs are rattling violently (and a couple of doors that are ''breathing'' in an [[UncannyValley unsettlingly organic]] fashion), but absolutely no sign of what's on the other side.

* A long in DevelopmentHell reboot film initially developed by Creator/GuillermoDelToro before his version was passed on in favor of a new take by screenwriter [[Film/TheHeat Katie]] [[Film/Ghostbusters2016 Dippold]] and director [[Film/DearWhitePeople Justin Simien]]. Creator/TiffanyHaddish, Creator/LakeithStanfield, and Creator/OwenWilson will star.

* AnAxeToGrind: The knights.
* AnimatedArmor: Also the knights.
* BigBad: Atticus Thorn.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: Giant spiders.
* BlackCloak: The ghost in the Children's Room.
* CanonForeigner: Ezekiel Holloway and Atticus Thorn.

* DarkIsNotEvil: While there are quite a few spirits who are malevolent, there are a few who are not.
* DeadlyDodging: The billards room, the kitchen.

* EnemySummoner: The gargoyles.

* {{Expy}}: Zeke is not only one of the cowardly Caretaker from the ride, but also of [[Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow Ichabod Crane]] with his lanky build and cowardly demeanor.
** Atticus Thorn is also one of the Ghost Host, as there are occasions when he speaks, but he cannot be seen. He's also voiced by Corey Burton, who plays the Ghost Host in the ''Haunted Mansion Holiday'' and all other media related to the rides.
* TheGoomba: The spiders.
* HeroicMime: Zeke. He does, however, speak when he acts as the narrator at both the start and end of the game.

* IncredibleShrinkingMan: The billards room, the toy room.
* ItsAllAboutMe: The male opera singer ghost in the trophy room says this.

* MakeMeWannaShout: The banshees.

* OneWingedAngel: Thorn in the climax.
* OurBansheesAreLouder
* OurGargoylesRock
* PlayingWithFire: Thorn.
* RecurringBoss: Thorn.
* RecycledInSpace: The game is nearly identical to ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion''. It even has an incredibly similar layout for the rooms.
** To elaborate, the game's primary objectives are exactly the same: Make your way around the room, fight the enemies within, turn on the lights, and capture key ghosts, or in this case, Shriveled Souls, to progress.
* RosesAreRedVioletsAreBlue: The ghost in the study.
* SinisterScythe: The ghost in the Children's Room, known as the Dark Reaper.
* SpreadShot: The fourth Soul Gem provides this ability.
* StringyHairedGhostGirl: One of the recurring enemies, the banshees.
* TemporaryPlatform: In the Winter Garden.
* TheWormThatWalks: Atticus Thorn.

* '''Ride/{{Disneyland}}''', '''Ride/WaltDisneyWorld''', and '''Tokyo Disneyland''' have the "classic" version simply known as the Haunted Mansion, a ride through the creepy residence of 999 ghosts, though specific scenes and details vary from venue to venue. Tokyo's mansion is the closest to how the ride appeared on opening day, lacking most of the later changes made to the American mansions.

* '''Ride/{{Disneyland}}''', '''Ride/WaltDisneyWorld''', and '''Tokyo Disneyland''' have the "classic" version simply known as the Haunted Mansion, though specific scenes and details vary from venue to venue. Tokyo's mansion is the closest to how the ride appeared on opening day, lacking most of the later changes made to the American mansions.

The ride spent a long time in DevelopmentHell, having even been first thought of in the earliest plans of Disneyland. Various stories were considered and rejected, so Walt eventually decided for a minimalist approach on story and made the house a simple retirement home/boarding house for the spirits. Of course, this hasn't stopped many from speculating and creating their own interpretations about the nature of the house and its inhabitants, sometimes even being played with by Disney themselves through the mansion's assorted incarnations.

* '''Ride/{{Disneyland}}''', '''Ride/WaltDisneyWorld''', and '''Tokyo Disneyland''' have the "classic" version simply known as the Haunted Mansion, though specific scenes and details vary from venue to venue. Tokyo's mansion is the closest to the opening-day Mansion in style, lacking most of the later changes made to the American Mansions.

