List of Secrets and Easter Eggs in the Haunted Mansion

In the Haunted Mansion attraction as well as it's reimaginings Phantom Manor and Mystic Manor, there are several easter eggs and secret tributes found within the ride.

Disneyland

Exterior

• The Hearse found outside the attraction was falsely rumored by cast-members and imagineers to have been the hearse used to carry the corpse of 19th century religious leader, Brigham Young.
• Twelve of the 13 epitaphs found on the tombstones in the mansion's cemetery are tributes to Disney imagineers. Master Gracey is a reference to special-effects artist Yale Gracey, Grandpa Marc is a tribute to Disney animator and concept artist Marc Davis, Francis Xavier is a tribute to show-writer and voice actor Francis Xavier Atencio, Brother Claude is a tribute to concept artist Claude Coats, Cousin Victor is a tribute to chief-architect Vic Greene, Rolo Rumkin is a tribute to imagineer Rolly Crump, Wathel R. Bender is a tribute to animator Wathel Rogers, Cam Irving is a tribute to imagineer Kim Irvine, M. Dibjib is a tribute to imagineeer Michael Dobrzycki, Esteban Pine is a tribute to imagineer Steve Pinedo, Julia Shrub is a tribute to landscaper Julie Bush and Bradford Clemente is a tribute to senior show designer Brad Clemens.
• The tombstones for Phineas Pock and Rolo Rumkin have the same names as two of the Singing Busts. However the name of Phineas Pock is very common in the Haunted Mansion's mythos and there have been many characters to share his name.
• The name of Master Gracey is commonly associated with having been the name of the former master-of-the-house and while this just might be true, the original intention for the use of the term Master was meant to imply that the character was a man too young to be called Mister.
• In front of the mansion is a small Pet Cemetery with humorous animal tombstones. These tombstones were mostly originally located in the vacant space beside the mansion but many of the tombstones were relocated for the enjoyment of guests.
• The original Pet Cemetery is still existing but more empty then before and if you ask a cast-member you can see it.
• Penny the Elephant's crypt in the original pet-cemetery is a cleverly disguised chimney for the nearby Disneyland Railroad.
• In the queue there is a three-story birdhouse intended to serve as the outside home for the mansion's Raven.
• The mansion's sundial reads "Age along with me, the Best is yet to come"
• Beside the entryway to the fasts queue there is a stone griffin made to resemble the griffins seen within the attraction.
• Also in the Fastpass Queue, a bust can be seen which is an adapted replica of Michelangelo's "The David".

Interior Loading Zones

• The organ music playing in the background is actually being played backwards.
• The foyer's candelabras have hidden Mickeys worked into their design.
• The portrait of the old widow sitting atop her late-husband's desecrated grave is a depiction of the attic bride Constance Hatchaway during the later years of her life sitting atop the tombstone of her fifth husband-turned-victim George Hightower.
• The Tightrope Walker is the same character as the “Sally Slater” referenced in the WDW interactive queue, although this is not the only name given to her in official Disney media, being predated by “Daisy de la Cruz” (used in the SLG comics and in meet'n'greet events).
• Three of the portraits in the portrait corridor are intended to portray historic, mythological and folkloric characters to tie in with the mansion's "famous ghosts and ghosts trying to make a name for themselves" motif — these ghosts beings Medusa, Edward the Black Prince and the Flying Dutchman.
• The name of the female staring bust is Aunt Lucretia.
• There is a statue of a cat with one red glowing eye. This is an allusion to an unused villain from an older script of the Haunted Mansion with said character being inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat.
• The portrait of the aging woman is called, "April December". It originally appeared in the main portrait corridor before being removed for the more popular Master Gracey portrait. Her portrait is the only one in the queue to change slowly as animator Marc Davis originally intended.

The Corridor of Doors and Séance Circle

• Along with being a tribute to the unused Museum of the Weird attraction, the arm-chair with a face is meant to resemble the face of the Disney character Donald Duck.
• The family portraits feature the Hatbox Ghost.
• The Coffin Occupant's voice is provided by the writer of the Haunted Mansion's script and the man who provided the lyrics for Grim Grinning Ghosts, X. Atencio.
• According the cast-members, the name of the Raven is Lucifer, a reference to the Devil; original plans were for the Raven to be a speaking character, actually a ghost trying to “better itself” by possessing the body of the mortal raven. Its glowing eyes hint at its more-than-mortal nature. Other Cast Member- or fan-generated names for the Raven include Richard (used in the Ghost Gallery) and Edgar (in allusion to Edgar Allan Poe).
• The Hatchet Man portrait found in the corridor is meant to depict the Ghost Host's material form.
• The desk in the Corridor of Doors has an open copy of a book. While impossible to see within the ride itself, this book is Island Nights' Entertainments by Robert Louis Stevenson.
• The grandfather clock serves as a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's famous horror story, the Pit and the Pendulum.
• Madame Leota's name is a tribute to the imagineer who provided her face, Leota Toombs. She is however voiced by Eleanor Audley, best known for her roles as Disney villains such as Maleficent and Lady Tremaine.
• Leota's spellbook has her incantation written in it along with the devil head and and illustration of the Grim Reaper. It also quotes the incantation to make ghosts visible to mortals used in the Disney film Blackbeard's Ghost.
• The floating trumpets in Leota's chamber have the letter X written on their banners, this is a tribute to show-writer X. Atencio.

The Great Hall

• The Pipe Organ being played by the Organist is a recycled prop from the 1954 Disney film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea where it was owned by Captain Nemo.
• The Great Hall is the only part of the ride where the organ music played is not in reverse.
• The ghost at the head of the table is the ghost of the famous Roman general, Julius Caesar. His appearance is a visual gag meant to visualize the expression "Great Caesar's Ghost" which was popular at the time (largely due to it's common use in the Superman comics of the time).
• The ghost dangling from the chandelier is one of the only characters named in the ride's blueprints, this name being Pickwick. His name is a tribute to the Pickwick centre which was attended by many imagineers while his appearance is inspired by the literary character John Pickwick from Charles Dickens' the Pickwick Capers.
• One of the ghosts passing through the hearse is a Sea Captain meant to reference a deleted character from the mansion's history.
• Over the fireplace, Aunt Lucretia's bust can be spotted.
• Three dishes on the dining room table form a Hidden Mickey.
• There are 13 candles on the Birthday Ghost's cake, in western culture the number 13 is associated with the occult and misfortune.
• Due to an accident during production of the effects, the lady ballroom dancers are leading the men. While inadvertent, this does seem to enhance the themes and environment of the ballroom scene.
• The portrait in front of the entrance to the attic is a recreation of a piece of concept art made by Marc Davis of the Attic Bride.

