The Graveyard Spectres are a group of ghosts appearing within the Haunted Mansion.
Description[]
Background[]
The spectres are a generalized group of the mansion's 999 undead residents. The spectres rise out from the graveyard when the mortals enter the cemetery grounds. They resemble traditional, "bedsheet ghosts" with white colours, transparent appearances, and shroud-like figures.
Effects and Function[]
The ghosts' effects are achieved via an animation being projected on a large scrim. The scrim is practically invisible to the naked eye (especially in darkness) but the light projections are able to be visible on the surface of the fabric.
Development History[]
The ghosts are inspired by similar ghosts appearing in Fantasia (1940) from the Night on Bald Mountain segment in the film's climax. [1][2] In this film, the ghosts are the dark servants of the slavic deity Chernabog who are summoned on Walpurgis night to fly from their graves and gallows in a swarm to serve their master.
Marc Davis designed several characters as potential ghosts for this effect. This included the likes of:
- Beheaded Knight
- A skeleton
- A man with a bowler hat
- An old hag
- A king run-through with a sword
- A gentleman
- A knight with a spear
- A native-American man with a bow and arrow
- An old man with a knife
- A man smoking a cigarette
- A monk
Concept art for Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris showed variants of these shrouds with much heavier influence from Fantasia. These designs would be planned for the Phantom Canyon scenes and be themed around the archetypal, "Wild Hunt" of folklore; a motif found in American-Western folklore through, "Ghost Riders" and ghost buffalos in the sky. While this wasn't incorporated into the final ride, a portrait of a ghost rider would be added to Phantom Manor in 2018.
Appearances[]
The Haunted Mansion[]
These ghosts appear right after the attic scene, being visible from the balcony. They fly from their graves above the graveyard and can be visible throughout the graveyard sequence.
Other Appearances[]
Tales from the Haunted Mansion[]
The spectres appear on the cover for Tales from the Haunted Mansion Volume III: Grim Grinning Ghosts.
2023 movie[]
They appear in Ben's dream, the scene where Crump summons the ghosts and the Halloween dance party scene.
Trivia[]
Gallery[]