* '''Ride/{{Disneyland}}''', '''Ride/WaltDisneyWorld''', and '''Tokyo Disneyland''' have the "classic" version simply known as the Haunted Mansion, though specific scenes and details vary from venue to venue. Tokyo's mansion is the closest to the opening-day Mansion in style, lacking the notable upgrades of the American Mansions.
** From [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2001]] onward, the Anaheim and Tokyo parks give the original version of the ride a special Christmas-season overlay each year: Haunted Mansion Holiday, in which [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Jack Skellington and company]] have decked it out for the Yuletide. Notably, the gingerbread house dominating the Grand Ballroom table is different every year.
* '''Disneyland Paris''' has a DarkerAndEdgier WeirdWest version of the ride known as Phantom Manor, located in Frontierland, in which a malevolent phantom torments a woman by killing her fiance and haunting her into old age. The ride has [[http://www.ravenswood-manor.com/originalstory.html an extensive backstory that ties the house to the town of Thunder Mesa that forms the rest of Frontierland]], and underwent significant refurbishment for the first time in 2019 to bring it more up to date.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Walt Disney World and Tokyo's versions are nearly identical to the original Disneyland attraction, with some variance between them. [[DarkerAndEdgier Phantom Manor]] retains the same scenes in roughly the same order as the first three, but has a wildly different storyline and an [[WeirdWest Old Western twist]]. [[LighterAndSofter Mystic Manor]], on the other hand, can be called "a version" of the Haunted Mansion in only the barest terms, as it stemmed from a developmental MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual concept for the Mansion.

* BlackComedyBurst: Due to the absence of ghosts, Mystic Manor is largely lacking in the other rides' macabre humor...except for one notable example with a Greek fresco depicting a group of women happily drinking in a courtyard with a mountain in the distance. When Lord Mystic's magic dust touches the fresco, the volcano in the background ''erupts'' and overflows, burying the courtyard and all the women in lava...except for their hands, still above the lava, which clink their goblets together.

* ForeignRemake: Phantom Manor in Paris and Mystic Manor in Hong Kong both reinterpret the idea of the Haunted Mansion to fit the country's mythologies. Phantom Manor takes advantage of the country's affinity for Westerns and cowboy movies, and gives the ride a new setting and more detailed backstory to fit into the surrounding Frontierland. Mystic Manor, on the other hand, avoids the UnfortunateImplications of a house full of malevolent spirits due to the Chinese relationship with spirits and ancestors, and instead focuses on an unused concept idea for the Mansion as a MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual.

* A long in DevelopmentHell reboot film initially developed by Creator/GuillermoDelToro before his version was passed on in favor of a new take by screenwriter [[Film/TheHeat Katie]] [[Film/Ghostbusters2016 Dippold]] and director [[Film/DearWhitePeople Justin Simien]]

* LighterAndSofter: Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland, which has artifacts coming to life via a mysterious music box, but no ghosts. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEApcS_kVqM See for yourself here.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLvq84KqOeE It's also recommended to watch the preshow first to understand the story completely.]]

** From [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000]] onward, the Anaheim and Tokyo parks give the original version of the ride a special Christmas-season overlay each year: Haunted Mansion Holiday, in which [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Jack Skellington and company]] have decked it out for the Yuletide. Notably, the gingerbread house dominating the Grand Ballroom table is different every year.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Mystic Manor involves Lord Mystic's mischievous monkey Albert as the cause of its supernatural occurrences.

* NoTalkingOrPhonesWarning: A memorable example: "Do not pull down on the safety bar. ''I'' will lower it for you! And ''NO'' flash pictures, ''PLEASE''; We spirits are sensitive...to bright lights."

[[/folder]]