The Attic

• The names of Constance's husbands seen in the attic are Ambrose Harper, Frank Banks, Le Marquis de Doome, Reginald Caine and George Hightower.
• Two small porcelain figures of a couple can be seen on one of the shelves with the head of the man figure broken off.
• The hatrack found near the end of the attic's hats form a hidden Mickey.
• In the attic there is an arm-chair that was reused from the 2003 Haunted Mansion film which can also be found in the treasure-room scene of Pirates of the Caribbean.
• The Reginald Caine section of Constance's collection has a tiger-pelt rug thrown over a red chaise-lounge chair. This might be simply coincidental but seems to be referencing the Were-Cat Lady portrait.
  • This pelt seems to originate from the 2003 film adaptation of the Haunted Mansion, where it was seen on a table near Gracey Manor's conservatory.
• The beating heart audio in the background is the remainder of the original incarnation of the Bride who appeared from 1969-2006 and in and of itself served as a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe's classic gothic horror story, The Telltale Heart.
• The portrait of Constance and George is used to create the connection between them and the Black Widow Stretching Room portrait. Along with the husbands sharing a distinct appearance, Constance is holding the same red rose in both portraits in the same fashion.
• The couple toppers atop the Wedding Cake are altered so that the groom's head is severed, referencing the groom's actual fate.

Attic Balcony

• At the time of writing, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is the only incarnation of the ride to feature a physical appearance of the Hatbox Ghost character.
• The Hatbox Ghost is a particularly infamous and mysterious figure in the real-life history behind the Haunted Mansion. The character was repeatedly featured in advertisements and promotional materials in-addition to merchandise, comics and the Story and Song of the Haunted Mansion. However, the figure itself was removed from the attraction either before the ride opened or during its first few weeks of operation, without explanation. It would be re-installed in 2015 to coincide with Disneyland's diamond anniversary.
  • The official reasoning behind the disappearance is that the special-effects did not function as intended on the character. This effect being that the character's head would seem to disappear and reappear in the hatbox. The effect would be achieved through lighting that switched between illuminating the face of the hatbox ghost (which was otherwise darkened by his high collar) and illuminating a duplicate head in the hatbox which was lined with scrim. The effect didn't work as the original head wouldn't disappear completely.
    • The new animatronic of the Hatbox Ghost fixed the effect through blending Yale Gracey's original practical effect with digital projection-mapping. While the original figure had a white head, the new one has a black skull that is given colour by projectors playing animations from within the animatronic's head. Because of the modified lighting from the digital effects and the black head, the disappearing trick is able to function due to altered visibility.
  • An urban-legend which came out said that the true reason the Hatbox Ghost figure was removed was that the figure was so convincing and horrifying that it caused a reporter to die of a heart-attack.
  • The location of the original animatronic of the Hatbox Ghost remains unknown. Originally it was believed that the figure was stripped and reused for the Sam the Eagle animatronic in the defunct show America Sings, then later repurposed for the Br'er Fox animatronic within the soon to be defunct Splash Mountain. However, released blueprints of the Hatbox Ghost animatronic reveal this to be impossible as the original animatronic has little-to-none of the articulation points which the Sam the Eagle/Br'er Fox animatronic has.
• In the time leading up to the re-addition of the Hatbox Ghost, a window was visible on his balcony where you could see one of the Bat stanchions from the ride's loading zone.
• The Hatbox Ghost's hatboxes are implied to contain the severed heads of Constance's husbands, however there are two more hatboxes then there are known Constance victims.

The Graveyard

• The tombstones in the graveyard feature cryptic tributes to imagineers who worked on the Haunted Mansion. The name Trebor Llew is an anagram for Robert Sewell, minus one "S". Snevets Nor is the name Ron Stevens spelt backwards. Sahc Nosuf is an anagram for layout artist Charles Fuson. Teuh Filic is an anagram for WED architect Cliff Huet. Murdniwg is a tribute to imagineer George Windrum and Nekeesorf is a tribute to Ken Forsse.
• The names of the Singing Busts are named Rolo Rumkin, Uncle Theodore, Cousin Algernon, Ned Nub and Phineas P. Pock.
• The drummer playing with the Phantom Five is a reimagining of the folkloric ghost the Phantom Drummer of Tedworth.
• In the crypt nearby the Opera Singers, a phantom shroud can be seen with a hidden Mickey for a face.

The Exit Crypt

• The names of the Hitchhiking Ghosts are Phineas, Ezra and Gus.
• The hand moulds holding the torches in the mausoleum are a tribute to french director Jean Cocteau's 1946 adaption of Beauty and the Beast.
• Little Leota's semi-official name is a reference to her being portrayed in terms of both face and voice by imagineer Leota Toombs who provided only the face for Madame Leota.

