Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Gallery

Little Leota was the type of person who was easily bored with everyday routine. She could not sit inside and mope about the Mansion like the other family members. She had to be involved in some sort of mischief.

One evening after the servants had left and the Mansion was deathly quiet, Leota climbed out her bedroom window, slid down off the archway, and was away in a flash. she took a horse from the stable and galloped down to the wharf.

A pirate ship had landed earlier in the evening and the crew was enjoying their liberty at a local pub. They were rowdy and crude, singing pirate chanteys and drinking rum. Little Leota joined in with the fun.

The next morning, Leota was strangely silent. Others in the household remarked on her strange behavior. Then a change came over her and she began singing a peculiar song: "Yoho, Yoho, a pirate’s life for me!" and the hallway echoed with an awful laughter and the sound of water lapping on boards.

Then it was over. She regained her composure, smiled sweetly and greeted the guests for the day.

-Tina

Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Gallery

This is the tale of a poor, unfortunate housemaid, who met her death quite by accident. Prudence was Little Leota’s personal maid. She was neither attractive nor memorable--a person would forget meeting Prudence before he finished saying good-day to her.

Prudence had a rare quality that caused her to blend into her surroundings. This made the task of serving Little Leota even more difficult. Little Leota was not the easiest person to serve, always sending Prudence on wild goose chases. Prudence was doomed to search for lost shoes, misplaced handkerchiefs, and at times, even unidentified noises in the middle of the night.

Such was the case one cold night when Leota called for Prudence. Leota claimed she had heard a noise downstairs and sent Prudence, candle in hand, to investigate. Even though Prudence objected and was visibly frightened, Leota ordered her to investigate. Prudence wandered the halls, the flickering candles her only source of light in the dark house. As she was walking down the long dark hall, one of the doors swung open and slammed against the wall. Poor Prudence was so terrified by this that she collapsed and perished in the hall. She never discovered that it was only Little Leota trying to frighten her. Prudence still haunts the halls, searching for disturbances.

-Tina

Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Gallery

The second Mistress Gracey, Emily Cavanaugh was born to the very wealthy Cavanaughs of Rhode Island. Being an only child, Emily was destined to inherit the entire family fortune. Much to her parents’ dismay, she was a flighty girl and given to disappearing for hours on end, contemplating flowers or patterns on wallpaper. Much was done by her parents to teach Emily the responsibility of her station, but the girl refused to grasp the gravity of her situation.

When her parents were suddenly killed by a runaway carriage, the entire wealth of the Cavanaugh’s fell on her unprepared shoulders. At the funeral she met Master Gracey, who having recently lost his first wife, was prepared to offer her consolation and guidance. An impressionable girl of 16, she fell in love with the authoritative figure of the Master and his boyish good looks. When he proposed marriage, the unwitting Emily accepted.

The wedding was a beautiful affair and the bride was radiant. The trouble began on the honeymoon at the Gracey Mansion. Madame Leota waited there for the young bride, killing time until she could dispose of the bride. Being young, Emily was still playful and decided to play Hide and Seek with her new groom. So eager was she to begin this honeymoon game that she didn’t even wait to change out of her wedding gown. She found herself in the attic, and hearing George calling her, she quickly hid in a large sea trunk. The trunk was uncomfortable and stuffy, and just as she prepared to come out of hiding, she heard the sound of scraping metal. Madame Leota had seized the opportunity and locked the trunk, the poor young bride suffocated.