[[folder:American Mansions]]
* AbortedArc: Three notable examples.
** The animatronic raven was originally going to be the "narrator" of the ride, which ended up being much better implemented with the "Ghost Host" being piped in through the Doom Buggy's individual speakers. The ravens, however, are still situated throughout the ride, flapping and beaking as if they were saying something, possibly because it looks creepy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcW6k5gDsoY According to ride engineer Tony Baxter]], the idea of the raven being the narrator was likely abandoned due to the hired voice actor giving a ''very'' poor line reading of the dialogue.
--->[[DullSurprise "Caw. Caw. Beware of hitchhiking ghosts."]]
** Around 2003, various signs began to appear in the park suggesting that a monumental CanonWelding operation tying together the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Tom Sawyer's Island attractions was going to take place, centered around pirate Jean Lafitte. Due to the idea's creator being fired for other reasons before the project's completion, a few clues (such as a walled crypt) can still be seen in the Mansion and the other two attractions, but do not lead anywhere.
** The character of the Hatchet Man was apparently going to become more prominent in the ride, as part of the same "refurbishing" as Constance Hatchaway's creation. A few clues, such as the character's face appearing briefly during Madame Leota's séance, and the Imagineers systematically removing from sale any item referring to the old backstory (with the Ghost Host as Master Gracey), began appearing, but once more, the idea's creator's departure stopped the project, and the Gracey fanon was allowed to be recognized again.
* ArcNumber: Actually more like a numerical EasterEgg, the chandelier in the Disneyland foyer has 6 branches, each branch has 6 candles, and each candle has [[NumberOfTheBeast 6]] crystals hanging under it.
** The number 13 appears throughout the ride as well: the clock in the hall of doors has 13 numbers instead of the typical 12, and in the Haunted Mansion Holiday, Madame Leota has 13 tarot cards for the 13 days of Christmas.
* ArcWelding: {{Averted}} The Disneyland version was intended to get its own welding for the other rides in/around New Orleans Square (namely, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tom Sawyer's Island), but this was abandoned.
* TheArtifact: The heartbeat in the Attic soundtrack has been a staple since the beginning of the ride, but it no longer made sense after Constance was implemented. Originally, it was associated with the mournful Bride character who had a visible glowing heartbeat, but ever since she was replaced by the murderous Constance, it doesn't seem so appropriate. The Disneyland Mansion dropped it altogether sometime before reinstating the Hatbox Ghost, but the sound has since returned as of 2018.
* AscendedExtra: The Bride became more important once Constance took over the role, as the character gained a voice and developed backstory. Phantom Manor had already done this to the Bride through Melanie Ravenswood, then did the same thing to the Phantom in the 2019 refurbishment that finally confirmed him to be [[spoiler:Henry Ravenswood, Melanie's father]].
* TheBluebeard: This was once considered for the backstory of the ride.
* BuryMeNotOnTheLonePrairie: There has been at least one instance of a family attempting to scatter a loved one's ashes within the halls of the ride, causing Disneyland to purchase a HEPA vacuum cleaner to clean up any remains dumped in the ride.
* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: In the Walt Disney World Mansion, there are animated blinking glowing eyes which transition into the static demon wallpaper.
* ComicTrio: The Hitchhiking Ghosts are generally portrayed like this in {{Fanon}} with Ezra (the skeletal one) as the schemer, Gus (the bearded convict) as the dumb one and Phineas (the carpetbagger) as the powerless one.
* CreepyTwins: Wellington and Forsythia Dread of the Florida version's new queue extension.
* CreepyRavens: Ravens are placed throughout the ride to add to the creepy atmosphere, as noted in AbortedArc.
* CrustyCaretaker: An old caretaker appears before the Graveyard, and he's the only mortal character in the ride.
* DefangedHorrors: The ride starts off scary, with threatening invisible spirits trapped within the workings of the house, but once they materialize, the audience sees that the ghosts are just there to have fun and were probably just frustrated by not being able to manifest.
* DealWithTheDevil: An unused changing portrait, "the burning miser", shows a rich man ultimately being claimed by fire from a Faustian devil, who displays a large "SOLD" label.
* EarlyBirdCameo: In Disneyland, the plantation house representing the exterior of the mansion just sat around in New Orleans Square for a few years before the attraction opened. The only sign something was brewing was an advertisement on the door asking for ghosts to apply for residency.
* ExpandedUniverse: The original ride had no real backstory other than the mansion being a "retirement home" for ghosts, and even that never explicitly factors into the ride proper. However, spinoff materials such as comics, a video game, and the Memento Mori gift shop have offered more elaborate backstories for the Mansion's characters.
* GiantSpider: The Disney World version used to have a couple of them, later used for enemies in the video game adaptation.
* GoldDigger: Constance the ghost bride in the American Mansions.
* HalloweenEpisode: Played with; the Haunted Mansion Holiday (described in ChristmasEpisode above) overlay begins during when the Halloween overlays are put up in the rest of the park, and stays until the Christmas overlays are taken down. Therefore, it's as much a Halloween episode as it is a Christmas episode (similar to the argument over whether ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie).
* HeartbeatSoundtrack: The grim "Bridal Chorus" in the Attic is underscored by a heartbeat. Before the dark Bridal Chorus track, the heartbeat (and the screams of pop-up ghosts) were the only sounds in the attic.