Haunted Mansion Holiday

• During the seasonal Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay, the pet cemetery features the tombstone of Sparky the Dog from the Tim Burton's short-film Frankenweenie and it's subsequent film adaption.
• Another tombstone added is that of a cymbal-monkey, homaging two cymbal monkey toys which used to appear in the attic sequence.
  • One wore a bridal gown and which has a glowing red chest, this is a nod to the removed Beating Heart Bride animatronics.
  • The other cymbal-banging toy was of Oogie Boogie.
• The scroll pouring out from Jack's sleigh parked on the mansion's roof shows Jack's 'X-mas Equation' from the film.
• The music-box style arrangement of Grim Grinning Ghosts is taken from Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris.
• The Ghost Host's Stretching Room narration is pulled from Tim Burton's original Nightmare Before Christmas poem rather than the 1993 film.
• The portrait of the snowman changing into a Jack O'Lantern sculpture is lifted directly from an illustration in Tim Burton's original Nightmare Before Christmas poem storybook.
• The portrait of the Haunted Mansion in the portrait corridor is an imitation of Ken Anderson's artwork for the ride's exterior.
• The monster emerging from the wall holding up a sign for 'Free Sleigh Rides' in the Loading Zone is 'the One Hiding Under your Stairs' from the musical sequence "This is Halloween" from the film.
• The singing flowers attached to the man-eating-wreath's tendrils are inspired by similar singing buds from the 1986 musical film Little Shop of Horrors, namely from the 'Mean Green Mother from Outer Space' musical number.
• Madame Leota's floating tarot cards all depict Halloween Town residents from the film.
• Several of the toys in the attic are taken from either the film or the illustrated storybook.
• As of 2018, one of the presents seen in the attic sequence is a gift-wrapped hatbox, in reference to the Hatbox Ghost.
• The Naughty or Nice list emerging from the snake's mouth has a boy named Tim B. marked as naughty, this being an easter egg to Tim Burton who created, wrote and produced the Nightmare Before Christmas.
  • Another name marked naughty on the list is Vincent. This could be in reference to the protagonist of Tim Burton's animated Disney short-film Vincent (1982) which revolved around a child obsessed with horror fantasies. It could also be in reference to Vincent Price who was a friend of Burton's before his passing and was even the original voice of Santa Claus in the Nightmare Before Christmas before leaving the project due to family matters.
• Sally's basket and it's contents are lifted directly from a scene in the film where Sally brings Jack the same basket.

The Magic Kingdom

Exterior

• The Mansion's architecture with the walls going outwards diagonally is so that it feels like the closer guests near the mansion, the more the mansion is tightening it's grip around them like a giant claw.
• The hearse in the queue here makes horse noises if you stay nearby where the phantom horse's girdle is.
• The hearse is a recycled prop from the film The Sons of Katie Elder (1965).
• There is an untrue urban-legend that the hearse here contained or contains the bones of Disney child-actor Bobby Driscoll (1937-1968).
• The Bride's wedding ring can be found in the pavement. Originally the ring was the unintended remnant of a metal pole removed from the mansion's queue but cast-members and fans created the urban myth of it having been the bride's wedding ring, in 2011 the pole remnant was removed and replaced with a more ornate intentional ring.
• According to an urban myth, the turrets and cupola of the Haunted Mansion are designed to resemble ever chess piece except for the Knight, because it is always night in the Haunted Mansion.
• According to a park legend, the park benches in the Haunted Mansion's red eyes were the result of a teen girl having painted them red with nail polish as she thought they looked better, something which the cast-members agreed with and decided to keep.
• At the beginning of the queue, the Dread Family busts pay respects to a deceased wealthy family which murdered each other for wealth while leaving it up to guests to piece together who killed who. In order of death; Uncle Jacob was murdered by Bertie because epitaph mentions him having swallowed poison while Bertie's tombstone has a carving of a vial along with his bust having the carving of his pet venomous snake. Bertie was shot by Jacob's wife Florence because Bertie's epitaph mentions having been shot while Florence's has a carving of a pistol. Florence was suffocated to death by the twins because Florence's epitaph mentions being found dead in canary seed, and not only do the twins' epitaph have a carving of a dead canary, but behind their busts is a marble statue of a bag of canary seed. The twins were murdered by Cousin Maude as they were found with bumps on their heads while Maude's plaque shows a hammer. Maude herself died by accidentally causing the home to burn down, something discovered by her epitaph's mention of going up in smoke, the marble bust having matches in her hair, and a portrait found with the Hitchhiking Ghosts of Maude lighting a fire.
• The Emergency Exit gate has a doggy door and several paw prints engraved in the pavement as a reference to the Caretaker and his dog.
• The Composer's Crypt is made to resemble the Organist's pipe organ implying that they are the same character, who according to that crypt was named Ravenscroft which is a tribute to singer Thurl Ravenscroft who voiced the Uncle Theodore Singing Bust.
• The instrument carvings on the Composer crypt of a horn, a bagpipe, a harp, a pair of bones on a xylophone and a drum are all a reference to the Phantom Five as those are the instruments which they play. Except for the drum which is a reference to the Phantom Five's drummer being the folkloric ghost, the Phantom Drummer of Tedworth .
• The organ portion of the composer crypt has a sculpture of the Raven seen in the ride.
• The carvings on the surreal side of the composer's crypt is not only directly inspired by the unbuilt Museum of the Weird attraction, but the one eyed cat is a reference to the unused character of the Black Cat who appeared in a deleted script as the ride's antagonist while also being lifted directly from Edgar Allan Poe's classic Gothic Horror story, the Black Cat.
• The crypt of Captain Culpepper Clyne is a reference to the Mariner character seen in a portrait within the attraction which in and of itself was a reference to the unused Gore Mansion script.
• The name of the library crypt's Poetess is Prudence Pock, a nod to the several character in the Mansion's mythos who have had the name Pock, although in most cases they are named Phineas. These Pocks include the singing bust Phineas P. Pock, the radio ghost Phineas Pock, and the author Phineas J. Pock.
• Prudence communicates using a Spectrecom which was patented by a man named R.H. Goff. This is a tribute to imagineer Harper Goff.
• One of Prudence's poems reads "In the swamp, poor Sally Slater was eaten by an alligator" which is a reference to the Tightrope Walker.
• The side of the Poetess Crypt has several symbols which if inserted into a substitution cipher, reveal a hidden message. Each of these symbols is a reference to the Mansion's mythos including, George Hightower's bust, Ned Nub's bust, the Bride's candle, the floating candelabras, the duelists's pistols, Master Gracey's headstone, the Caretaker's shovel, Constance Hatchaway's hatchet, Madame Leota's floating trumpet, the number 13, the Ambassador's dynamite keg and the Beating Heart Bride's broken heart.
• The mansion's hillside has hidden tombstones reading; Bartholomew Gore, Beauregard, Ezra, Gus, Phineas, and Uncle Theodore. These are references to Haunted Mansion characters.
• The Epitaphs on the crypt found at the wall features tributes to several real world people who helped create the Haunted Mansion. Mister Frees is a tribute to the Ghost Host's voice actor Paul Frees, Ken is a tribute to Disney animator Ken Anderson who wrote several scripts for the Haunted Mansion, Brother Roland is a tribute to imagineer Rolly Crump who designed the Museum of the Weird, and Uncle Blaine is a tribute to Blaine Gibson who created the ride's animatronics.

