The Beating-Heart Bride

The Beating Heart Bride is a figure appearing in the climax of the attic sequence of Tokyo Disneyland version of the attraction. Formerly appearing the Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions, she was later replaced with Constance Hatchaway who is often proposed/presumed to be the same character as her.

History[]

Background[]

The Beating Heart Bride's character was originally shrouded in mystery. It was originally inferred that she was a murderess, responsible for the death of several grooms or groom's men who haunted the attic as corpses. She was also implied to have been the lover of the Hatbox Ghost and likely his murderer or a factor behind his murder. This story was thrown into question following the removal of the Hatbox Ghost character with the story of the bride becoming ever murkier and the head-cannon that she was a tragic bride becoming ever prevalent.

In 2006, the bride figure of the Haunted Mansion was reimagined in the form of Constance Hatchaway, a Black Widow Bride and serial-killer from the 19th century who was a composite character with the old widow seen in the Stretching Room. Constance married and murdered five wealthy men from 1869-1879 and came into ownership of the Haunted Mansion via her 5th husband George Hightower where she would grow old and eventually die. In death she would haunt the attic of the mansion where she stored the twisted souvenirs of her life of crime.

While it was intended (and is considerably well implied) that Constance be the same character as the Beating Heart Bride, her lack of beating heart threw this into question. Due to this while it is still very likely and still constantly presumed that the two are one and the same, they are infrequently treated as separate entities.

In Tokyo Disneyland, the Bride's name and history are unknown however speculations and theories do exist. These guesses are muddied however by the discourse regarding the original bride(s) who the Bride seems to be modelled after. She seems to have had at-least five suitors in her life (as shown by the Hatbox Blast-Ups) with their ghosts being present within the attic.

Development History[]

The Bride's ghost was blue, hidden behind a dense veil and holds a melting candle and bouquet of flowers. In her chest was a glowing red, beating heart. Originally, the bride's appearance was a skeletal corpse with glowing eyes, clutching a candle in one hand and a bouquet in the other. Concept art shows that the Bride's shrouded appearance was inspired by the real-world ghost known as the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall.

She was partnered with the Hatbox Ghost, who was later removed after the "disappearing head" effect was unconvincing under the scene's lighting conditions. The second version was a faceless version with glowing eyes. Her final incarnation was that of a fully-fleshed spirit with a sad face, with her veil either opened or closed. The Walt Disney World incarnation's original form was similar to the Disneyland version but in the 1970's, she became a full-fleshed spirit, which was later applied to Disneyland in 1990.

In 2006, the original beating-heart incarnation of the bride was opted out for Constance Hatchaway with a much more elicit backstory. Following this refurbishment, the beating-heart feature of the character was removed due to it failing to be able to work with the projection-mapping technology of Constance's AA figure, although it was planned in concept-art to be present.

Appearances[]

American Mansions (California and Florida)[]

The character appears during the attic sequence, her heartbeat being audible throughout its entirety. Littered throughout the attic are heads which pop out of hat-boxes. She finally comes face to face with guests at the end of the scene, grinning ominously at them.

Originally, the bride was stationed at the left side of the attic window while the Hatbox Ghost stood on the right. After the latter was removed, the Bride was moved to the right wherein she remained until the 2006 refurbishment. Her heartbeat, however, remained in the present-day Constance Hatchaway era.

Both the Disneyland California and Walt Disney World incarnations started as skeletal appearances. By the mid-1970's, California used a faceless version with glowing eyes whereas Florida became a full-fleshed spirit. The full-fleshed appearance was later applied to Disneyland in the 1990's, where it also featured glowing eyes and remained so until 2006. Unlike the Florida version, which keeps the character's veil open, Disneyland sometimes altered its 1990-2006 version by opening or closing its veil; should the closed-veil version be used, the glowing eyes were activated.

Following the introduction of Constance, the American brides were stored in the WED Archives. During the D23 exhibitions as well as for the 50th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion franchise, the Florida bride was taken out of storage and put on display along with other original props.