* HellIsThatNoise: Immediately after the famous LightningReveal of the Ghost Host's hanging corpse in the Stretching Room, it's followed up on by 1) a ''bloodcurdling'' scream of terror and 2) the sound of his body ''[[SickeningCrunch smashing into the ground]]'' with wood snapping and bones audibly crunching.
* ItKindOfLooksLikeAFace: This is used everywhere in the attraction to create pareidolia paranoia. The most obvious example is the monster-face wallpaper in the Corridor of Doors, but even the realistic, "normal" wallpapers preceding it can be easily twisted into monstrous visages, and the architectural details of the Mansion's interior hide faces everywhere.
* IWillWaitForYou: The original Bride figure in the Attic had this story attributed to her by fans, and for a time, [[AscendedFanon it was made canon with mocking groom ghosts]], since the early removal of the Hatbox Ghost made the evident BlackWidow murder story in the Attic unfeasible without a punchline. With the Hatbox Ghost also went some pop-up heads in hatboxes, but his failure meant the removal of all sinister implications. In the 2000s, the Haunted Mansions implemented a new black widow bride that no longer needed the Hatbox Ghost for context...yet, once they found a way to bring back the character as intended, he fit into his old home at Disneyland just fine.
* LargeHam: the Ghost Host, among others.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Phantom Manor]]
* ArcWelding: Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor is welded into the backstory of Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain.
* ArtImitatesArt: The original version of the Bride's Boudoir scene in Phantom Manor, with fog in her vanity mirror forming the shape of a skull, is based on the famous optical illusion print known as "All is Vanity". The refurbishment replaces it with a reflective (though subtly skull-shaped) mirror that the Phantom's visage periodically appears in next to Melanie.
* TheBadGuyWins: In Paris, Phantom Manor appears to give off this implication, as the Phantom successfully got his revenge, only failing in killing the riders. It becomes worse in the 2019 refurbishment, where he has successfully prevented at least four of his daughter's marriages and driven her to madness in the afterlife.
* BigBad: The Phantom in Paris's version, who torments Melanie the Bride and then [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou sets his sights on you.]]
* BuriedAlive: A portion of Phantom Manor when you go into an open grave, though you enter an underground town through it.
* CanonWelding: Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris is subject to this as it and ''[[Ride/BigThunderMountainRailroad Big Thunder Mountain]]'' share the same backstory, which is tied in with the rest of Frontierland (themed as a mining town called Thunder Mesa).
* DrivenToMadness: Melanie in the 2019 update to Phantom Manor. After four (or more) of her suitors are killed by the Phantom, she begs the guests riding the ride to marry her in the "Hitchhiking Ghosts" segment. Even as they leave, she pleads for them to hurry back.
* FauxAffablyEvil: The Phantom in Phantom Manor. He takes the role of Ghost Host, but we see he is the antagonist of the attraction, tormenting the Bride whose fiances he killed, and ultimately trying to take you into the underworld.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Phantom Manor replaces the Hitchhiking Ghosts with a ghost of Melanie Ravenswood, who begs the rider to marry her. Considering what the Phantom does to Melanie's suitors...
* IWillWaitForYou: Phantom Manor took the story of a bride tragically unlucky in love and turned it into the ride's main story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mystic Manor]]
* AdventurerArchaeologist: Lord Henry Mystic is one, and he displays the fruits of his travels inside his Mystic Manor.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Lord Mystic's music box. While it in itself is not harmful, the animating musical dust that spreads throughout the museum brings everything to life and causes a great deal of chaos.
* BlackComedyBurst: Due to the absence of ghosts, Mystic Manor is largely lacking in the other rides' macabre humor...except for one notable example with a Greek fresco depicting a group of women happily drinking in a courtyard with a mountain in the distance. When Lord Mystic's magic dust touches the fresco, the volcano in the background ''erupts'' and overflows, burying the courtyard and all the women in lava...except for their hands, still above the lava, which clink their goblets together.
* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Mystic Manor involves Lord Mystic's mischievous monkey Albert as the cause of its supernatural occurrences.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Unsorted]]
* LightningReveal:
** The ceiling in the elevator goes to black, and the Ghost Host is revealed to have hanged himself in life. Phantom Manor instead reveals the corpse of the groom being hanged by the Phantom.
** The original StockSoundEffect for this was "Castle Thunder" (which many pre-1988 Disney animated features and shorts used), but in 2007, the Disney World version replaced it with newer, more realistic thunder sound effects.
** Several paintings show monstrous views of their subjects, which reveal the monstrous side in time with the lightning flashes "outside" the mansion.
* LighterAndSofter: Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland, which has artifacts coming to life via a mysterious music box, but no ghosts. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEApcS_kVqM See for yourself here.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLvq84KqOeE It's also recommended to watch the preshow first to understand the story completely.]]
** Also, the Haunted Mansion Holiday, which has the citizens of [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Halloween Town]] join the denizens of the Haunted Mansion to help bring around their version of Christmas. Not to say that the movie wasn't dark (ie - the scene where a child receives a human head as a Christmas present, for starters) but Christmas motifs and large, cartoony characters generally soften the blow of the Mansion's spooks.
* LongRunner: The original mansion's been housing spirits from all over the world since 1969.

