The Knight of the Living Dead is the semi-official name given to a removed character from the Haunted Mansion.
Description[]
The Knight was played by a live cast member dressed in a suit of armour and their job was to sneak up on ghost's Doombuggies in order to jumpscare them as the heads of WED became worried that the scares in the Haunted Mansion were becoming too predictable.
Removal[]
The Knight's addition proved to cause more problems then it was worth due to guests often impulsively punching the knights when they pop out, the knights sometimes catching couples performing intimate acts inside of their Doombuggies, and the general cheapness of the effect harming a lot of the constructed creepiness and pacing of the attraction.
Repeat performances[]
The character has reappeared twice in the Disneyland attraction for both the 30th and 50th anniversaries in 1999 and 2019 respectively.
In 1999, the character was stationed in the Corridor of Doors and is seen startling guests in close proximity before they pass the Grandfather Clock.
For the 50th anniversary in 2019, the Knight was again temporarily re-added in the ride for the after-hours events and was seen during the endless hallway sequence. Instead of jumping out and scaring guests, the knight remained far away from the guests, stationed at the entrance to the endless hallway and marching back and forth from one wall of the hallway to the other wall nearby the other suit of armour with a halberd in hand. The character would also fake being static before moving and occasionally stopping to strike a defensive pose to startle guests in Doom Buggies gliding past.
Trivia[]
- There was a similar cast-member played character based on the Phantom of the Opera who would roam the ride's queue. This character predated the knight as a makeshift form of the character.
- The break-room for the knight performers was located outside of the, "Exit" door within the Corridor of Doors.