Interior Queue

• The forehead of Master Gracey's portrait the outline of Jack Skellington's face hidden on it. The ride allegedly has 13 hidden tributes to the Nightmare Before Christmas due to Disney World's mansion not having Haunted Mansion Holiday.
• If you stay in the Stretching Room after the Ghost Host says to leave, you can hear voices coming from the Gargoyles telling you to get out.
• Several of the portraits in the Loading Zone are of notable figures in not only the Mansion's mythos, but from real world stories and history. The gentleman holding a knife is intended to be of Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper, the vampire standing in front of a coffin is Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's horror novel Dracula, the bearded man was originally intended to be the mad Russian monk Grigori Rasputin but was slightly altered as Rasputin still had descendants at the time, the Mariner is of the same Mariner from the crypt in the queue and serves as a tribute to the character of Captain Gore, and the deformed man holding a hatchet is the Ghost Host.

Library and Music Room

• Two of the books in the Library are novelizations of Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas.
• Similarly to the chair in front of the Endless Hallway, the armchair in the library is made to resemble not only a face, but that of Donald Duck.
• Although nearly impossible to notice, the books on the shelves "The Art of Deception" are noted as being authored by Claude Coats, a tribute to the imagineer of the same name.
• According to Jason Surrell's book "The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering a Disney Classic" the Shadow Pianist in the Music Room is the same character as the Ghost Host.

The Attic

• Constance Hatchaway has a doll of Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas in her collection
• One of the books in Constance's collection is a novelization of the Nightmare Before Christmas with a silhouette of Jack Skellington appearing on the cover.
• The hats on the rack opposite to Constance form a Hidden Mickey.
• The hatrack holds the hats associated with Constance's husbands and is found beside a stack of hatboxes. Although easy to miss, this was intended to imply that Constance kept the heads of her husbands in the hatboxes, reflecting the fate of the Hatbox Ghost.
• A Jack Skellington snow-globe can be seen in Constance's collection.

Mausoleum and Exit

• The Travelling Hitchhiker has a portrait of Cousin Maude from the Dread clan lighting a fire, referring to her cause of death.
• The Skeletal Hitchhiker's briefcase has luggage stickers for Florida, Hong Kong and Anaheim which also features a large number 13 as a reference to the Disney Parks (Disneyland's address is 1313 Disneyland Drive)
• The Travelling Hitchhiker has an open bag with a marble bust of famous Victorian author Charles Dickens. This is a nod to a deleted concept for Haunted Mansion Holiday where it would have taken much more influence from Charles Dickens's novel the Christmas Carol.
• The Bluebeard Crypt is a reference to the French fairytale of Bluebeard where a french noble with a beard so dark it looks blue, marries a beautiful young maiden then gives her the keys to her palace and tells her not to enter the palace tower. The maiden disobeys and finds the room is stuffed with six corpses of woman on display and Bluebeard catches her, explaining that they were formed brides who found his secret that he had to kill. Ultimately the woman escapes Bluebeard with the help of her intelligent sister Anne and together the siblings kill him and escape. This acts as a sort of tribute to the abandoned Captain Gore story due to the tale of the captain and his bride having been heavily inspired by the French fairy-tale.
• Along with being a reference to the dark fairytale of Bluebeard, the Bluebeard crypt also references historic serial-killer Baron Gilles de Rain in a very subtle design choice. Gilles de Rais was a reported occultist and murderer who is believed to have been the historic inspiration for the Bluebeard story and he was executed for his crimes in the year 1440. If you look at the year written on Bluebeard's crypt as the date of his death, you'll see that he too died in 1440.
• In the pavement, hoof prints can be seen leading towards the Hearse.
• In the Pet Cemetery before the exit, you can spot a tomb for the character Mr. Toad from the book the Wind in the Willows and it's Disney adaption the Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. According to cast-members the tomb reads "Here lies Toad, it's sad but true, he wasn't as marketable as Winnie the Pooh" which is a nod to how Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is Disney World was replaced by the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction

Memento Mori

• The shop's name comes from the Latin expression "Memento Mori" which means "Remember you will die" and is also a play on the word memento which can be used to refer to souvenirs. The shop's slogan being, "Relics from Regions Beyond" is an allusion to Madame Leota's incantation, "Let there be music from regions beyond" from the attraction.
• In Liberty Square, the arrangement of the buildings are made to be analogous to the progression of architectural styles over the years (often being directly referenced in the numbers of the buildings). Due to this, it can be inferred that the building dates back to the late 17th-early/mid 18th century from its positioning in the park.
• The sign for the shop is an eye with the pupil featuring a carving of Madame Leota, it is also designed in such a way that it's pupil always appears to be watching you.
• A portrait of Madame Leota shows her with her iconic crystal ball and spell-book. It changes under an ultraviolet light, with eyes glowing in the background taken from the Corridor of Doors. The changes also show a Black Cat at her feet, a Raven on her shoulder, green lights coming from her crystal ball, and glowing from the eye-sockets of the skull in her hand.
• "Bottled Spirits" are seen on higher shelves. This can be interpreted as a visual-gag on how, "Spirits" can refer to a kind of alcoholic beverage.
• A mirror where the apparition of Madame Leota materializes, accompanied by music, then vanishing after a few seconds.
• Some cast members seem to disregard the paranormal happenings and seem to only take attention to the bottled spirits. Asking about anything else will most likely give the response "I don't know what you're talking about." As if nothing happened.

Phantom Manor

Exterior

• The Marquee found at the entrance to the ride features a mould of a demonic head intended to resemble classic horror actor Vincent Price who recorded the original Phantom narration.
• The Ravenswood Family motto is "Non Omnis Moriar" which is a Latin phrase meaning "I will never die completely"
• The Gazebo has a tea-set out on it's table.

