Aunt Lucretia is the semi-official name of one of the ghosts haunting the Haunted Mansion.
Description[]
Background[]
Aunt Lucretia is one of the ghosts haunting the Haunted Mansion with her marble bust being found within the manor. It is unknown if she had any connection to the estate in life, but it is likely due to her marble bust's physical location and prominence. At-least her Gracey Manor incarnation was a ghost-story writer of considerable renown.
History[]
Her Staring Bust effect was achieved by creating an inverse of a woman's face and putting it up against a black background in a pocket of the wall to make it appear as if her bust was facing outwards. Because it is inverse, no matter where you move whenever you look at the bust, it appears as if it is always staring at you.
She got her name from concept art which labelled her as Aunt Lucretia; she is the only Staring Bust who has a name. The concept art also featured the Singing Busts, meaning that it could have been possible she was originally intended to have been a Singing Bust.
Appearances[]
The Haunted Mansion[]
Aunt Lucretia is a bust found in every Haunted Mansion except for Mystic Manor.
Disneyland[]
In the New Orleans Mansion, her bust is found twice in the attraction. She is first seen in the portrait corridor, staring at guests as they pass by, beside a similarly grim male counterpart. The second time she is seen is on the mantle of the fireplace in the Grand Hall as a male ghost sits next to her with his arm around her.
Walt Disney World[]
In the Hudson River Valley Mansion, her bust is found three times, twice in the library as a Staring Bust where she is said by the Ghost Host to be one of the greatest ghost story writers that the literary world has ever known, and she appears again in the Grand Hall, exactly like her Disneyland counterpart.
As of June 2024 ,Enhancements at the Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World include a more animated marble bust in the Library. Aunt Lucretia now glares and scowls at guests, thanks to a subtle projection. The effect is best appreciated in person, making you question if your eyes are playing tricks on you.
Phantom Manor[]
In Phantom Manor, her bust appears once outside of the Grand Staircase staring at guests. She does not however appear in the ballroom scene.
Other Appearances[]
The Ghost Gallery[]
In the Ghost Gallery storyline, which serves as an unofficial past for Disney World's mansion, her character is named Elizabeth Barrett. Elizabeth is said to have once been a student of Yale where she studied to become a ghost-writer and also became friends with George Gracey jr. (a composite of Master Gracey and the Ghost Host).
Years later, George hired Elizabeth to be the resident librarian of Gracey Manor while the other three ghost writers (who were other writer friends of their's) were tasked with searching for occult texts for George to obtain. Ultimately, she died along with the other writers when one of the other writers accidentally knocked over the bookshelf in the library, crushing them all to death.
2003 film[]
The hallway staring busts appear in this film, staring at Jim Evers. They are depicted by CGI animated busts which turn their heads out of their alcoves.
The Haunted Mansion: Frights of Fancy[]
In a conversation with Constance to distract her from sabotaging Sydney's plans for the Anniversary hauntings, Uncle Theodore identifies Lucretia as being his aunt specifically and brings up her beautiful singing voice.
Trivia[]
- The Staring Bust effect was discovered when Imagineers looked at the backside of animatronic Abe Lincoln's head-mould and noticed it looked like it was facing them wherever they went.
- In the Liberty Square Haunted Mansion, she is said to have been one of the greatest ghost writers the literary world has ever known.
- Her name in the Ghost Gallery being Elizabeth Barrett is a tribute to Victorian poetess, Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Gallery[]
