Walt Disney Imagineering is taking a closer look at the Haunted Mansion’s early development, sharing photos of character sculpts that include familiar spirits and ghosts that never materialized inside the attraction.
Early Haunted Mansion Sculpts by Jack Ferges
An Instagram post from Imagineering highlights the work of Imagineer Jack Ferges. Working in the WED model shop during the 1960s, Ferges translated early attraction concepts into maquettes, or small sculpted models. Imagineering also noted his contributions to the unrealized Museum of the Weird.
Developed around Imagineer Rolly Crump’s unusual designs, the Museum of the Weird was envisioned as a collection of strange objects that guests would encounter after exiting the Haunted Mansion. The museum was never built, but several ideas taken from the concept live on in the Mansion as we know it today.
The opening photo shows six character busts with exaggerated expressions, ranging from broad smiles to stern scowls. Subsequent images highlight individual characters, including unused concepts and spirits that eventually became part of the finished attraction.
Sheet Ghost
One of the unused characters is a “sheet ghost”, which Imagineering identified as an early concept for one of the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
The pale figure has dark eye openings, an oversized smile, and thin arms extending from its draped body. It raises a small top hat in one hand while sticking out the thumb on the other, striking a pose similar to the other finalized characters in the hitchhiking lineup. Unfortunately for him, this particular spirit did not make it into the finished attraction.
Witch
Another early Haunted Mansion concept would have featured three witches gathered around a cauldron. Imagineering’s photos offer a closer look at one member of that proposed trio.
The witch wears a tall, crooked pointed hat over strands of yellow hair. She leans forward while holding a pair of bellows in both hands.
Pickwick
A more familiar face appears in the sculpt of Pickwick, the ghost who hangs from the chandelier in the Haunted Mansion’s Grand Hall.
The round-bellied figure wears a top hat, scarf, and short pink coat. He raises a glass in one hand and extends the other arm outward, with one leg lifted beneath him.
Gus
Unlike the sheet ghost, Gus secured a place among the attraction’s famous Hitchhiking Ghosts.
His early sculpt features an enormous shaggy beard, a long nose, and a tattered reddish garment. A ball and chain hangs across the front of his body, while one hand is raised with his thumb extended.
Gus has been greeting guests since the Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland in 1969.
Graveyard Tea Party Ghost
The final photo highlights a smiling ghost holding a teacup. According to Imagineering, this character and his companions were meant enjoy tea around a hearse in the attraction’s graveyard scene.
The seated figure wears a dark hat, a green top, knee-length trousers, and buckled shoes. His legs are crossed, and his eyes are closed above a broad grin.
For another look at how Imagineers brought the attraction’s spirits to life, check out Imagineering’s behind-the-scenes explanation of the Haunted Mansion’s Pepper’s Ghost effect, which makes the Grand Hall’s ghosts appear transparent.
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