Foyer, Secret Chamber and Loading Zone

Current

• On the portrait in the foyer is a tree with "M x ___" carved into it for her four suitors. Also when the tree changes is a noose hanging from its branch, potentially in reference to her original groom or potentially alluding that Mélanie attempted suicide by hanging herself.
• Each of the names of Mélanie's late-suitors is an allusion to how they died. Their names are: Captain Rowan Falls who went off the side of a waterfall, Ignatius "Iggy" Knight who was blown up by explosives, Barry Claude who was mauled by bears (his name is a play on "bear claw"), and Sawyer Bottom who was cut in half by a buzz-saw.
• Captain Rowan Falls shares his surname with the Disney-Parks character Dr. Albert Falls who founded the Jungle Navigational Company which was the parent company of the Jungle Cruise and was a member of S.E.A.
• Rowan's portrait reuses the structure of one of Phantom Manor's original stretching-portraits which showed Mélanie falling off of a waterfall in a row-boat.
• The portrait of Henry Ravenswood transforming into the Phantom is based on Master Gracey's portrait.
• This ride's Flying Dutchman portrait makes it resemble the Flying Dutchman from the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
• The portrait of Henry Ravenswood cheating in a duel with another man is an allusion to the duelists of the Haunted Mansion.
• Iggy Knight's portrait is in reference to Alexander Nitrokoff's.

Original

• The portrait of Mélanie at a picnic is the only visual depiction of her lover Jake that we ever see outside of his obscured corpse.
• The Secret Chamber is a more serious interpretation of the Stretching Room from the original Haunted Mansion attraction. In the original, the macabre stretching portraits were used more for dark comedic effect while here they are used to portray the Phantom's twisted relationship to Mélanie.
• One of the portraits of Mélanie Ravenswood appears to be mirroring the tightrope walker from the original Haunted Mansion. This portrait having Mélanie with similar hair to the tightrope walker and a pink/white dress of a considerably similar style. The portrait shifted to show Mélanie wading in a river with a crocodilian river creature approaching her legs.
• The way that the changing portraits slowly morph rather then have brief changes triggered by lighting is directly inspired by Marc Davis' original intentions for the Portrait Corridor. This even extends to the WereCat transforming into a black panther rather than a white tiger.

Séance Chamber

• In this attraction Madame Leota is portrayed by Oona Lind rather than Leota Toombs and Eleanor Audley.
• The Griffin statues in the room have their design lifted from the attraction Snow White's Scary Adventure from Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. This could be attributed to that ride having been designed by Claude Coats who also designed much of the Haunted Mansion.

Mélanie's Boudoir

• The pendulum clock in Mélanie's boudoir is a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe's gothic short story the Pit and the Pendulum.
• The letters found in the Boudoir (all written in french) are the only cannon use of Mélanie's name.
• The image of Mélanie in-front of the mirror resembling a skull is an allusion to the famous 19th century art-piece "All is Vanity" by Charles Allan Gilbert.
• The Phantom appearing in Mélanie's reflection is a reference to Le Fantôme d'Opéra (The Phantom of the Opera) by Gaston Leroux and it's numerous adaptions.
• The Phantom's laugh in his appearance at the end of the scene was the only part of the ride where you could hear the original Vincent Price voice-acting of the character.
• The Phantom and his demonic corpse dog at the end of the sequence serve as a perversion of the Caretaker and his dog from the original Haunted Mansion attraction.
• The name for the dog from the original Phantom Manor backstory was Goliath.
• Said corpse dog could be a reference to Hellhound in the original ride, which appears like a skeleton.

Phantom Canyon

• The way that the skeletons emerge from their tombs serves as an homage to the 1929 Walt Disney animated short, the Skeleton Dance.
• In this version of the ride, there are only four singing busts as opposed to the traditional five, likely to have them represented more in a barbershop quartet style. Cousin Algernon is the absent bust and in this version, Uncle Theodore's bust is no-longer damaged.
• The ticket seller's face model is known as the Leering Head and is most famously used on the Hatbox Ghost and the Skeletal Hitchhiker. Due to this, the Ticket Seller is often referred to as "Ezra".
• The Mayor of Phantom Canyon is voiced by Paul Frees, who is the voice-actor behind the more mainstream Ghost Host and all of the Mayor's lines are pulled directly from the Ghost Host's narration.
• The Mayor of Phantom Canyon's animatronic is the same model used for the Disney Parks character, the Dreamfinder from the now defunct Journey into Imagination ride from the FutureWorld pavilion at Epcot.
• The crypt at the end has the names of Mélanie's dead suitors.

Boot-Hill

• In Boot Hill there is a large black crypt which when you feel it, pulses like a beating heart. It is believed that this is the crypt of Mélanie Ravenswood and the beating heart is a reference to her inspiration the Attic Bride.
• In the mythos of the attraction, Boot Hill cemetery is run by an undertaker named J. Nutterville who occasionally acts as a Meet & Greet character and who's store can be seen in Thunder Mesa.
• The pictures of Mary and Frank Murphy Ballard on their tombstones are pictures of employees of Ackland-Snow which built and installed many of the show elements of Phantom Manor.
• Ma Ballard's design resembles the character of Lady Tremaine from Disney's Cinderella.
• The names on the Hole in the Wallet Gang's tombstone are of imagineers who worked on Phantom Manor. The AS on the tombstone is a reference to Ackland-Snow.
• The tombstone of Peg Leg McBrogue can only be seen from one of Frontierland's riverboats.
• The carving's cartoonish portrayal of the bear wearing a southern trapper's hat gives the bear a resemblance to the anthropomorphic bears found in the Country Bear Jamboree attraction found in Walt Disney World's Frontierland (and formerly Disneyland's Critter Country). Namely, it resembles the character of Big Al.

