Hat Box Ghost returns

[gerryu21220]

That was kind of what I was implying. I didn't realize they had much room to relocate the original. My HM lore is a bit rusty, I just knew that from some of the lighting, you could still see his face when it was supposed to be hidden.

Right. What I don't know is if they ever tried moving him farther back into the darker corner where the brides eventually ended up. Seems fairly dark back there. My thought is if they had moved him back there and stacked some attic junk between him and the "window" out to the graveyard blocking some ambient light, it might have worked. (Just my theory.)

 

[Magenta Panther]

What kind of personality should the Hatbox Ghost have? Given the air of creepy gentility that permeates the Mansion, I'm thinking a kindlier Beetlejuice...

 

[jt04]

What kind of personality should the Hatbox Ghost have? Given the air of creepy gentility that permeates the Mansion, I'm thinking a kindlier Beetlejuice...

I like the beetlejuice comparisson. That would be cool.

 

[SMRT-1]

I was at a panel discussion yesterday with Jason Surrell, who is an imagineer and author of The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies.

When asked about the hat box ghost returning he said..."it's a very good possibility". He also mentioned that he will be working on the new que at the MK.

 

[BrerFrog]

I was at a panel discussion yesterday with Jason Surrell, who is an imagineer and author of The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies.

When asked about the hat box ghost returning he said..."it's a very good possibility". He also mentioned that he will be working on the new que at the MK.

That is great to hear. Any details on the queue?

 

[jt04]

I was at a panel discussion yesterday with Jason Surrell, who is an imagineer and author of The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies.

When asked about the hat box ghost returning he said..."it's a very good possibility". He also mentioned that he will be working on the new que at the MK.

Where was the panel discussion if you can say? Did he talk about other attractions too?

 

[redshoesrock]

This is taken from the book The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies by Jason Surrell. It's the entire section dealing with the Hatbox Ghost:

-----------------
In a departure from some of Ken Anderson's early stories, Imagineers did not originally plan to leave the Bride stranded at the altar. For a short period of time she did have a groom - the infamous Hatbox Ghost, whose very existence fans have theorized and argued about for years. This sinister groom character did, indeed, exist, but unfortunately for the Bride, the honeymoon was over before it could even begin.

"He was originally going to be where the Bride is now," Imagineer Tony Baxter explains. "The Bride was going to be in the exact opposite corner. In fact, for years, the Doom Buggy turned you directly that wasy so you could see her, but there was nothing to see because we had moved her to the otherend of the attic. Now, that spot is occupied by the playing harpsichord. The Hatbox Ghost just disappeared - the molds, the figure itself, everything, so all we have are photos and renderings."

But why? Was he just too frightening? Was it his chilling visage that caused a reported to have a heart attack, to tie him into another unfounded urban legend? The true story isn't nearly as ghoulish. The Hatbox Ghost effect simply didn't work.

As originally planned, the Hatbox Ghost stood near the attic's exit, leaning on a cane in his right hand and holding a hatbox aloft in the left. "With every beat of his bride's heart, his head disappeared from his body...and reappeared in the hatbox," as it was described in The Story and Song from The Haunted Mansion. The illusion was created by a carefully timed lighting effect. The standing ghost's head was illuminated by black light, and the head in the hatbox was lit with a small, pin spotlight. When the black light faded down and the pin spot came up, it did, indeed, look as though his head had vanished and reappeared inside the hatbox. The effect was then reversed on the next beat of the Bride's heart.

Due to guests' proximity to the figure and the attic's ambient light, it could never be dark enough for the effect to be truly convincing. The speed at which the Doom Buggies moved by the figure also ensured that there would never be enough time to run the entire gag. It was removed by the time The Haunted Mansion opened to the general public, never to be seen again.
----------------

So there you go. That's the reason why the Hatbox Ghost was never in the mansion. My guess is, assuming that the reports are true and the Hatbox Ghost will be inserted into the ride, is that they'll be using a similar effect that the current Bride uses (I think someone called her Chattie Connie? Never heard that one before; I'd like to know how she got the name).

