The Gardener is a character which once appeared in Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris.
History[]
Description[]
The Gardener appears as an undead skeletal figure with its eyes still intact. It is shown to wear eyeglasses, as well as a torn-up black uniform with equally damaged white gloves, where all of its skeletal fingers are sticking out of them. It is also shown to be holding a small rake, which was likely used to attempt to assault the unsuspecting Melanie with.
Background[]
The gardener was seemingly a man who lived in Thunder Mesa, Arizona during the 19th where he presumably worked as a gardener. The man died of unknown circumstances and was buried outside of the Ravenswood Manor rose-garden. Through unknown means, his spirit became undead and returned from the grave at some point. This was likely in the 1850s where it seems to have terrorized the Ravenswood family heiress, Mélanie Ravenswood.
Development history[]
The gardener appeared in the original stretching room scene of Phantom Manor in a portrait which showed him crawling out of his tomb beneath an unsuspecting Mélanie. In 2018, this portrait was removed and replaced with one depicting Mélanie with her late suitor, Iggy Knight.
Appearances[]
Phantom Manor (1992-2018)[]
The Gardener previously appeared in Stretching Room in a painting which initially shows Melanie picking roses in the Manor's garden. The portrait then stretches to reveal that behind the garden is the Gardener escaping its grave to attack her.
The portrait is implied to have been painted by Mélanie's late-father Henry Ravenswood and/or by his deranged spirit, the Phantom.
Identifications[]
The authenticity of the events depicted in the original Phantom Manor were always disputed but as the paintings were also replaced, their canonicity in general is equally unclear.
- Artistic reflection: It should be considered that this spirit could have never literally existed within the world but instead merely reflect the Phantom's own malevolence towards Mélanie.
- Manor Gardener: Given that its tomb was set near the manor, It is possible that Gardener may have been a former servant at the manor, primarily taking care of gardening duties, and was later resurrected through some unknown means.
- Evil Spirit: The spirit could possibly be one of the malicious spirits summoned by Madame Leota to inhabit Ravenswood Manor. As Leota's identity and role within Phantom Manor's backstory remains a mystery, it is difficult to elaborate on this
Trivia[]
- The crest on the gardener's tombstone shows snails, a hoe and a rake to signify his position as a gardener.
- The gardener might have served as a sort of counterpart to George Hightower from the Haunted Mansion as the structure of their stretching portraits were similar. Namely in that in the Haunted Mansion, Constance Hatchaway was shown enjoying a rose before the portrait stretched to reveal her overtop a tombstone. Here, the portrait stretched to reveal a similar structure albeit with a role-reversal where it is the deceased individual in the position of antagonist.