Mystic Manor

Queue

• Marble busts throughout the queue are used to reference the original Haunted Mansion.
• In a S.E.A. portrait dated to have been made in 1899, the characters of Harrison Hightower III, Shiriki Utundu can both be spotted. Also in this portrait are Captain Mary Oceaneer (a character connected to the Disney Cruise Lines and Typhoon Lagoon in Disney World) and Professor R. Blauerhimmel (a character loosely connected to the Jungle Cruise).
• A portrait can be seen depicting a S.E.A. member named Maestro d'Elfman, this being a reference to composer Danny Elfman who wrote the score used in the attraction.
• A photograph in the queue depicts a drummer made to resemble one of those which would be found in the Enchanted Tiki Room attractions.
• Many of the portraits depict Albert and Lord Mystic with artifacts seen later in the ride such as the Monkey King Statue or the Mummy.
• Another S.E.A. member portrait shows one Dr. J.L. Baterista who is made to resemble then Disney Imagineering Vice-President, Joe Lanzisero.
• A photograph of Mystic Manor's opening in 1896 shows Walt and Roy Disney photoshopped into the event, despite the fact that neither man would have been born yet.
• Several framed letters depict Lord Mystic as having been in connection to the now defunct, Adventurers Club restaurant.

Acquisitions and Cataloguing Room

• The marble bust which comes to life beside the Music Box is made to resemble Ned Nub.
• The different objects seen in this room seem to resemble the different chambers found throughout the attraction. The marble bust represents the Mediterranean Hall, the samurai armour represents arms and armor, the jade Chinese dragon represents the Chinese salon, the viking shield represents the slavic-nordic chamber, the tribal mask represents tribal arts, and the Egyptian jar representing Egyptian antiquities.

Mediterranean Hall

• The mosaic depicting the beautiful Medusa transforming into a hideous gorgon is a reference to the Medusa changing portrait of mainstream Haunted Mansion attractions.
• The two staring busts on the shelf are the same ones seen in the Library of the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion, not the better known Uncle Lucius and Aunt Lucretia busts.
• The mosaic of ancient Romans enjoying a meal only to be consumed by the lava emerging from an active volcano in the distance is a reference to the real life tragedy of the City of Pompeii in which a mountain that no-one realized was a volcano called Mt. Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the major Ancient Roman city of Pompeii.
• The pot with the animate painting of a man armed with a club fighting a giant lion is a reference to the Ancient Greek myth of Heracles (Hercules) who used a club to defeat a monster called the Nemean Lion which was a giant man-eating lion with invincible skin.
• There is a portrait of the Roman Colosseum.

Slavic-Nordic Chamber, Arms and Armor, and Egyptian Antiquities

• The face which emerges from the clouds to blow frosty-breath and freeze the scene in the portrait as well as the Slavic-Nordic Chamber itself is Stribog, the Slavic God of Weather.
• The english voices of the three singing helmets are all provided by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the ride's score.
• The appearance of a Mummy in the Egyptian Antiquities chamber is likely in reference to the Mummy in mainstream Haunted Mansion attractions.

Tribal Arts and Chinese Salon

• The Tribal Arts room is made to be a nightmarish twist on Disney's iconic Enchanted Tiki Room attraction with the singing tiki totem-poles and drumming totems being lifted nearly directly from the attraction.
• The jade statue in the centre of the Chinese Salon depicts Sun Wukong, the fabled Monkey King of ancient Chinese myth.

Tokyo Disneyland

Exterior and Queue

• The mansion at Tokyo is a duplicate of Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion, since the mansion has a Dutch exterior due to Fantasyland having a European exterior, with Dutch being known in Netherlands, which is a European country.
• The plaque does not feature the ride's traditional devil-head, instead it has a Wailing Skull. The Devil can still be found however, carved into a derelict fountain found in the queue.
• The two griffin statues found on the gate are used to make the ride blend in more seamlessly with it's European Fantasyland setting.
• The reason that this Haunted Mansion is found in Fantasyland is because traditionally in Japanese culture, ghost stories are classified as fairy tales and fables.
• Like in the other Haunted Mansions, the tombstones found in the front of the mansion are all tributes to Disney Imagineers who worked on that particular iteration of the mansion although the epitaphs themselves are recycled. Examples include; Mister West (Mike West), Brother Dave (Dave Bukhart), Good Old Fred, Grandpa Marc (Marc Davis), Brother Dodd, Good Friend Borden and Chauncey Xavier.
• Chained to the tombstone of Mister West is the tombstone of his late-pet dog Digger.
• The queue features the ruins of an abandoned and unfinished wing of the mansion, likely as a tribute to the Imagineer's concept that the mansion should never feel completely finished (a concept pulled from the real life Winchester House in San Jose).
• A spear can be seen in the mansion's exterior, sticking out of a shattered window, implying a history of violence.

Portrait Corridor, Spider-Chamber, and Corridor of Doors

• Tokyo's mansion does not feature a Changing Portrait corridor and instead has the Sinister Portrait Corridor which holds the Sinister 11 portraits. Those being a portrait of an occultist seer, a disturbed looking married couple, a Dutch-American arsonist, the 'Ogre', Ms. April December, the Mariner seen in the graveyard, Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel of the same name, the Witch of Walpurgis, Medusa from Greco-Roman mythology, the real-life serial-killer Jack the Ripper, and the Ghost Host himself.
• The portrait of 'the Ogre' was originally intended to portray the real-life occult mystic Grigori Rasputin but Walt Disney advised concept Marc Davis to change it as Rasputin still had living descendants who could possibly sue the company.
• The Opera Glasses Lady portrait's design comes from unused concept art for the Bride.
• In the original attraction, Medusa and Ms. April December's portraits were both changing portraits. Also in original concept art the portraits of Dracula, the Witch of Walpurgis, the Ogre, the Arsonist and the Couple were all intended to change as well.
• Dracula, Medusa and Jack the Ripper were all also going to be featured in a walk-through section of the exit crypt called the Burial Crypts of Famous Villains which would of had the three of their crypts alongside those of the late; Emperor Nero, Attila the Hun, and Bluebeard. Likely to tie closer towards the more timeless and culturally anachronistic Fantasyland setting.
• The Mariner's appearance is inspired by the unused Captain Gore plot of the Disneyland mansion.