 

[HMF]

This is taken from the book The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies by Jason Surrell. It's the entire section dealing with the Hatbox Ghost:

-----------------
In a departure from some of Ken Anderson's early stories, Imagineers did not originally plan to leave the Bride stranded at the altar. For a short period of time she did have a groom - the infamous Hatbox Ghost, whose very existence fans have theorized and argued about for years. Thsi sinister grom character did, indeed, exist, but unfortunately for the Bride, the honeymoon was over before it could even begin.

"He was originally going to be where the Bride is now," Imagineer Tony Baxter explains. "The Bride was going to be in the exact opposite corner. In fact, for years, the Doom Buggy turned you directly that wasy so you could see her, but there was nothing to see because we had moved her to the otherend of the attic. Now, that spot is occupied by the playing harpsichord. The Hatbox Ghost just disappeared - the molds, the figure itself, everything, so all we have are photos and renderings."

But why? Was he just too frightening? Was it his chilling visage that caused a reported to have a heart attack, to tie him into another unfounded urban legend? The true story isn't nearly as ghoulish. The Hatbox Ghost effect simply didn't work.

As originally planned, the Hatbox Ghost stood near the attic's exit, leaning on a cane in his right hand and holding a hatbox aloft in the left. "With every beat of his bride's heart, his head disappeared from his body...and reappeared in the hatbox," as it was described in The Story and Song from The Haunted Mansion. The illusion was created by a carefully timed lighting effect. The standing ghost's head was illuminated by black light, and the head in the hatbox was lit with a small, pin spotlight. When the black light faded down and the pin spot came up, it did, indeed, look as though his head had vanished and reappeared inside the hatbox. The effect was then reversed on the next beat of the Bride's heart.

Due to guests' proximity to the figure and the attic's ambient light, it could never be dark enough for the effect to be truly convincing. The speed at which the Doom Buggies moved by the figure also ensured that there would never be enough time to run the entire gag. It was removed by the time The Haunted Mansion opened to the general public, never to be seen again.
----------------

So there you go. That's the reason why the Hatbox Ghost was never in the mansion. My guess is, assuming that the reports are true and the Hatbox Ghost will be inserted into the ride, is that they'll be using a similar effect that the current Bride uses (I think someone called her Chattie Connie? Never heard that one before; I'd like to know how she got the name).

Actually the General public DID see him. For the Mansions first few weeks of operation the Hatbox Ghost was in the Mansion off and on while the Imagineers tried to fix him. after a few weeks they gave up and the Bride was moved into his spot.
For a more accurate history of the Hatbox Ghost visit http://hatboxghost.com/

 

[Magenta Panther]

I like the beetlejuice comparisson. That would be cool.

Thank you!

 

[SMRT-1]

That is great to hear. Any details on the queue?

he didn't elaborate...he did say if the original graves were to be replaced that we would be hearing a loud scream coming from him!

Where was the panel discussion if you can say? Did he talk about other attractions too?

spooky empire ultimate horror weekend over at the wyndham hotel. he talked about quite a few attractions. his powerpoint presentation didn't work so he had to improvise a bit. he showed some old walt disney films...such as the ones where walt is talking to the imagineers about the haunted mansion and the one with the kurt russel (these are on youtube).

he did have some funny stories about interviewing some of the old imagineers....one of which when walt was in switzerland (i believe he said switzerland)..he sent a postcard to the imagineers with a snowy mountain on it and told them to "build this"...that would later to become the matterhorn.