Tokyo Mansion[]

Her Tokyo counterpart is the last remaining of the "Beating Heart" model brides. Just like the American counterparts, the Tokyo incarnation appears during the attic sequence, her heart-beat being audible throughout its entirety, and is only seen at the end.

A noticeable difference here in this version is that she is depicted as being of East Asian descent, and is characterized as a villainous figure while featuring all of the staples of the traditional beating-heart scene (audible beating heart sounds, heads which pop out of hat-boxes). Unlike the American counterparts, the Tokyo incarnation remained a fully-fleshed spirit since opening day in 1983 and is illuminated in light purple rather than blue.

In the year 2023, the Tokyo Bride is given the identity of Constance Hatchaway as part of the Disney Story Beyond campaign by Tokyo Disneyland. With the American parks having an animated speaking version of the character projected on a mannequin in bridal gown, this incarnation retains the silent Beating-Heart animatronic form. She now wears strings of necklaces while being surrounded by small versions of the wedding portraits.

Spooky "Boo!" Parade[]

The Bride appeared in the Spooky "Boo!" Parade at Tokyo Disneyland, during the 2019 Halloween season. She walked down the parade route, accompanied by five suitors. Her dress was more stylized, and a patch of her dress featured a cartoony rib cage and heart.

Other Appearances[]

Television[]

House of Mouse[]

The bride appeared in the episode House Ghosts where Pete was enamoured by her and kissed her hand. When he looked up, she was a hideous corpse which frightened him.

Printed-Materials[]

Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion[]

In this story, the Beating Heart Bride is featured and identified as the bride of the Hatbox Ghost. A corpse can be seen stuffed in a chest nearby, potentially belonging to the bride as this echoed the fate of the bride Priscilla from unused concepts for the Haunted Mansion.

The Ghost Gallery[]

In the Ghost Gallery, the Beating Heart Bride was named Emily Cavenaugh and was an orphaned teenaged girl married by the grown-man Master Gracey who wished to acquire her fortune. She was murdered by Gracey's jealous lover Madame Leota when Emily was playing hide-and-seek with her new husband. She hid in a chest in the attic only for Leota to lock the chest, resulting in Emily's death by suffocation.

The Haunted Mansion (comics)[]

Main Article: Emily de Claire

In these comics, the bride was given the name of Emily de Claire and was heavily based on Ken Anderson's Priscilla character from his unused Gore Mansion scripts as-well as Emily Cavenaugh from the Ghost Gallery. She was the beautiful bride of Captain William Gracey who was killed by the ghost of Randall Pace (the Hatbox Ghost), a sea captain who William murdered during his days of piracy and who was summoned by Madame Leota.

Disney Kingdoms[]

In Disney Kingdoms: The Haunted Mansion, the beating-heart bride is shown to be the same character as Constance Hatchaway and is a supporting antagonist within the story. At the first and final issues, she indirectly rescues the main protagonist Danny Crowe and the other ghosts by decapitating the horseback rider and the Captain, respectively.

Video-Games[]

2003 video game[]

The character appears in the video game as a friendly ghost in the Maids' Room level. In this incarnation, she is a mix of the original bride and Melanie Ravenswood, on account of her holding a candle and bouquet and anxiously waiting for her groom, respectively. Her beating heart element is eliminated for this adoption.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures[]

The Bride serves as a final boss and is encountered at the ballroom. She is voiced by Kat Cressida and while physically based on the Beating Heart Bride, she is explicitly identified as Constance Hatchaway in this game, wherein she recites the same lines spoken by the ride version of Constance.

Disney Crossy Road[]

In this video-game, the Beating Heart Bride is a rare unlockable character who is identified as being Constance Hatchaway.

Merchandise[]

Merchandise, promotional-artwork and paraphernalia constantly feature the Beating Heart Bride as a representation of Constance Hatchaway. Typically this is done by either showing Constance's design with a beating heart and sometimes candle or by depicting the traditional Beating Heart Bride wielding a hatchet.