The Haunted Mansion is a media franchise created by The Walt Disney Company, based on the theme park attraction of the same name. The franchise consists of various adaptations and spin-offs of the original ride, which features a tour of a haunted house inhabited by 999 ghosts.
Adaptations[]
The first adaptation of the ride was a 1969 record album titled The Story and Song from The Haunted Mansion, which featured narration by Thurl Ravenscroft and a story involving two teenagers spending a night in the mansion. The album also included the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts", composed by Buddy Baker and Xavier Atencio, which became the theme song of the ride and the franchise.
The next adaptation was a 2003 live-action film starring Eddie Murphy as a real estate agent who takes his family to the mansion, unaware of its ghostly secrets. The film was directed by Rob Minkoff and received mostly negative reviews from critics and fans. However, it was a box office success, grossing over $182 million worldwide.
In 2006, Slave Labor Graphics published a seven-issue comic book series based on the ride, featuring stories by various writers and artists. The series explored the origins and backgrounds of some of the mansion's residents, such as the Hatbox Ghost, Constance Hatchaway, and Madame Leota. The comic book series was followed by another one in 2016, published by Marvel Comics under the Disney Kingdoms imprint. This series focused on a young man named Danny who inherits the mansion from his grandfather and discovers its secrets with the help of Madame Leota.
In 2016, Disney Press launched a book series called Tales from the Haunted Mansion, which was written by John Esposito under the pseudonym of Amicus Arcane, the mansion's librarian. The books were presented as collections of stories told by Arcane to visitors of the mansion, featuring characters and elements from the ride.
In 2021, Disney+ released a Halloween special called Muppets Haunted Mansion, which starred The Muppets as they visited the mansion for a challenge. The special featured guest appearances by celebrities such as Will Arnett, Taraji P. Henson, John Stamos, and Danny Trejo.
In 2023, Disney released another live-action film based on the ride, directed by Justin Simien and written by Katie Dippold. The film starred LaKeith Stanfield as Ben Matthias, an astrophysicist turned haunted house tour guide who gets involved in a mystery at the mansion with Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto. The film received mixed reviews from critics but was praised for its cast and visuals.
Future[]
The Haunted Mansion franchise is one of Disney's most popular and enduring properties, with fans around the world who enjoy its blend of humor, horror, and mystery. The franchise has also inspired merchandise, fan art, parodies, and tributes over the years. As of 2023, there are no plans for further adaptations or spin-offs of the ride, but Disney has stated that they are always open to new ideas and possibilities for expanding the franchise.
