Halloween, also known as All Hallows Eve, is a holiday on October 31st strongly associated with the supernatural, and, naturally, holds a special place in Haunted Mansion lore.
Background[]
Halloween emerged from the Irish holiday of Samhain, marking the climax of the Harvest season and the start of winter. It was strongly believed to be a time when the veil between the land of the living and the dead became thin, allowing the spirits of the dead and the fair folk alike to cross over and visit the living, often seeking out offerings of food from the harvest. The tradition of children dressing up in costumes and seeking out treats was a means of imitating the behavior of the spirits while carving faces into turnips to create Jack O'Lanterns was a way to ward off the more malicious entities. As with other pagan holidays, the Catholic church sought to synergize with old traditions and absorbed Samhain into All Saints/All Souls Day, which over time evolved into the modern Halloween, with pumpkins taking the place of turnips in Jack O' Lanterns when the holiday arrived in America.
Appearances[]
Ghost Gallery[]
Within the Cast Member produced Ghost Gallery storyline, Halloween is a recurring date of importance. The Mansion's construction was finished on Halloween of 1671, and it is the shared birthday of Madame Leota and Master Gracey. Various disasters in the history of the Mansion have also fallen on Halloween, such as a 1931 Halloween tea party where most of the attendees were poisoned resulting in most of the Graveyard scene's haunts, the 1938 deaths of the four ghostwriters memorialized as the Staring Busts, and after the midnight hour had passed into November 1st, the 1941 death of Gracey's bride and the 1942 deaths of Little Leota and the Quicksand Men.
Phantom Manor[]
As Phantom Manor serves as the narrative heart of Disneyland Paris's Frontierland, it had become a regular seasonal tradition to rename and redecorate the surrounding area into a "Halloweenland" where the Manor's ghostly residents had essentially taken over the town.
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party[]
The Haunted Mansion has had a long history figuring into the Magic Kingdom's annual Halloween event, such as in the Happy HalloWishes fireworks show and Mickey's Boo-To-You Halloween Parade. In addition to walkaround versions of various Happy Haunts from the attraction, new ghosts associated with the Mansion also emerged in Liberty Square such as Madame Carlotta and Madame Renatta.
Haunted Mansion Holiday[]
The Nightmare Before Christmas overlay of the Haunted Mansion brings Jack Skellington's Halloween-inspired reimagining of Christmas to the Mansion. Though much more Christmas influenced, the mash-up nature of the source material means it is present for both holidays.
Muppets Haunted Mansion[]
The special is set on Halloween night on the 100th anniversary of the disappearance of The Great MacGuffin, a legendary stage magician that once owned a haunted mansion in the Hollywood Hills and has since hosted a Halloween Fear Challenge inside.