* MamaBear: The stretching room portraits in Phantom Manor reveal that a literal one of these was responsible for the death of one of Melanie's suitors.
* MeaningfulEcho: The ride [[BookEnds begins and ends]] with discussion on ghostly activity. At the beginning, it's an ominous monologue about frightening hauntings ("When hinges creak in doorless chambers..."); at the end it's a song about the partying antics the spirits get up to ("When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake..")

* MythologyGag: Disney Parks' "Attractionistas" dolls includes the [[http://cdn.s7.disneystore.com/is/image/DisneyShopping/7512055890012?$yetidetail$ HM doll Gracey]], named for the alleged character named on the tombstone/the Imagineer who helped to create the ride.
* NeverTrustATrailer: Several advertisements for Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion show scenes that are exclusive to Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor, such as the skeletons in the underworld.
* NoAnimosityInTheAfterlife: The ride features a ghost decapitated knight singing happily next to his ghost executioner in the ghosts' graveyard jamboree at the end.

* NoTalkingOrPhonesWarning: A memorable example: "Do not pull down on the safety bar. ''I'' will lower it for you! And ''NO'' flash pictures, ''PLEASE''; We spirits are sensitive...to bright lights."
* NothingIsScarier: The ride is decently scary before you see any ghosts, as you watch impossible visions and bizarre warpings occur in the building around you. Once Madame Leota frees the spirits, you see they're mostly a jolly bunch and that they were just frustrated that they couldn't materialize.
** In the classic Mansions, there's the Corridor of Doors, whose knobs are rattling violently (and a couple of doors that are ''breathing'' in an [[UncannyValley unsettlingly organic]] fashion), but absolutely no sign of what's on the other side.
** Not far from the hallway of doors, there's a grandfather clock whose dials are spinning frantically. Whenever the hand strikes [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteen]], the shadow of a ''massive'' demon's claw hand moves across the clock, but nothing else. Made especially creepy because there's nothing even remotely demonic anywhere else in the ride, all the other spooky ghosts are clearly humanoid.
** At the end of the [[MoodWhiplash goofy and lighthearted]] graveyard scene in the Florida version, visible through the door of an open crypt is an ''extremely'' ominous specter that vaguely resembles a hooded humanoid figure holding a lantern. Unlike all the other ghosts in the graveyard, its design is [[NonStandardCharacterDesign far less cartoony and more minimalistic]] and looks more than anything like ''TheGrimReaper.'' This ghost doesn't even do anything, it just...watches you.

* OminousPipeOrgan:
** The ballroom scene. The Disneyland organ is the actual prop from Disney's ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' movie. Everywhere else, a replica is used.
** [[invoked]] The foyer, where a [[NightmareFuel slow funeral dirge version]] of "Grim, Grinning Ghosts" plays, is much eerier. Unlike the ballroom scene, where the organ is in plain view, the source of the foyer music is left up to the guest's imagination, though it's implied to be coming from the same organ, heard from far away.
** The WDW Mansion has a pipe organ headstone in its queue. It plays "Grim, Grinning Ghosts" when interacted with.
* OneWomanWail: The Bride's singing throughout Phantom Manor.

* OverprotectiveDad: Henry Ravenswood of Phantom Manor. After discovering his daughter was to leave town after getting married, he was determined to stop the wedding at all costs. [[spoiler: He died in an earthquake that ravaged the whole town, but his spirit goes on to murder his daughter's suitors from beyond the grave and make Melanie suffer for the rest of her life in the abandoned house]].
* ParasolOfPrettiness: The ballerina in the Mansions' stretching paintings, to help the contrast with the grim situations in the full paintings.
* PunnyName:
** Constance Hatchaway, the Bride. Her marriages involved her ''constantly'' using her ''hatchet'', and she "hatched away" at wealth to achieve her goals. Doubles as an IronicName- she lacks marital constance entirely.
** The elderly woman in the stretching gallery, now retconned to be Constance, used to be known as "Abigale Patecleaver", referencing the gruesome tombstone showing George's head being split open ([[DontExplainTheJoke or, his pate being cleaved]]) by an axe.
** All four of Melanie's suitors in the 2019 update, including:
*** Barry Claude, who was clawed to death by an angry bear and her cub.
*** Captain Rowan D. Falls, who fell to his death when he went over a waterfall in a rowboat.
*** Sawyer Bottom, who was killed by an industrial logging buzzsaw.
*** Ignatius "Iggy" Knight, who was killed by a dynamite explosion.
* QuicksandSucks: As we see in one of the Mansions' stretching paintings.
* ReReleaseSoundtrack: When the Haunted Mansion at Disney World was renovated in 2007, a good bulk of the ride soundtrack was redone. Many of the original StockSoundEffects were replaced with newer sound effects that sound more realistic and scary, several of the instrumental music pieces were re-recorded (though the original foyer organ was used but played at a slightly slower speed to sound spookier), and many of the voices were re-recorded save for the Ghost Host and the Singing Busts.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: In Phantom Manor, the Phantom's eyes glow red within his skull.
* {{Retcon}}:
** The Attic scene evolved several times and each change was treated like the only version of the scene ever there.
** Upon his return, the Hatbox Ghost's original brief backstory no longer works with [[BlackWidow the current Bride]]. This is actually to the hatbox effect's advantage, since he's no longer required to sync his head trick to the heartbeat, and now has time to perform more animations.
** The 2019 overhaul of Phantom Manor firmly sticks with the "Phantom is Henry Ravenswood" story and accordingly, has expanded on his disapproval of Melanie's suitor by merely making the man only one in a series of suitors that he has gotten killed and buried deep in the crypts below. Rather than the stretching portraits showing generic doom for Melanie and her one suitor, they now tell the specific ends of different suitors.
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent:
** One of the stretching portraits in the original Haunted Mansion depicts a young woman with a parasol walking across a tightrope over an aligator with its mouth open.
** Before the 2019 refurbishment, one of the stretching portraits in the Phantom Manor depicted Melanie wading through a river while a crocodilian humanoid reaches for her ankles. Another depicted her having a picnic with Jake while a snake, along with several venomous insects, is about to attack them.

