Lord Henry Mystic is a main character of Mystic Manor. He is the owner of Mystic Manor, an explorer, and antiquities collector.
Background[]
Personality[]
Lord Henry Mystic owns a mischievous monkey named Albert, who is always getting into trouble. Mystic is also a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. For several years, both Lord Mystic and Albert have traveled the world in search of rare and precious artifacts for guests and tourists alike to enjoy.
Mystic lives in the grand estate of Mystic Manor in Mystic Point, Papua New Guinea, a colony which he created. In the story line of his respective attraction he opens up his manor for museum-like tours to display his collection of antiquities.
Biography[]
Background & early adventures[]
Lord Henry Mystic is an English nobleman born likely in the early 19th century. By the 1850s he was in his prime and enlisted as a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers under society president Vitale Robustelli. In 1851, Mystic attended the ceremony in-which Robustelli officiated the society's first female member, aviatrix Camellia Falco.
Throughout the 19th century, Lord Mystic travelled the globe along with his fellow explorers and adventurers. He was most frequently accompanied by one Charlton J. Taboret, a painter member of the society who often made artwork of the lord. In 1874, Lord Henry Mystic went on a river-journey along India's Yangtze River with S.E.A. later commemorating this adventure in one of their Polynesian island bases.
Albert & Mystic Point[]
While on a mission in Papua New Guinea in the late 1870s or early 1880s, Mystic found a young monkey trapped in a spider web. Mystic rescued the ape and took him in, naming him Albert, after his uncle. Ever since, they traveled the world together. Mystic and Albert travelled to Morocco in 1882 where they took a liking to Middle-Eastern fashion such as the fez, an item which later became standard for members of S.E.A..
In 1889, the two travelled to Morocco where Lord Mystic failed at learning to play the tanpura. In 1896, the two returned to Papua New Guinea where Lord Mystic claimed and colonized the land into, "Mystic Point". Mystic's nephews James and Edward were brought to the colony to assist in the colonialism process. Amongst the structures created was a victorian estate called Mystic Manor which housed Mystic's personal museum of claimed artifacts from around the world.
Around 1889, Albert and Lord Henry Mystic travelled once again to India. They later went to New York City to attend a New Year's Eve Party held in the Hotel Hightower, an establishment run by Mystic's fellow member of S.E.A., the villainous Harrison Hightower III. Hightower had hosted the party to present his most recent acquisition, the idol Shiriki Utundu which he had stolen from the Mtundu tribe of the Congo. This party was cut-short when the wrathful Shiriki Utundu killed Hightower though the billionaire's body was never recovered, causing him to be declared missing.
20th century[]
In the year 1900, Mystic attended the Expo Universelle in Paris, France. It was at this event that he first displayed his invention, the Mystic Magneto-Electric Carriage, a vehicle which won first-prize and inspired a new automobile design in the mind of industrialist Henry Ford. In the April of 1903, Lord Mystic and Albert travelled to Siberia, Russia along with many other adventurers.
In the year 1908, Lord Henry Mystic opened up Mystic Manor to the public as a means of sharing his possessions with the world. On the June 12th of that year, he opened up the Explorers Club restaurant in Mystic Point. Also in 1908, Mystic and Albert returned to Paris where Albert broke off a piece of the Eiffel Tower for them to hang up in the Explorers Club. Mystic also discovered a species of carnivorous plant, presumably that which he moved into Mystic Manor's solarium.
In 1909, Lord Mystic received a music box while traveling in Bali. The box was said to be enchanted and bring objects to life when played. Ever since, he wondered if the legends were true. Albert found out the hard way when he opened the box during a civilian tour of the manor, nearly destroying the mansion in the process. Lord Henry Mystic himself was seemingly none the wiser of these events having ever transpired.
In 1929, Lord Henry Mystic revoked the S.E.A. membership of one Professor Garrett Reed for having grave-robbed in Egypt. By the 1930s, Mystic was made a member of the Adventure Trading Company which dealt in different, "Jujus" for adventuring virtues. Mystic was known to have received an, "Elephant Juju" depicting the Cambodian carving of an elephant to commemorate his tracking abilities. Mystic and Albert also often frequented the estate of fellow S.E.A. member Dr. Albert Falls who had a secret S.E.A. meeting-place in his mansion.
In 1932, Lord Henry Mystic was interviewed by the Daily Colonial Journal when a manhunt was out for the now-criminal Garrett Reed. By 1938, Lord Mystic had written several books such as Manor of Fact, Primates as Shipmates, and Treasures of the Manor. Albert also wrote a published hardcover book which was titled, "FUZNEWI PDMWH CHF JD U".
Appearances[]
Hong Kong Disneyland[]
Mystic Manor[]
In the queue he appears in multiple portraits depicting his life. In the presentation room during the pre-show, his voice is heard giving exposition to the guests. He welcomes guests to his home, while playing a slideshow on a projector. He tells them about the manor and his adventures with his monkey, Albert, before talking about their latest acquisition: a music box that can bring inanimate objects to life. He believes that it's just superstition, but that they'll have to wait and see when they open the box. He leaves to go search for Albert, before he can get his hands on the box.
Lord Henry Mystic in the Acquisitions and Cataloging Room, from Disney Character Central
After guests board their vehicles and enter the Acquisitions and Cataloging room, Lord Mystic pops his head out from the door, seeing the music box. He leaves to go looking for Albert, who is already in the room.