• Tokyo's mansion still features the spider chamber as opposed to the Endless Staircase which replaced the same scene in Florida's mansion.
• Within the Corridor of Doors there is a portrait of an unknown Idle Gentleman who doesn't appear to have any connection with any other version of the attraction. Some speculate this might be a portrait of Tokyo's version of 'Master Gracey', Mister West.

Attic

• Similar to the case with the Spider Chamber, Tokyo's Haunted Mansion still features the original layout for the Attic Sequence (minus Hatbox Ghost) and is the only Haunted Mansion attraction to do so. The Bride herself also sports the beating-heart bride design with the addition of a more devious appearance and facial expression.
• It is unknown if in this attraction the Attic Bride and the Black Widow are intended to be the same character or not. It is also unknown of Tokyo's Bride was a villain or victim.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare

• During the seasonal Haunted Mansion Holiday Nightmare overlay, a garden stocked with Deadly Nightshade, Witch Hazel, and Hen Bane are all added to the mansion's Pet Cemetery alongside scattered containers of Frog's Breath and Worm's Wart. These are references to Sally's garden in the Nightmare Before Christmas.
• The scarecrow on display outside of the attraction resembles Jack Skellington's Halloween costume from the beginning of the movie.
• Jack's sleigh is parked on top of the Mansion's roof.

Haunted Mansion Secrets & Easter Eggs in other Disney Properties

Disney Parks

Disneyland

• Adventureland:
  • Adventure Trading Company: Lord Henry Mystic was mentioned in the Daily Gnus newspaper as a recipient of the Elephant Juju, and his name appeared on the Adventure Trading Company's list of members.
  • Bengal Barbecue: A portrait from Mystic Manor appears in miniature on a shelf, showing the S.E.A. meeting at the Hotel Hightower. There is also a photograph which shows a plush of Albert the Monkey aboard the Zambezi Miss with characters from The African Queen (1951).
  • Jungle Cruise: Sometimes on the Jungle Cruise, the skippers will recite a pastiche version of the Ghost Host's dialogue from the foyer/stretching room when starting the tour. There are various references to Mystic Manor, such as, "Lord M" being mentioned on Dr. Albert Falls' map of Adventureland, and crates belonging to S.E.A. member Dr. Kon Chunosuke being transported from Mystic Point.
  • Tropical Hideaway: Lord Henry Mystic has an oar mounted on the wall.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: In the queue, there is a sign which amongst other locations, points to Thunder Mesa, the setting of Phantom Manor.
• Disney California Adventure:
  • Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!: A maquette of Hellhound appears on the Collector's desk in Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT!.
  • Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue: On the ride Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue, there is a scene where the monster Randall (who has the power to change the colour and patterns of his scales) is being hit in the head by a child called Boo resulting in his scales repeatedly changing it's appearance. One of these patterns is of the Haunted Mansion's iconic wallpaper.
  • Superstar Limo: The now defunct and universally panned and hated attraction "Superstar Limo" had Madame Leota (played by Melissa Joan Hart) make a brief cameo, reciting a Hollywood flavored version of her spiel.
• Main Street, U.S.A.:
  • Main Street Cinema: On Main Street, U.S.A. there is an outpost for the, "Disneyland Casting Agency" outside of the Main Street Cinema. One posting is titled, "Ghosts and Restless Spirits Wanted" and has the text, "Seeking ghosts and goblins to perform with ghoulish delight in haunted house musical. Spirited performers only. Auditions at Ghost Relations".
  • Main Street Penny Arcade: The Esmerelda Fortune Teller machine on Main Street U.S.A. has tarot cards as part of it's decor. If you look though, you'll see that the cards have the portraits of Constance Hatchaway, Alexander Nitrokoff, Sally Slater and the Hobbs from the Stretching Room drawn on them.
• New Orleans Square: New Orleans Square was once planned to have an interconnected mega-theme which would tie together the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tom Sawyer Island, all in relation to historic pirate Jean Lafitte. Lafitte himself is referenced in a variety of different locations but the only true remnant of the unused mega-theme is a bricked off crypt in New Orleans Square labelled, "1764" which homages how the Haunted Mansion was planned to access Tom Sawyer Island via crypt in a similar way.
• Snow White's Enchanted Wish: The wall-mounted griffins in Snow White's Enchanted Wish are the same mould as the griffins found in Phantom Manor's séance chamber. This could be as both attractions were largely designed by Claude Coats.
• Tomorrowland:
  • Autopia: In the pre-show videos of Autopia in Tomorrowland, there is a photo of the characters ASIMO and Bird going on a ghost tour of New Orleans. The sign for tours is modelled after the Ghost Relations Department sign, the Raven is perched nearby watching them, and the Hatbox Ghost's silhouette appears behind the pair. Bird also has home-made, "Ghost Finder" machine, with the number, "69" on it, referencing the Haunted Mansion's opening year.
  • Star Tours: The Adventures Continue: Just like in Disney World, during the queue for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Madame Leota makes a small cameo inside of a luggage bag filled with books which is being examined by Star Tours Spaceport THX1138's baggage scan only to be ignored by the scanner's operator, a goose-droid named G2-5T.
• Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar: At Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, the mug for the Zombie Head cocktail (formerly known as the Zombie Head Cocktail) is adapted from the leering head mould from the Haunted Mansion. When ordered, cast-members hover a ghost puppet around the room as ghost ambience plays. The menu introductions also mention that Sam travelled to Mystic Point to study mixology.