-Tina

Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Gallery

After discovering his young bride’s untimely demise, Master Gracey felt the need to announce his continuing dedication to her in order to avoid rumors that he only married her for her money. Gracey arranged to have the funeral services in the courtyard of the Mansion so that the entire town could be present. With the Gracey household and the town as his audience, only Madame Leota mysteriously failed to attend, Master Gracey stood on the driver’s bench of the hearse buggy and prepared to announce his undying devotion to Emily. He planned to place the ring on his little finger as a reaffirmation of his dedication to Emily and so that she would always be close to him. Suddenly, before he was able to place the ring on his finger, something spooked the horses and Gracey was thrown from the buggy. As the horses galloped wildly away, a wheel of the buggy rolled over Emily’s wedding band, embedding it in the cobblestone walkway. Despite his best efforts, Master Gracey was unable to free the ring from its cobblestone grave. . .the ring remains there to this day. The servants were sent to search for the hearse. A few days later the horses and buggy were discovered, but the hearse was empty. Emily’s body was never recovered.

-MorTricia

Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Gallery

Dick O’Dell and his dog "Bony" are the only mortal residents in the Mansion. Born to an immigrant gravedigger and a gypsy, Dick was considered slow-witted and did poorly in school. When his parents were killed in a carnival ride accident, Dick joined the carnival as a ride operator. He traveled with the show until 1971, when the carnival went broke while in Florida. Dick then joined the Walt Disney World cast as caretaker of the Haunted Mansion. He was given his own room in the Mansion, but can never find it, so he usually sleeps in the blue room with "Bony". Asked how "Bony" got his name, Dick says, "Somebody was going by and said ‘Look at the bony dog’, so I call him bony. Bony’s my best friend even though I forget to feed him sometimes." Bony mainly lives on the mice he catches, with an occasional treat of popcorn, candy, or ice cream left behind by the Guests.

After all these years of living and working in the Mansion, Dick is still frightened by its ghoulish inhabitants, his knees constantly knocking in fear. Asked why he doesn’t leave, Dick replies, "I’m scared the ghosts’d follow me home!"

Haunted Mansion’s Ghost Gallery

In 1931, the Graceys held a Halloween party for all of the town’s most influential citizens. Madame Boufont, taking charge of the arrangements, came up with the idea of a tea party in the graveyard. She sent each invitee a badge with a clever name, such as "Dustin T. Dust" and "I. Emma Spook". Nobody would know anyone’s true identity until the unmasking at midnight.

Halloween day was rainy, but by sunset the sky had cleared and the stars were out. The Mansion’s servants quickly dried the tables, wiped off the tombstones, and lit the candles. Ordinary decorations wouldn’t do, do Mme. Boufont brought out living ones: a pair of owls (with clipped wings), a few stray cats (lured by saucers of cream), Master Gracey’s dog Hellhound, and Aunt Elma’s raven. Master Gracey set up a special display of his Egyptian mummy. A rather ragtag band of costumed musicians, assembled from local tradesmen, arrived just in time.

Soon the guests began to arrive, wearing their name tags as they had been instructed. "Bea Witch" came as a duchess. "Love U Truly" and "I. Truly Dew" dressed as a king and queen. "I. M. Ready" made a convincing Father Time with his ear trumpet. The grandest entrance was made my "M. T. Tomb", who was made up as a corpse. He arrived in a hearse, which got stuck in the mud. The casket slid out, and "M. T." sat up smiling as though he’d planned it that way. The stuck hearse became the centerpiece of the tea party.

The partygoers enjoyed such activities as a tombstone teeter-totter, a swing in a dead tree, and bicycle races on the hill-the only dry ground. Mme. Boufont kept the household members so busy with their hosting duties that they hardly had a chance to taste the tea, but the guests and the thirsty musicians drank pot after pot, remarking on its unusual flavor.

Suddenly, just before midnight, all of the guests and musicians fell ill. The town’s doctors were among the invitees, and they too collapsed. By the time medical help arrived, everyone at the tea party was dead. Due to their fashionably late arrival, the Gracey household had been spared. The well water that had been used to make the tea proved to be contaminated.

The bodies could only be identified by their name tags since Mme. Boufont had kept no record of who was who. As a result, the deceased were entombed under their pseudonyms. The five musicians didn’t have name tags--their tombs were left unmarked. No charges were filed in this case, since all the judges and lawyers were dead.

GW