"The Haunted Mansion, from the Magic Kingdom to the Movies"

[Sir Masksalot]

Mine is a soft-cover "Disney Editions" volume from 2003,
first year of publication.

All through the 1960s I knew The Haunted Mansion only as
a vacant shell perched atop a hill overlooking New Orleans
Square. Through this book I learned that the idea dates
back to 1951 as an adjunct to "Mickey Mouse Park", forerunner
of Disneyland. Its exterior was patterned after historic
homes around the country and dubbed "Bloodmere Manor" in its
conceptual stage. The attraction's development was complicated
over the years by creative differences among the imagineers,
attention frequently diverted to other studio projects, and
the 1966 death of Walt Disney. The attraction opened to guests
three years later with several concepts, including a restaurant
and walkthrough "Museum of the Weird", having been discarded
along the way. At one point, the Frankenstein Monster was also
slated to appear. The book compares the attraction scene-by-
scene to HMs at three other Disney parks around the world.
The 2003 movie it inspired is also discussed although the
author couldn't have predicted reviews would be mixed.

If pictures are more your thing, this full color book
delivers with concept art, behind-the-scenes, and closeup
detail shots of the many "happy haunts". We even get a
bat's-eye-view of that hanging corpse from the portrait
chamber.

Re-reading this $20 book temporarily satisfied my urge
to experience The Haunted Mansion ride again. It also
saved me an expensive trip to Disneyland park. Daily
admission costs well over $100 nowadays!