Walt Disney World

• Adventureland:
  • Jungle Cruise: In the queue for Walt Disney World's Jungle Cruise is a bottle titled, "Prof. Plump's Miracle Tonic for Everlasting Life", a possible reference to Phineas' identity as a snake-oil salesman from the Ghost Gallery. In Alberta Falls' office in the queue, there is a post-card from Mystic Point and messages on a table mentioning her travels there. Sometimes on the Jungle Cruise, the skippers will recite a pastiche version of the Ghost Host's dialogue from the foyer/stretching room when starting the tour.
  • Skipper Canteen: At the Magic Kingdom there is a restaurant called the Jungle Navigational Company Skipper Canteen, in it there is a library stocked with several books. One of these books it titled "Myths of the Supernatural" and the author is named Gracey in reference to the Haunted Mansion and its association with the Gracey name. Another is a book titled Ghosts of New Orleans by Scholtz, again referencing the Haunted Mansion. There are also various references to Mystic Manor, such as Lord Mystic & Henry's fezzes appearing in a display case. In the library, Lord Henry Mystic is author of the books Manor of Fact, Primates as Shipmates, and Treasures of the Manor, Albert is author of, "FUZNEWI PDMWH CHF JD U", and there is an additional book titled Mysteries of Mystic Manor by Yuen.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: In the Magic Kingdom's version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, there is a letter written by one Jason Chandler which briefly mentions the Museum of the Weird as well is it being managed by a woman named Madame Zarkov, a possible reference to Madame Leota's scrapped name "Madame Z". During refurbishments, a poster is hung for the Butterfly Stage Line which connects to the town of Thunder Mesa.
• Disney Springs:
  • Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail: At the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail in Disney Springs is a poster for "Mme. Leota's Music Lessons from Regions Beyond". In the World of Disney store is an animator's table implied to have belonged to Marc Davis and which has illustrations of the Hitchhiking Ghosts on it.
  • World of Disney: In World of Disney at Disney Springs is an etching of the Hitchhiking Ghosts on a table.
• Town Square Theater: The, "Meet Mickey" area is themed towards being the dressing-room of Mickey Mouse for his magic-show performances. On a shelf in this room is a green glowing crystal-ball labelled, ""Leota" Crystals Model 1969" referencing Madame Leota and the Haunted Mansion's opening date.
• Star Tours: The Adventures Continue: During the queue for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Madame Leota makes a small cameo inside of a luggage bag filled with books which is being examined by Star Tours Spaceport THX1138's baggage scan only to be ignored by the scanner's operator, a goose-droid named G2-5T.
• Trader Sam's Grog Grotto: At Trader Sam's Grog Grotto in Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, the mug for the Zombie Head cocktail is adapted from the leering head mould from the Haunted Mansion. When ordered, cast-members hover a ghost puppet around the room as ghost ambience plays.

Tokyo Disneyland

• Star Tours: The Adventures Continue: The attraction Star Tours: The Adventures Continue ends with three droids standing next to one another, holding out their thumbs in an attempt to hitchhike. Each droid is made to resemble on of the Hitchhiking Ghosts with the one furthest to the right holding a large bag and having a head design making it look as if it is holding a top-hat, the middle one holding out it's hat in a way similar to Ezra, and the last (an RX series pilot droid) holding out an orb to imitate Gus's ball and chain.

Disneyland Paris

• Disneyland Railroad: The Main Street Station has a mural with Melanie Ravenswood and the silhouette of the Phantom lurking behind her. Melanie's pose is similar to Sally Slater from the original Haunted Mansion.
• Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger: The "Phantom Manor Unveiled" copy of the Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger contains an allusion to the Haunted Mansion. At the bottom-left of the first page there's an advertisement for "Davis Coats of New Orleans, est'd 1869. The finest overcoats, cloaks and capes for all happy and somber occasions". The name Davis is in reference to Marc Davis and the company's selling coats is in reference to Claude Coats. The year 1869 is in reference to the Mansion's opening date of 1969 and them being of New Orleans is in reference to the original Haunted Mansion being located in New Orleans Square.

Shanghai Disneyland

• Camp Discovery: The Haunted Mansion is referenced in the Camp Discovery attraction of the park. The secondary headline of a message board dated to September 22, 1930 states how a family known as the Johnsons were chased out of the mansion by ghosts. It also states they were the 3rd family to be chased out since the passing of the mansion's last owner. The newspaper makes further reference to the Johnsons having encountered Jack Skellington and Zero around the holiday season.

Disney Cruise Line

• Oceaneer Lab: This area is themed around Captain Mary Oceaneer who first appeared in Mystic Manor. There is a portrait of Lord Henry Mystic & Albert outside of Mystic Manor, and a hat to her from Dr. J.L. Baterista.

Reused Animatronics/figures

There are several Disney park animatronics which share the same makes as those found within the Haunted Mansion.

• The old lady ghost in the ballroom shares an animatronic with the grandma from Carousel of Progress.
• One of the duelists and the sea captain share their face with the auctioneer from Pirates of the Caribbean.
• The birthday ghost, and the flute & bagpipe players of the Phantom Five share their faces with one of the whistling prisoners in Pirates of the Caribbean.
• The caretaker shares his face with the removed safari explorer from Walt Disney World's Jungle Cruise who has a rhino prodding at his rear end while trying to climb up a tree. This lead some skippers to assert the characters are cousins.

Disney Films and Shows

A Haunted Mansion homage in the film Hercules (1997).

• Hercules: In the 1997 Disney film Hercules, during the song "I won't say I'm in Love" the five Greek muses take the form of marble-busts and sing backup chorus with the second one of them from the left having her head fractured in a way identical to that of Uncle Theodore, mirroring the Singing Busts of the Haunted Mansion.
• Clerks: The Animated Series: In the shortlived ABC series produced by an uncredited Walt Disney Television Animation, Leonardo Leonardo's grand "Quicker Stop" mall features a Doombuggy-based tour ride featuring a Hitchhiking Ghosts-style Hall of Mirrors gag where a ghostly Leonardo Leonardo joins riders in their doombuggy, causing a customer in the buggy next to Randall and Dante to scream "The dead live!" and jump out of the ride.
• Inside Out: In the 2016 Pixar film Inside Out, Grim Grinning Ghosts plays in the background of a nightmare sequence.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: There is a proposed Haunted Mansion reference in the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, itself being based on the Haunted Mansion's sister-attraction. On the island of Isla Cruces, a sword fight transpires in an abandoned church with the fighters passing by the church's cupola where the skeletal corpse of a priest is hanging from a noose. It is believed that this might be an allusion to the Ghost Host's corpse from the Haunted Mansion's Stretching Room.

  

  Madame Leota's tombstone (central) in the Princess and the Frog (2009)

• The Princess and the Frog: In the 2009 animated Disney film the Princess and the Frog (a film which takes place in Jazz-Era New Orleans), Madame Leota's tombstone can be seen during a scene in a graveyard.