“When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker, where the air is deathly still – that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!”
Welcome Foolish Mortals to The Haunted Mansion Lore- Ghost Host Edition. Just who exactly is the deep, disembodied voice that takes you through the Mansion?
Our host is a ghost host. We never see him nor learn his name. Contrary to popular belief he is NOT Master Gracey, the owner of the Mansion, and whose portrait is seen when entering the stretching room.
“Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis. Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination – hmm? And consider this dismaying observation: this chamber has no windows and no doors… which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out! Of course, there’s always my way.”
Our ominous host alludes that it is him that is hanging above, not Master Gracey.
So who exactly is this guy? He just so happens to be one of the 999 happy haunts, who is a part of the Sinister Eleven, the more famous and vocal ghosts who have their portraits hanging in the portrait corridor.
The Ghost Host’s (otherwise known as “Hatchet Man”) portrait is seen with the Sinister Eleven and in the Corridor of Doors. According to Imagineer Jason Surrell, the piano player’s shadow we see is in fact belongs to the Ghost Host.
With clues about his identity sprinkled throughout the ride, he continues his narration during various parts of the mansion. The first to greet guests, he is also the last to send them off:
“Now I will raise the safety bar, and a ghost will follow you home!”
The Disneyland and Walt Disney World Ghost Host is voiced by the famed Paul Frees. Disney Fans will recognize him as Ludwig Vin Drake, the narrator of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (Disneyland), the Auctioneer in Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland) among many other uncredited roles. He is famously known as Boris from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and the Burgermeister for Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town.
He also has his own grave stone dedicated to him in the Haunted Mansion graveyard!
The Ghost Host also appears as the narrator of the HalloWishes firework show during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. (not voiced by Frees)
Out of Disneyland, Magic Kingdom WDW, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris; Hong Kong’s Mystic Manor does not have a Ghost Host! It is also unlike its other counterparts in a huge way. In respect of Chinese Culture, it is a lighthearted family ride that does not contain references to ghosts/spirits or the after life.
For the longest time I had the misconception that the Ghost Host and Master Gracey were one and the same. What facts above surprised you the most? Share your thoughts below! We are dying to hear from you! MUHAHA
Stay tuned for next week. We will continue our Haunted Mansion Lore with the Stretching Room Portrait Edition.
