Cousin Maude

Biographical information
Other names	Maude Dread Governess Maude Sweeney
Profession	Governess (demo script)
Relations	Dread Family
Behind the scenes
First Seen	The Haunted Mansion (Walt Disney World, 2010)

"Our sleeping beauty, who never awoke the night her dreams went up in smoke"-Maude's tombstone

Cousin Maude known in development as Governess Maude Sweeny is a member of the Dread Family and a woman whose tomb is found in the Haunted Mansion in the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World.

Description

Biography

Maude was a member of the wealthy Dread family in-which she was considered to be a cousin. When the twins Wellington and Forsythia Dread murdered Florence McGriffin Dread for inheritance, Maude killed them both in their sleep with a hammer to the head.

Maude was the last member of the Dread family to be left alive (at-least in the area where they lived) with her own death coming in her sleep when her abode was set aflame by the matches she used as hair-pins.

History

In the testing phase for the integration, Maude was known as Governess Maude Sweeney and she strangled Wellington Dread to death. She was killed by Bertie Dread's pet snake which she found in the grass. Whether this was intentional on the behalf of Bertie or incidental is unknown.

Appearances

The Haunted Mansion

Maude's portrait alongside a bust of Charles Dickens in the Exit Crypt.

Cousin Maude is the only member of the Dread Family to appear twice in the ride.

The entirety of the Dread family are presented as busts in front of the Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion as part of the 2010 interactive queue installation and work as a mystery game where guests use clues hidden on the busts and epitaphs to solve the mystery of who killed who.

Each member of the family's plaque is decorated with symbols that represent their murder weapon with Maude's being the hammer which she used to kill the twins. She also has matches being used as hairpins in her bun, referring to her manner of demise.

In the Exit Crypt of the Haunted Mansion, she is seen in portrait-form within the bag of the Hitchhiking Ghost, Phineas. It is unknown why Phineas is in possession of Maude's portrait but it serves the function of giving confirmation to guests who participated in the Dread family game on who the final killer was.

Muppets Haunted Mansion

Maude is played by Jeannie Mai in the special, having a distinctively singed appearance to emphasize how she died. When the Caretaker introduces her in "Rest in Peace", she breathes fire to roast a marshmallow on a stick and at the end of the special when Gonzo and Pepe make their sunrise escape, she asks them to stay so they can make smores.

Trivia

• It is unknown if Maude is a biological cousin within the Dread family, or still simply a governess whose familiarity earned her the prefix of cousin.
• Cousin Maude bears a resemblance to the Aunt Lucretia bust.
• While it could be a coincidence, this name Maude Sweeny sounds shockingly similar to the character of "Mad Sweeney" from dark-fantasy author Neil Gaiman's best-selling novel American Gods. The name could also be an allusion to the 19th century penny-dreadful character of Sweeney Todd who was a serial-killer that went on to receive a musical stage-adaptation of his story.