Haunted Mansion Wiki
Haunted Mansion Wiki
Advertisement

"Talking Heads" is the fourth story featured in Haunted Mansion #1. It was written and illustrated by Black Olive.

Synopsis[]

Madame Leota is sleeping in her crystal ball when the Raven shows up to infrom her she has a visitor. Leota is shocked to see that the ghost of a decapitated knight has appeared, claiming that her powers must be improving to have summoned a spirit from beyond without even a trance. The knight tries to point out that Leota is herself a ghost, but the Raven interrupts, saying that Leota doesn't actually realize she's dead and that to tell her otherwise would only confuse her. The knight grudgingly goes with this as he attempts to tell Leota why he has come: that he doesn't feel like he fits in with the other ghosts of Gracey Manor. Leota gets distracted by the idea that there are more ghosts, and stares out the window at the graveyard in wonder, thinking the reflection of her orb in the glass is the full moon.

Undaunted, the knight presses on in that he does not feel whole, and that Leota might understand what he's been through. When she says she can, the knight becomes optimistic, and its revealed that he's been hiding flowers with a tag reading "To my *heart,* Leota" behind his back the whole time. Unfortunately, Leota remains clueless to her own existence as a disembodied head and states that she sympathizes, but couldn't imagine living with such misfortune. The knight is disappointed, but Leota states she will use her powers to summon another apparition to help find the answers the knight seeks. As she goes looking for her crystal ball, the knight and the Raven exchange exasperated looks.

Leota gives up on her search for the ball and instead uses an incantation to summon Hilda, the opera singer. She knows the knight, addressing him as "Fred" and asking how things are working out with the "bouyant bowling ball" that is Leota. Fred relates that it's not well, and Hilda says they'll find him a "nice dummy with a detachable head" for consolation as she leads the knight out through the window. Leota sees the flowers Fred left behind, and wonders if the knight has lost his marbles along with his head.

Trivia[]

Advertisement