Originally Posted by Doombuggies.com
Hats Off: The Secret of the Attic
There was a character in the original Haunted Mansion attic scene which was removed almost immediately after the attraction opened to the public. The mysterious Bride has always been there, waiting for guests at the atic window, with a lonely flickering candle and eerie glowing eyes. But at one time, she had a suitor, of sorts.
Standing to the right of the Doom Buggies near the attic window, where the Bride had been standing (until she was replaced at Disneyland in 2006), was an elderly ghost in a cloak and top hat, leaning on a cane with a wavering hand and clutching a hatbox in the other. As the Bride's heart would beat, this "Hatbox Ghost's" head would disappear from his body, and appear in the hatbox he held in his hand.
Tony Baxter’s take on the “Hatbox Ghost”
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."
Tony Baxter continues: "The Hatbox Ghost was installed and running during this period. It is possible that guests also rode in this time frame and saw the figure. The gag was to have his head become invisible, and then appear in the hatbox and constantly reverse back and forth. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the head on the body to vanish effectively in this location. My theory is that it was designed to work in the same way as the ballroom and they tried to adapt the effect to this more conventional location, and it wasn't convincing. "The bride stood in front of a bunch of props that were also later removed. It seemed like alot of drapery material made from transparent plastic. The original soundtrack from September 1969 shows tracks that have later been removed and others that are curently buried by noise..."
Well, this was excellent conjecture, and pretty close to being right on the money... except for the explanation of the magic behind the illusion. DoomBuggies.com talked with Imagineer Chris Merritt, who is also a Haunted Mansion historian. After hours of study and research through piles of negatives and materials in the WDI archives, Merritt made some interesting discoveries about this short-lived attic character.
(Pictured, left: One of the heads from the Haunted Mansion attraction. This particular sculpture was used both as the head of the proposed Hatbox Ghost and the head of the skeletal Hitchhiking Ghost.)
Chris Merritt ’s take on the “Hatbox Ghost”
In "The 'E' Ticket" (no. 32), Merritt provides some updated explanation regarding the infamous "Hatbox Ghost:"
"...The early Yale Gracey photos [such as the one above] picture an early mock-up -
not the production figure installed in the show. I spoke with Imagineer Wayne Jackson, who built the figure in early 1969. He recalls, "...After a few months, we decided to change it out, because the gag wasn't as successful as we hoped." I followed up with Marc Davis, who designed the character. "Walt never bought what they had come up with. I don't recall why we took this out, but we were no longer trying to tell a story about the bride. Walt's attitude was that he didn't want a story, but a series of experiences and situations. Perhaps this figure didn't lend itself to this."
DoomBuggies has since spoken with Merritt about the technical aspects of the illusion. "It wasn't a "Pepper's" illusion at all," Merritt discovered. "The gag was based purely on lighting. The ghost's head was illuminated by black lighting. A light inside the hatbox he held would rhythmically illuminate and hide the head in the hatbox, while, in tandem, the actual head on the ghost's shoulders would be hidden by extinguishing the black lighting."
Apparently, due to the effect's proximity to the Doom Buggy track, the head could never be darkened enough to seem to completely vanish, so the gag was scrapped fairly quickly.
A DoomBuggies.com exclusive: The Hatbox Ghost in the Actual Disneyland Haunted Mansion Attic Scene!
You saw it here first: a vintage photograph of the actual Hatbox Ghost figure as it appeared in the Disneyland Haunted Mansion attic! 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.
