- ""Ruhe in Frieden" A Master Musician
Now Performing a Dark Rendition" - ―"Ghostly Friends of the Haunted Mansion", My Disney Experience app
The Organist is a specter that inhabits the Grand Hall of the Haunted Mansion.
Since 2016, he has gone by the name Herr Victor Geist.
In the Attraction[]
Dressed in a cape and top hat, this ghostly organist plays Grim Grinning Ghosts as a macabre waltz on the Grand Hall's pipe organ. Tiny wisp-like spirits emerge from the organ's pipes as the organist plays.
Composer's Crypt[]
The "Ravenscroft" Crypt at Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion
"A composer of renown and note here reposes, his melodies fade as he now decomposes; He's gone from this world of trouble and strife, but a touch of your hand brings his music to life" -Composer's epitaph
In the Liberty Square Mansion the Organist has a crypt near the family plot section of the queue in which a name on the crypt possibly identified him as, "Ravenscroft", though this has since been described as a brand name for the organ itself. The crypt has three visible sides; the front is made to look like the pipe organ complete with banshees and even the mansion's Raven. Guests can play the keys on the organ as if they were real keys causing mist to spray from the "pipes" as music emits from it.
Another side of the crypt has carvings of bagpipes, a harp, a trumpet, a tambourine, a horn, a marching-drum and a xylophone with bones for mallets; in reference to the Phantom Five. When you touch the carvings they play the music to Grim Grinning Ghosts. The final visible side features similar carvings but here the instruments are all insane and inspired by Rolly Crump artwork for the Museum of the Weird along with a One-Eyed Black Cat.
Other Appearances[]
The Ghost Gallery[]
In the unofficial Ghost Gallery storyline, the Organist was referred to as Wolfgang Elias Furlong and he was said to have been the child of two wealthy Irish pianists. After moving to the states, he took up work as organ player in a circus and eventually became hired by the tightrope walker's wealthy husband Master Gracey (who in this version of the story becomes the Ghost Host) to become Gracey Manor's resident musician. He commits suicide by hanging himself with piano wire after having his hands crushed by the lid of the music room's piano which was haunted by a phantom pianist.
SLG comics[]
The Organist was stated to appear in one of the stories of the cancelled eighth issue. He would have been the sadistic narrator of the tale of how the Banshees who float out of the organ came to be (according to this continuity, they were a choir of obnoxious children that the Organist lured to their death to have a children choir to compose for).
Disney Kingdoms[]
In the Marvel comics' second issue, the Organist makes a brief appearance starting up a song on his organ in the Ballroom.
Ghost Post[]
The organist is given the name of Herr Victor Geist and is one of the major characters of the Ghost Post interactive game, heard speaking in a German accent through the Phantom Radio. Victor is a member of the Committee of Wandering Ghosts and, despite his eerie appearance in the attraction, comes off as a very friendly and outgoing (albeit eccentric) spirit. He is very close with Sally Slater, the tightrope walker, with perhaps a slight hint of a romance between them.
Generally, only heard chatting with Sally about the situation of the Great Unraveling, Victor takes charge during the puzzle of finding the spectral wavelengths that reveal the location of the Forgotten Room, using his organ to play along with the music box melodies through the radio. Furthermore, if players of the game visited the Disneyland mansion and used their Phantom Radio with a special doom buggy, Victor would speak to the guests as they passed through the Grand Hall, thanking them for their help and wishing them luck in dispelling the fog.
Dee Bradley Baker voices the character in this adoption.
2003 video Game[]
The organist is one of the six friendly ghosts featured in the game who gives the player character, Zeke Holloway, an upgrade upon completion of the Ballroom. He retains his cape but does not wear a hat and although he is depicted to be short-tempered and rude, he is also friendly and benevolent at heart.
Prior to Zeke's arrival, the Organist and his fellow friendly ghosts were instructed by Madame Leota to hide and safeguard the Soul Gems, magical jewels that give the Beacon of Souls greater power, from the main antagonist, Atticus Thorn, who plans to use all artifacts for evil plans. After Zeke arrives, the organist makes his appearance with the other friendly ghosts, observing Zeke examining the foyer, wherein he describes him as a beggar, only to be admonished by the sea captain, who states that anyone is welcome to help them be free from Thorn. After helping the other ghosts nurse Zeke back to health for his meeting with Madame Leota, he departs with the other ghosts to await further instructions. Once Zeke completes the ballroom, he appears at the organ and states that he hates being interrupted when he plays. As he demands for his death certificate, he is horrified to learn of the cause his death. After giving Zeke a soul gem and dismissing him to get back to playing and composing, he makes one final request to help him, and the other spirits regain control of the mansion. After the final battle with Thorn, the Organist shows his good side when he praises Zeke's efforts and expresses his gratitude for restoring the mansion and setting him as well as his friends and the other spirits free from Thorn's control. It is later implied that he is one of the ghosts who, alongside Madame Leota, guides Zeke in his career as an author.
This incarnation of the character has a backstory which states that he put music before his life, which led to his death; either being crushed by the falling organ pipes in the ballroom or he literally put his music before his life, being solely focused on composing that he didn't bother keeping himself alive. He was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also did the voice of Zeke.
2003 Film[]
The organist does not appear in this adaptation unlike the dancing ghosts in the ballroom from the attraction. However, the film pays homage to him through the botched wedding ceremony scene wherein one of the supporting characters, Ezra, dons a cape and a hat while playing an off-key rendition of Richard Wagner's "Bridal March".
2023 film[]
The organist, named Victor Guest in the film's credits, appears as part of the ghostly ensemble, being one of the many friendly ghosts residing in the mansion. This version is portrayed as a 1930s-era African American jazz musician in the style of Fats Waller and Cab Calloway.[1] He makes his first appearance in the house's ballroom and dining room, playing the organ until he vanishes when Ben shines a flashlight on him. Later, he and the other ghosts join the protagonists in fighting against the main villain, Alistair Crump, wherein they combine forces manage to defeat him. With Crump defeated, he and the ghosts return to the dining room/ballroom and plays the organ in celebration of their victory. The organist later appears with the rest of the ghosts in the end during a Halloween feast hosted by the mortal residents, celebrating with them.
Muppets Haunted Mansion[]
Rowlf as the Organist
The Organist is played by Rowlf the Dog, who provides music for the "Mansion Show" vaudeville act and "Life Hereafter" musical number in addition to his duties playing for the Waltzing Dead.
Trivia[]
- One early concept by Marc Davis for the Organist character had him as a spider monster instead of a human ghost.
- In the original Disneyland version of the attraction, the organ console is the original prop of the organ used by Captain Nemo in the in the 1954 film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. While the console is the same, the noticeable differences are that of the bat-shape note stand which takes the place of the mirror from the 1954 film and the taller set of pipes that replaced the fan-shaped pipes of Nemo's organ to better compliment the ballroom's dimensions and to make a good effect on the skull-like spirits floating out of the pipes.
- The name of "Ravenscroft" comes from Disney legend Thurl Ravenscroft.
- The 2019 Host-A-Ghost merchandise identifies the Organist as Victor Geist.
- One of the Walt Disney's Haunted Mansion model kits would identify the Organist as Spidery Sam, a play on Sam from the 1942 film Casablanca.
Gallery[]
