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The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion

Page 20

by Jeff Baham

6 Howard Wornom, “The Haunted Mansion: Part II”, Storyboard Magazine , Vol.2 No. 6, November/December 1989, page 17.

  Chapter Eleven

  1 “A Lot of People Think Bosses are Dummies,” Tucson Daily Citizen , April 6, 1977, page 11A.

  2 Jim Clark, Brian Crosby, and Daniel Joseph, Mousetalgia Episode 316 (podcast interview), November 10, 2014.

  Appendix

  1 All quotations from Steven Davison: “Nightmare Before Christmas Enchanted Evening – Sneak Preview Event,” Oct. 3, 2001. Disneyland Resort.

  2 Gordon Goodwin, interview on Ghost Relations Dept. blog. http://ghostrelationsdept.blogspot.com/2006/11/here-lies-our-good-friend-gordon.html

  3 All quotations from Tim Wollwebber: Podcast interview with Jesse Guiher, DoomBuggies Spook Show, Episode 3, December 11, 2013.

  4 Kim Irvine, “Tales of Ghoulish Delight: Creating the Haunted Mansion.” Panel discussion at the Walt Disney Family Museum, Oct. 15, 2016.

  Further Reading

  Ackerman, Forrest, ed. “Disneyland’s House of Horrors.” Famous Monsters of Filmland , No. 82.

  Allnutt, Frank. “The Haunted Mansion: An Audio-Animatronics Adventure.” WED Enterprises, April 8, 1969.

  Anderson, Paul F., ed. Persistence of Vision , No. 9.

  Brigante, Ricky. “Haunted Mansion Makeover.” Orlando Attractions , Vol. 1, No. 1.

  Corupe, Paul. “Classic Cut Presents the Haunted Mansion.” Rue Morgue , No. 61.

  Eastman, Tish. “Haunting Melody: The Story Behind Buddy Baker’s Score for the Haunted Mansion.” Persistence of Vision , No. 9.

  Gordon, Bruce and David Mumford. Disneyland: The Nickel Tour . Glendale: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1995.

  Gordon, Bruce and Kevin Rafferty. Walt Disney Imagineering: The Imagineers . New York: Hyperion, 1996.

  Griffith, Anton. “The Constant Bride.” Scary Monsters , No. 61.

  Janzen, Jack and Leon Janzen, eds. The E-Ticket , Nos. 9, 13, 16, 32, 34, 38, 41.

  Lichten, Francis. Decorative Art of Victoria’s Era . New York: Bonanza Books, 1950.

  MacDonald, Lee. “The Ghost Re-host.” Tales from the Laughing Place , No. 11.

  Merritt, Chris. Interviews with X Atencio, Thurl Ravenscroft, and Marc Davis. Mousetalgia podcast: >www.mousetalgia.com.

  Murray, Keith. “Disneyland in the Spirit of Things.” Pasadena Star News , August 13, 1969.

  Shannon, Leonard. “Out of This World.” Disney News , Vol. 28, No. 2.

  Surrell, Jason. The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies. New York: Disney Editions, 2003.

  Wornom, Howard. “The Magic Behind the Haunted Mansion.” Storyboard: Your Disneyana Magazine , Vol. 2, Nos. 5 and 6.

  Websites

  Baham, Jeff. DoomBuggies (website)

  doombuggies.com

  DeCaro, Dave. Daveland (gallery)

  davelandweb.com/hauntedmansion

  Disney’s Haunted Mansion (forum)

  disneyshauntedmansion.yuku.com

  Doctorow, Cory. BoingBoing (blog)

  boingboing.net (search for “Haunted Mansion”)

  Keim, Ray. Haunted Dimensions (website)

  haunteddimensions.raykeim.com

  Olson, Daniel. Long Forgotten (blog)

  longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com

  Passport to Dreams Old and New (blog)

  passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2010/05/history-and-haunted-mansion.html

  Schultz, Jason. Disneyland Compendium (blog)

  disneylandcompendium.blogspot.com/2008/03/shipley-lydecker-house.html

  Acknowledgments

  In the course of my “crypt-ic” pursuits over the past twenty years, I’ve had the good fortune to speak with a number of notable contemporaries of Walt Disney himself, many of whom have given me some intriguing angles on the development of his Haunted Mansion attraction. In no particular order: WED Imagineers Rolly Crump, Alice Davis, Marty Sklar, Bob Gurr, and Paul Saunders have all offered specific memories about the attraction in our conversations. Blaine Gibson, the late Harriet Burns, and X. Atencio were all kind enough to commemorate DoomBuggies.com’s tenth anniversary with me (and a hundred or so of my closest friends), and they shared some of their lively memories at our celebratory swinging wake.

  Theme Park Designer Chris Merritt has long been a sounding board for my Haunted Mansion theories, and he graciously supplied me with his own unpublished interviews with Marc Davis and X. Atencio, enabling me to incorporate a few of their thoughts on the Mansion in their own words. Team Mousetalgia, my podcasting partners in crime, have provided me with great opportunities to further my Disney-related exploits, so special thanks to Kristen Pfeifer and Becky and Dave Breiland. Artists Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily have long supported my efforts at DoomBuggies.com, and have given me great insight into the world of Haunted Mansion collecting and fandom. John Donaldson, biographer and confidant to the late WED Imagineer Herb Ryman, was instrumental in pointing me toward one possible origin story for Walt’s insistence in placing a haunted house in each of his planned and proposed theme parks.

  The Haunted Mansion enthusiasts have also been inspirational. Specifically, Dan Olson, who knows how to dance on the fine line between conjecture and research better than any historian I have ever known, and the class of fans that graduated from the DoomBuggies.com forums to start an endless discussion about the Haunted Mansion on Micechat.com, continually expanding their encyclopedia. Author Cory Doctorow has also been a longtime supporter and good friend, and I appreciate his help over the years.

  Most importantly, I wish to thank my gracious, caring, and patient wife Jennifer, who has both supported my weird hobby and taken pride in my efforts with DoomBuggies.com over the past couple decades.

  So to all who come to this haunted place, welcome…well, come in. There’s no turning back now…

  About the Author

  Jeff Baham has been a Haunted Mansion fan as far back as he can remember—at least back through 1973, which is his earliest memory of breaking his treasured Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion record album and crying inconsolably (until his mother relented and bought the first of numerous replacements that would follow through his childhood years).

  More recently, Baham is known for founding and operating DoomBuggies.com, a Haunted Mansion fan website that has become a focal point for Mansion fandom to congregate and share stories, learn facts, and enjoy a common bond. DoomBuggies.com has contributed to numerous Disney parks’ Haunted Mansion events, and was an invaluable resource to Walt Disney Pictures during the production of The Haunted Mansion , starring Eddie Murphy. Baham also served a full term on the Disneyland Creative Advisory Council.

  Even more recently, Baham contributed to the Walt Disney Records Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary CD and Box Set , and founded the Mousetalgia podcast, a weekly show dedicated to the exploration of Disney in today’s society, emphasizing theme park culture and exploring the past, present, and future endeavors of the people who have imagined Walt’s happy place into existence. Listen to the show at www.Mousetalgia.com.

  In 2013, Baham started The DoomBuggies Spook Show , a podcast about the history of the Haunted Mansion and other “spooktacular similarities” that might appeal to fans of the attraction. Find the show by visting www.DoomBuggies.com.

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