Gracey Manor, better known as the Haunted Mansion, is a manor formerly located on the outskirts of New Orleans, which was since relocated to Disneyland Park.
Description[]
Gracey Manor is an imposing antebellum mansion made of white stone. It is surrounded by a park which is mostly taken up by the surrounding Graveyard. The Man
sion's inside is bigger than the outside and is inhabited by more than a thousand ghosts (though the official figure is 999) with their own rudimentary government.
The "happy haunts" have retired to the Mansion from all over the world, seeking shelter and an opportunity to scare many more mortals than they would otherwise have. Indeed, since 1969, the Mansion has been moved to Disneyland Park, where the ghosts pose as special effects in a typical "dark ride", giving them an opportunity to do what they do best: playfully spook the living.
History[]
Origins[]
No one quite knows when the manor-house was really built. Reports testify of its presence since the XVIIIth century at the very least, and ghostly manifestations have always been associated with the imposing mansion, although the spooks seemed to come more from the neighbouring graveyard than from inside the house at the time. The Graceys already lived in New Orleans at the time, but that can only be confirmed by half-rotten civil status reports, which do not mention whether or not the Graceys built the house or even already lived there at this point.
Gracey Ownership[]
The first confirmed Gracey owner of the house was William Gracey, great-grandfather of Vincent and Dorian, a notorious sea merchant suspected of secretly being a pirate, who allegedly hung himself in the octogonal Cupola of the Mansion after the untimely death of his bride, Emily. It seems however that William had a son, Marc, who inherited the Mansion before bequeathing it to his own son, George, who later passed it to his son Vincent, the current Ghost Host, who also hung himself from the cupola. Over the span of these three generations, the Mansion came to be haunted by its first prominent ghosts. During Vincent's tenure as the owner of the house, notorious psychic Madame Leota came to live in the manor, bumping up the number of spooks even further.
Later Owners[]
After Dorian Gracey died without any known heir, the Mansion was sold by the city of New Orleans and bought by the greedy Dread family, whose members killed each other off in a matter of years, under the Ghost Host's amused eyes. It was then bought by collector of the bizarre Philidore Gastley, who managed to offend the Ghost Host so much that he pushed him into the lit fireplace one night. The once-more abandoned manor then went to the wealthy George Hightower, a rich businessman and collector of the bizarre who had the misfortune of marrying Constance Hatchaway. After George's disappearance, Constance became the lady of the house, where she grew old and died unpunished for her crimes, and (for obvious reasons) without any heir. After that, the manor fell into permanent abandon and disrepair.
Disneyland[]
Eventually, it was found by the Disney Imagineers who bought it from the state and had it brought to Disneyland. They made some adjustments and finally turned it into the ride you know today, but not before inviting hundreds of homeless ghosts to come to the Mansion.
List of Rooms[]
- Foyer
- Changing Portraits Corridor
- Corridor of Doors
- Conservatory
- Séance Room
- Ballroom
- Ghostly Materials Gallery
- Attic
- Master Gracey's Bedroom
- Servants' Quarters
- Ambassador Xavier's Lounging Lodge
- Grandfather McKim's Resting Room
- Uncle Davis' Sleeping Salon
- Colonel Coats' Bivouac Berth
- Professor Wathel's Reposing Lounge
- Wathel's Laboratory
- Secret Corridors
- Cellar
- Kitchen
- Ghost Host's Office
- Ghost Host's Collection
- Red Room
- Forgotten Room