* SoundtrackDissonance: Phantom Manor's music is significantly different than the other mansions, to fit the darker, more serious tone of the ride, except for the Singing Busts, who are cheerfully singing "Grim Grinning Ghosts" to swing jazz like in every other version of the ride.

* StealthPun:
** The outdoor section of the Florida version's queue has a secret message in the symbols on the stone books carved into the side of Prudence Pock's tomb. The way it's coded; with a ''crypt''ogram.
** The April-December portrait plays on the assumption that the word "April" in the corner is initially perceived as the woman's name. Then the word changes to different months as she ages until the text reads "December", revealing the context to be a grim joke about a lifespan being compared to a year.

* TightropeWalking: The pretty young lady with the parasol in the stretching room portraits. If only she were performing over a net.
* TokenHuman:
** On the way to the Graveyard in the Mansions, an old caretaker and his dog can be seen frozen in fear and awe at the scene. They are the only living characters in the ride.
** In Phantom Manor, Melanie Ravenswood is the only living character seen, as the other characters are posthumous or returned from the dead. Melanie eventually joins their ranks, tormented her entire life.
* {{Troll}}:
** The Ghost Host, with mortals as his targets.
** The Hitchhiking Ghosts in Magic Kingdom's version of the ride, with the riders also being their targets.
* {{Tuckerization}}:
** Madame Leota is named for Leota Toombs, who provided her visage.
** Several tombstones are named after the Imagineers who worked on the ride, the most famous being Master Gracey after special effects designer Yale Gracey. Other ones include Grandpa Marc (Marc Davis), Brother Claude (Claude Coats), Francis Xavier (X. Atencio), and Brother Dave (Dave Schweninger). The WDW queue also has one for Mister Frees (Paul Frees, the voice of the Ghost Host), one for "Brother Ken" (Ken Anderson), and features a [[Creator/ThurlRavenscroft Ravenscroft]] brand organ.
* UnfinishedBusiness: Constance seems to hang around in the Mansion because she was never brought to justice; the location of the Hatbox Ghost seems to tell visitors where some incriminating evidence can be found in the attic. All of the other ghosts, however, are hanging out in the mortal world for the fun of it. Melanie in Phantom Manor post-refurbishment gets reduced to a ghost begging for someone to marry her.
* UpdatedRerelease: Throughout the years, the mansions at Disneyland and Disney World have seen many changes throughout the years. The most notable ones include the addition of new characters like Constance and the Hatbox Ghost.
** Phantom Manor was updated in 2019 with an expanded backstory. In the new backstory, the titular Phantom is explicitly revealed to be Henry Ravenswood, the father of the bride Melanie. Melanie was also revealed to have at least four different suitors, all of whom died due to "accidents" that Henry himself had arranged because he felt they were unworthy of marrying his daughter. The ending also makes Melanie a ghost hanging around for a husband.
* VisualPun:
** The ghost opera singers are a visual pun on ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', and the fact that they're placed very near the end of the ride means "It's not over until the fat lady sings."
** The Grand Ballroom scene quite literally features "Great Caesar's ghost!"
* TheVoice: The Ghost Host.

* WhenTreesAttack: When descending from the Attic to the Graveyard in the Mansions, some monstrous trees can be seen.

----
->''"There's a little matter I forgot to mention... BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts!"''