 

[redshoesrock]

Actually the General public DID see him. For the Mansions first few weeks of operation the Hatbox Ghost was in the Mansion off and on while the Imagineers tried to fix him. after a few weeks they gave up and the Bride was moved into his spot.
For a more accurate history of the Hatbox Ghost visit http://hatboxghost.com/

Actually I did go to that site first because I've seen it mentioned here in the thread. However, I saw nothing on that particular site that confirmed anything, nor where they got their written information from; the best I could find regarding if the figure was seen by guests was a pic with the caption "Here's what the Hatbox Ghost looked like inside the attraction", (http://crocco.net/blog/images/hbghost01.jpg) which by itself doesn't confirm anything; the figure could of been in the ride and then removed prior to the official opening for guests. However, the site did give its source for the pic, doombuggies.com, which was much more comprehensive and offered sources to back their information. From doombuggies.com:

-------------
In "The 'E' Ticket" Magazine (No. 18), Tony Baxter (Senior VP, Walt Disney Imagineering) provides some unique insight into the infamous "Hatbox Ghost:"

"...My guess is that the Bride is currently in the exact location of the Hatbox Ghost, as there would be a hole in the floor for the base frame of the figure that would be useable at this point. During the pre-opening week (August 1st through the 7th) employees were invited to ride, and during the test rides for durability, we were able to ride for two to four hours at a time without getting off...The Hatbox Ghost was installed and running during this period. It is possible (emphasis mine) that guests also rode in this time frame and saw the figure."
--------------

The word "possible" still doesn't confirm it; it may of been there, it may not have. However, the article goes on by showing the aforementioned pic followed by:

--------------
In this photo, contributed by Haunted Mansion fan Paul Clemens, you can even see the ghost's gleaming gold tooth! This figure is estimated to have been on display for a month or less, and this is the only known photo of the display as it was viewed by riders.
--------------

A much better confirmation, as it apparently is a photo taken by a non-Disney person. While I have nothing against hatboxghost.com, perhaps if it had a bit more detail in its captions as well as quoted sources, it might be a better overall website. (And, HMF, if hatboxghost.com is your site, please don't feel as though I'm ridiculing or belittling your site - I think it's a great site and with a little more work could be even better.)

 

[HMF]

Actually I did go to that site first because I've seen it mentioned here in the thread. However, I saw nothing on that particular site that confirmed anything, nor where they got their written information from; the best I could find regarding if the figure was seen by guests was a pic with the caption "Here's what the Hatbox Ghost looked like inside the attraction", (http://crocco.net/blog/images/hbghost01.jpg) which by itself doesn't confirm anything; the figure could of been in the ride and then removed prior to the official opening for guests. However, the site did give its source for the pic, doombuggies.com, which was much more comprehensive and offered sources to back their information. From doombuggies.com:

-------------
In "The 'E' Ticket" Magazine (No. 18), Tony Baxter (Senior VP, Walt Disney Imagineering) provides some unique insight into the infamous "Hatbox Ghost:"

"...My guess is that the Bride is currently in the exact location of the Hatbox Ghost, as there would be a hole in the floor for the base frame of the figure that would be useable at this point. During the pre-opening week (August 1st through the 7th) employees were invited to ride, and during the test rides for durability, we were able to ride for two to four hours at a time without getting off...The Hatbox Ghost was installed and running during this period. It is possible (emphasis mine) that guests also rode in this time frame and saw the figure."
--------------

The word "possible" still doesn't confirm it; it may of been there, it may not have. However, the article goes on by showing the aforementioned pic followed by:

--------------
In this photo, contributed by Haunted Mansion fan Paul Clemens, you can even see the ghost's gleaming gold tooth! This figure is estimated to have been on display for a month or less, and this is the only known photo of the display as it was viewed by riders.
--------------

A much better confirmation, as it apparently is a photo taken by a non-Disney person. While I have nothing against hatboxghost.com, perhaps if it had a bit more detail in its captions as well as quoted sources, it might be a better overall website. (And, HMF, if hatboxghost.com is your site, please don't feel as though I'm ridiculing or belittling your site - I think it's a great site and with a little more work could be even better.)

It is not mine
Here is mine
http://miceatworkpodcast.webs.com/
Well I share it with 3 others.
Shameless self-promotion out of the way. We do have eye-witness accounts of the Hatbox Ghost. The general public did in fact see him.
Here is the eye-witness account.
http://longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com/2010/05/hat-box-ghost.html