The Sinister 11 are a group of characters found in the Haunted Mansion.
History[]
Background[]
The Sinister 11 are a group of undead individuals who inhabit the Haunted Mansion. The nature of members are two different ones, with some members being neutral while the other members are evil. They are depicted in the mansion via portraits on display.
Members[]
- The Hatchet Man: The Hatchet Man is a deformed man who in death became the, "Ghost Host" of the Haunted Mansion.
- Medusa: Medusa the gorgon from Greek mythology who was transformed from being a maiden to a gorgon and was later killed by Perseus.
- Count Dracula: Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's famous gothic novel of the same name, a vampiric count who is shown lurking within a crypt.
- The Mariner: The Mariner, later named Captain Culpepper Clyne is a sea-captain who shares history with the Haunted Mansion.
- Jack the Ripper: The infamous historic serial-killer who killed women on the streets of Whitechapel, London and was never caught.
- Ms. April December: A beautiful young women who is known for having transformed into a withered old woman, possibly in a paranormal period of time.
- The Witch of Walpurgis: A pagan witch who worked from a cave and is affiliated with the celebration of Walpurgis night.
- The Arsonist: A disturbed man shown to have set an entire village on fire and made off with its loot.
- The Ogre: A behemoth of a man known only as the Ogre.
- The Seer: Also known as the opera-glasses lady, she is a woman holding arcane spectacles and a black cat.
- The Couple: A Victorian-Edwardian couple of a very grim appearance.
Development History[]
The Sinister 11 lineup was created for the Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World which opened in 1971. Originally, this incarnation of the ride lacked the changing portrait scene that the original Disneyland version had. The Sinister 11 served as a sort of counterpart to them, appearing in the first scene of the ride itself and being identified in promotional material. The painting designs were all taken from concept art by Marc Davis with the exception of Ms. April December and Medusa who were both in the Disneyland mansion's original changing portrait corridor; these portraits having shown Ms. April turning into an old woman and Medusa turning from a maiden to a gorgon.
Many of the characters depicted vary from their original designs. The Arsonist was originally intended to be a werewolf in a mountain village, the seer was made from concept-art for the Bride, and Jack the Ripper would have had a woman's severed foot stuffed in his pocket. Changes excluding from the portraits being static include how the couple originally depicted the woman strangling the man, the Witch would have grown a goat's head similar to the demon Baphomet, and Dracula would have turned into a bat. Most interestingly, the ogre would have once been the historic, "Mad Monk" Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916). The reason this was changed was because Rasputin still had recent descendants when the ride was in development and Disney feared they might be sued for portraying him.
There are portraits of note which were not utilized for the lineup. This including: an old miser, Daphne, Guy Fawkes, Ivan the Terrible, a barn caught in a twister, and two portraits resembling an early form of Constance Hatchaway. From the original changing-portrait scene in Disneyland, not featured portraits include those of the Flying Dutchman, Edward the Black Prince, and the were-cat.
Appearances[]
The Haunted Mansion[]
Walt Disney World[]
The Sinister 11 originally appeared in a portrait corridor at the beginning of the ride. They each had green glowing eyes which stared at guests as they passed before entering the library. The effect was achieved by the eyes being made from ellipsoids with dots in the middle making guests always perceive the dot in the centre of the ellipsoid as being facing them regardless of the perceived angle.
In 2007, these portraits were relocated throughout the attraction and the scene became a recreation of the changing portrait corridor from Disneyland; all of the portraits being removed of their staring/glowing eye effects. Medusa was the only portrait to remain in the original portrait corridor location (with April December being oddly enough absent) while the rest were put throughout the mansion. In the load area, the portraits of the Hatchet Man, Jack the Ripper, the ogre, the witch of Walpurgis, the arsonist and Dracula can be seen. In the transition scene between the load area and the corridor, the couple's portrait is hung beneath a staircase while Ms. December's is hung overhead. The seer's portrait appears on the balcony of the Great Hall scene, right before the attic.
Tokyo Disneyland[]
In Tokyo Disneyland, the original Sinister 11 corridor scene is still present in the attraction. The scene also somewhat fits into the Fantasyland theming of the Tokyo attraction which is made to be a melting-pot of ghost stories.
Film[]
Haunted Mansion (2023)[]
The Ghost Host, April December, and the Mariner are the only members of the Sinister 11 to appear in this adaptation.
Trivia[]
- Unused concept art for Tokyo Disneyland's Haunted Mansion shows what would have been a, "Burial Crypt for famous villains" which would have included the likes of Medusa, Jack the Ripper, and Count Dracula in-addition to Bluebeard, Nero, and Attila the Hun (406-453).
- The Ghost Host, Medusa, and April December are apparently the only members of the Sinister 11 to be in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
- The Ghost Host, the Mariner, Dracula, Medusa, Jack the Ripper, and April-December are the only members to have a known nature. The Ghost Host, the Mariner, and April-December's nature is neutral, while Dracula, Medusa, and Jack the Ripper's nature is evil.
- The arsonist and the witch of Walpurgis can be implied to be evil, due to the arsonist setting a village on fire when he was alive, and the Witch of Walpurgis being a witch.
- It is unknown what the ogre, the opera-glasses lady, and the couple's natures are.