* AbortedArc: Three notable examples.
** The animatronic raven was originally going to be the "narrator" of the ride, which ended up being much better implemented with the "Ghost Host" being piped in through the Doom Buggy's individual speakers. The ravens, however, are still situated throughout the ride, flapping and beaking as if they were saying something, possibly because it looks creepy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcW6k5gDsoY According to ride engineer Tony Baxter]], the idea of the raven being the narrator was likely abandoned due to the hired voice actor giving a ''very'' poor line reading of the dialogue.
--->[[DullSurprise "Caw. Caw. Beware of hitchhiking ghosts."]]
** Around 2003, various signs began to appear in the park suggesting that a monumental CanonWelding operation tying together the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Tom Sawyer's Island attractions was going to take place, centered around pirate Jean Lafitte. Due to the idea's creator being fired for other reasons before the project's completion, a few clues (such as a walled crypt) can still be seen in the Mansion and the other two attractions, but do not lead anywhere.
** The character of the Hatchet Man was apparently going to become more prominent in the ride, as part of the same "refurbishing" as Constance Hatchaway's creation. A few clues, such as the character's face appearing briefly during Madame Leota's séance, and the Imagineers systematically removing from sale any item referring to the old backstory (with the Ghost Host as Master Gracey), began appearing, but once more, the idea's creator's departure stopped the project, and the Gracey fanon was allowed to be recognized again.
* AdventurerArchaeologist: Lord Henry Mystic is one, and he displays the fruits of his travels inside his Mystic Manor.

* ArcNumber: Actually more like a numerical EasterEgg, the chandelier in the Disneyland foyer has 6 branches, each branch has 6 candles, and each candle has [[NumberOfTheBeast 6]] crystals hanging under it.
** The number 13 appears throughout the ride as well: the clock in the hall of doors has 13 numbers instead of the typical 12, and in the Haunted Mansion Holiday, Madame Leota has 13 tarot cards for the 13 days of Christmas.
* ArcWelding: Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor is welded into the backstory of Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain.
** The Disneyland version was intended to get its own welding for the other rides in/around New Orleans Square (namely, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tom Sawyer's Island), but this was abandoned.
* TheArtifact: The heartbeat in the Attic soundtrack has been a staple since the beginning of the ride, but it no longer made sense after Constance was implemented. Originally, it was associated with the mournful Bride character who had a visible glowing heartbeat, but ever since she was replaced by the murderous Constance, it doesn't seem so appropriate. The Disneyland Mansion dropped it altogether sometime before reinstating the Hatbox Ghost, but the sound has since returned as of 2018.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Lord Mystic's music box. While it in itself is not harmful, the animating musical dust that spreads throughout the museum brings everything to life and causes a great deal of chaos.
* ArtImitatesArt: The original version of the Bride's Boudoir scene in Phantom Manor, with fog in her vanity mirror forming the shape of a skull, is based on the famous optical illusion print known as "All is Vanity". The refurbishment replaces it with a reflective (though subtly skull-shaped) mirror that the Phantom's visage periodically appears in next to Melanie.
* AscendedExtra: The Bride became more important once Constance took over the role, as the character gained a voice and developed backstory. Phantom Manor had already done this to the Bride through Melanie Ravenswood, then did the same thing to the Phantom in the 2019 refurbishment that finally confirmed him to be [[spoiler:Henry Ravenswood, Melanie's father]].
* TheBadGuyWins: In Paris, Phantom Manor appears to give off this implication, as the Phantom successfully got his revenge, only failing in killing the riders. It becomes worse in the 2019 refurbishment, where he has successfully prevented at least four of his daughter's marriages and driven her to madness in the afterlife.

* BigBad: The Phantom in Paris's version, who torments Melanie the Bride and then [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou sets his sights on you.]]

* BlackComedyBurst: Due to the absence of ghosts, Mystic Manor is largely lacking in the other rides' macabre humor...except for one notable example with a Greek fresco depicting a group of women happily drinking in a courtyard with a mountain in the distance. When Lord Mystic's magic dust touches the fresco, the volcano in the background ''erupts'' and overflows, burying the courtyard and all the women in lava...except for their hands, still above the lava, which clink their goblets together.

* TheBluebeard: This was once considered for the backstory of the ride.

* BuriedAlive: A portion of Phantom Manor when you go into an open grave, though you enter an underground town through it.
* BuryMeNotOnTheLonePrairie: There has been at least one instance of a family attempting to scatter a loved one's ashes within the halls of the ride, causing Disneyland to purchase a HEPA vacuum cleaner to clean up any remains dumped in the ride.
* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: In the Walt Disney World Mansion, there are animated blinking glowing eyes which transition into the static demon wallpaper.
* CanonWelding: Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris is subject to this as it and ''[[Ride/BigThunderMountainRailroad Big Thunder Mountain]]'' share the same backstory, which is tied in with the rest of Frontierland (themed as a mining town called Thunder Mesa).

* ComicTrio: The Hitchhiking Ghosts are generally portrayed like this in {{Fanon}} with Ezra (the skeletal one) as the schemer, Gus (the bearded convict) as the dumb one and Phineas (the carpetbagger) as the powerless one.
* CreepyTwins: Wellington and Forsythia Dread of the Florida version's new queue extension.