At the end of the attraction, when the music box is closed, Lord Mystic pops his head out, again, finally finding Albert. He asks if he touched the box, and he shakes his head. Mystic ponders if the legends are true, before thanking the guests for coming and wishing them off.
Explorer's Club Restaurant[]
Several of Lord Mystic's journal-entries and relics from his adventures can be found around this restaurant.
Jungle River Cruise: Curse of the Emerald Trinity[]
Lord Mystic was referenced in the backstory for the Halloween overlay of Jungle River Cruise at Hong Kong Disneyland. Professor Garrett Reed was thrown out of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers and was looking to find the emerald trinity to become immortal. In a newsletter handed out for the attraction, Lord Mystic said that Professor Reed was nefarious and his pillaging went against everything that the Society stood for - stealing artifacts instead of preserving them for future generations - and that he must be stopped before he steals the emerald trinity.
Walt Disney World[]
Jungle Cruise[]
There used to be crates referencing Mystic Point in the queue for this attraction but they were removed along with other references to S.E.A. shortly after. Lord Henry Mystic is mentioned in the journal of Dr. Leonard Moss, mentioning Mystic's discovery of a carnivorous plant.
Skipper Canteen[]
While never being seen or depicted visually, Lord Mystic is referenced several times in the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen. The Canteen is said to be owned by Alberta Falls, the daughter of S.E.A. member Dr. Albert Falls, and the Canteen itself contains a "secret" S.E.A. meeting room. In this room, Lord Mystic's fez can be seen in a case case alongside Albert's. Along with this the Canteen's library features two books written by Mystic, these being titled "A Manor of Fact" and "Treasures of the Manor".
Disneyland Resort[]
Jungle Cruise[]
Mystic is referenced as, "Henry M." on a map made by S.E.A. member Dr. Albert Falls, saying that Mystic taught him to, "Look but not touch" while exploring temples.[1] There are also crates to and from Mystic Point around the queue.
Tropical Hideaway[]
Lord Mystic is referenced at the Tropical Hideaway at Disneyland's Adventureland. An ore from his 1874 expedition of the Ganges River sits on the wall, alongside other S.E.A. members, such as Captain Mary Oceaneer, Harrison Hightower III, and Barnabas T. Bullion.
Tokyo Disney-Sea[]
Soaring Fantastic Flight[]
Young Lord Henry Mystic in a portrait at Soaring Fantastic Flight (man on the right)
Lord Mystic has a small cameo in the queue of Soaring Fantastic Flight. His younger self can be seen in the crowd of a portrait where Camellia Falco becomes a member of S.E.A. One can tell it's him by the mustache and monocle on his eye.
Disney Wonder[]
Lord Mystic is referenced at the Oceaneer Labs on the Disney Wonder, which belongs to Captain Mary Oceaneer. A portrait of him and Albert in front of Mystic Manor is on display. The S.E.A. portrait from Mystic Manor is here, as well.
Other appearances[]
Tales from the Haunted Mansion[]
Lord Mystic is mentioned in Volume 3 of the Tales from the Haunted Mansion book series, in the story "Some Tea with a Mummy". Colonel Tusk justified his theft of the Tanis leaves and exploitation of an Egyptian prince by saying one of his competitors, namely Lord Mystic, would have done it first. This reflects the mummy which Mystic is shown stealing in Mystic Manor while also referencing the historic exploitation of Egyptian mummies performed by Victorian adventurers and aristocrats.
Trivia[]
- Originally he was going to look much more realistic unlike how in the finished project his portraits and animatronics all look incredibly cartoony and simplistic.
- While Mystic is often used as a more benevolent counterpart to vilified S.E.A. members such as Garrett Reed, Harrison Hightower III and Barnabas T. Bullion, Mystic has commit many of the same historic crimes as them. This includes having desecrated the tomb and corpse of a mummy (for which Reed was cast out of the society), having colonized Papua New Guinea (similar to Bullion's colonial influence over Big Thunder Mountain), and maintaining a large private collection of items obtained by colonial theft (very similarly to Harrison Hightower III). Tales from the Haunted Mansion appears to fit within a more vilified depiction of Mystic given Tusk assuming he would similarly exploit the mummy, seemingly referencing the mummy which Mystic desecrates in Mystic Manor.
- The tea-leaf exploitation of mummies in Tales from the Haunted Mansion might be a reference to how English explorers and aristocrats often desecrated Egyptian mummy remains to cannibalize as exotic/pseudo-scientifically medicinal tea during the Victorian era.
- Lord Mystic giving a pre-show narration in which only his voice is present might be an allusion to the Ghost Host.
- Although his death is never referenced, it is incredibly likely that Lord Henry Mystic as well as Albert had died considering their age and that their ride takes place in the early 20th century while Haunted Mansion attractions typically are considered to take place during modern day.
- The earliest timeline reference to Lord Henry Mystic was in 1851 where he was a young(er) man and the latest was in 1932 when he was interviewed by the Daily Colonial Journal newspaper (though Mystic Point has been referenced in 1938). Based off of this the latest Henry could have died would be in 1932 where he likely would have been somewhere between 100 and 125 years old at the time.