* CreepyRavens: Ravens are placed throughout the ride to add to the creepy atmosphere, as noted in AbortedArc.
* CrustyCaretaker: An old caretaker appears before the Graveyard, and he's the only mortal character in the ride.

* DefangedHorrors: The ride starts off scary, with threatening invisible spirits trapped within the workings of the house, but once they materialize, the audience sees that the ghosts are just there to have fun and were probably just frustrated by not being able to manifest.
* DealWithTheDevil: An unused changing portrait, "the burning miser", shows a rich man ultimately being claimed by fire from a Faustian devil, who displays a large "SOLD" label.

* DrivenToMadness: Melanie in the 2019 update to Phantom Manor. After four (or more) of her suitors are killed by the Phantom, she begs the guests riding the ride to marry her in the "Hitchhiking Ghosts" segment. Even as they leave, she pleads for them to hurry back.

* EarlyBirdCameo: In Disneyland, the plantation house representing the exterior of the mansion just sat around in New Orleans Square for a few years before the attraction opened. The only sign something was brewing was an advertisement on the door asking for ghosts to apply for residency.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Mystic Manor involves Lord Mystic's mischievous monkey Albert as the cause of its supernatural occurrences.

* ExpandedUniverse: The original ride had no real backstory other than the mansion being a "retirement home" for ghosts, and even that never explicitly factors into the ride proper. However, spinoff materials such as comics, a video game, and the Memento Mori gift shop have offered more elaborate backstories for the Mansion's characters.
* FauxAffablyEvil: The Phantom in Phantom Manor. He takes the role of Ghost Host, but we see he is the antagonist of the attraction, tormenting the Bride whose fiances he killed, and ultimately trying to take you into the underworld.

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Phantom Manor replaces the Hitchhiking Ghosts with a ghost of Melanie Ravenswood, who begs the rider to marry her. Considering what the Phantom does to Melanie's suitors...
* GiantSpider: The Disney World version used to have a couple of them, later used for enemies in the video game adaptation.
* GoldDigger: Constance the ghost bride in the American Mansions.

* HalloweenEpisode: Played with; the Haunted Mansion Holiday (described in ChristmasEpisode above) overlay begins during when the Halloween overlays are put up in the rest of the park, and stays until the Christmas overlays are taken down. Therefore, it's as much a Halloween episode as it is a Christmas episode (similar to the argument over whether ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie).

* HeartbeatSoundtrack: The grim "Bridal Chorus" in the Attic is underscored by a heartbeat. Before the dark Bridal Chorus track, the heartbeat (and the screams of pop-up ghosts) were the only sounds in the attic.

* HellIsThatNoise: Immediately after the famous LightningReveal of the Ghost Host's hanging corpse in the Stretching Room, it's followed up on by 1) a ''bloodcurdling'' scream of terror and 2) the sound of his body ''[[SickeningCrunch smashing into the ground]]'' with wood snapping and bones audibly crunching.
* ItKindOfLooksLikeAFace: This is used everywhere in the attraction to create pareidolia paranoia. The most obvious example is the monster-face wallpaper in the Corridor of Doors, but even the realistic, "normal" wallpapers preceding it can be easily twisted into monstrous visages, and the architectural details of the Mansion's interior hide faces everywhere.
* IWillWaitForYou:
** The original Bride figure in the Attic had this story attributed to her by fans, and for a time, [[AscendedFanon it was made canon with mocking groom ghosts]], since the early removal of the Hatbox Ghost made the evident BlackWidow murder story in the Attic unfeasible without a punchline. With the Hatbox Ghost also went some pop-up heads in hatboxes, but his failure meant the removal of all sinister implications. In the 2000s, the Haunted Mansions implemented a new black widow bride that no longer needed the Hatbox Ghost for context...yet, once they found a way to bring back the character as intended, he fit into his old home at Disneyland just fine.
** Phantom Manor took the story of a bride tragically unlucky in love and turned it into the ride's main story.

* LargeHam: the Ghost Host, among others.

* BilingualBonus: WDW's gift shop, Memento Mori, is named after a Latin phrase that means "remember that you will die", and it plays on the English word "memento", which can be defined as "souvenir".

-->[[DullSurprise "Caw. Caw. Beware of hitchhiking ghosts."]]

-->'''Ghost Host:''' Of course...there's always ''[[DrivenToSuicide my way.]]'' ''([[LightningReveal Lightning flashes, revealing the corpse of the Ghost Host hanging from the ceiling]])''

--> '''The Ghost Host''': Of course, there's always ''my way'' (cue hanging corpse).