Summary
Disneyland’s Haunted Mansionis currently closed as it undergoes a massive update of its outdoor queue, leading to endless rumors surrounding the refurbishment. Despite speculation brewing every year when it goes down for its usual upkeep and holiday overhaul, recent concerns surrounding one of the most iconic scenes on the ride, alongside the extended work on the attraction, raise questions regarding potential changes.
The legendary dark ride first opened on June 20, 2025, in Anaheim, California. It quickly became one of the most well-knownDisneyattractions worldwide, with books, comics, films, records, and three different versions of the ride, cementing its place in the cultural zeitgeist. One of the most stand-out features of the ride is how it leans into darker themes and sardonicism, appealing to the adult audience of the parks.
Understanding the Controversy
Haunted Mansion’s grim sense of humor is made evident from the moment guests walk past the pet cemetery, with puns for epitaphs. Once guests make it into the pre-show in the Stretching Room, they are greeted by one of the most controversial scenes in a Disney attraction. After the disembodied voice of the Ghost Host, who functions as the narrator, introduces himself to riders, he brings attention to the lack of windows and doors in the room. The Stretching Room in Disneyland functions as an elevator, with hidden doors letting guests out once it descends two stories to the loading bay.
To disguise the sound of the elevator system stopping, Disney implemented a thunder sound effect, with lightning revealing the Ghost Host’s way out of the Stretching Room: suicide. The Ghost Host is actually a character known as the Hatchet Man, using the ax he’s depicted with to cut the end of the noose around his neck. While this scene serves a purpose in the narrative of the attraction and aids in hiding the immersion-breaking technology, there has been a vocal group expressing distaste for seeing the body of the Hatchet Man swinging from the rafters.
Haunted Mansion Holiday
These complaints stretch back decades, with people concerned about depicting suicide as a punchline. There have been petitions to remove the Hatchet Man’s body from the pre-show every couple of years, and countless rumors regarding the Disneyland version of the Haunted Mansion changing to accommodate these complaints. This is because Disneyland does a holiday overlay each year for the attraction themed aroundThe Nightmare Before Christmas.When the ride is closed in the summer for its retheming, theme park forums light up with talk of the Ghost Host’s hanging being removed.
Considering the years of controversy surrounding the Hatchet Man, it seems there is a chance that Disneyland may at least cover his hanging body. As part of the holiday overlay, the Stretching Room is re-themed withNightmare Before Christmascharacters. Instead of the Ghost Host, guests will see a projection of Jack Skellington on the ceiling. The ceiling during the seasonal event is a tarp used to cover the Ghost Host. It would be a two-birds-one-stone scenario if Disney chose to leave the tarp up year-round.
What Has Already Changed
Something that has made these rumors seem realistic is Disneyland Paris’ removal of all nooses and depictions of suicide from its version of the attraction, Phantom Manor, in 2023. Disney changed the lore and characters to make the attraction more family-friendly, as it was considered to be scarier than the other versions of the ride. Now, instead of holding a noose, the antagonist of the Paris attraction holds a cane or lantern, depending on the scene.
Covering the scary scene and altering the audio of the pre-show would be an easy fix, and the Disneyland attraction will likely still be narrated by the iconic Paul Frees performance, much like how Disneyland Paris maintained the Vincent Price voice-over after its massive updates. The ride also has a full-body portrait of the Hatchet Man in a later scene, which includes the noose around his neck. Removing references to the body in the rafters would mean removing a very prominent painting from the ride, but leaving it in could confuse new fans.
This is an issue in and of itself, as Disney continues to depict the Ghost Host as the Young Master in the changing portrait of the pre-show instead of the Hatchet Man. This could be preemptive work to redirect cultural conversations and reinvent the Ghost Host, just as it could simply be a mistake. After all, a lot of mythos surrounding the Haunted Mansion is created by fans inventing names and stories for the characters, which in some cases have been made official, like the names of the Hitchhiking Ghosts. This mythos is also rooted in misinterpretations, like the fan-canon of the gravestone for a “Master Gracey” being that of the Young Master, creating new lore that is sometimes recognized by the park, and other times ignored.
The Middle Ground
Should Disney choose to remove the hanging scene, there will undoubtedly be another controversy. No matter what the Imagineers do, fans will be upset. If the ride changes, it will lose part of its iconography and lore, like how the poorly received Phantom Manor changes altered the story drastically. However,rides like the Jungle Cruisehave seen changes like this in the past, which were generally appreciated by fans. Changing the ride may appeal to those who find the scene distasteful, but Disney may alienate a large part of its fanbase who still love and remember the Hatchet Man and his story.
The best course of action for Disney would be to treat this like Jungle Cruise, simply removing elements that guests have reacted poorly to while maintaining the original themes and tone of the ride. Ultimately, this is all speculation.Disneyland’s Haunted Mansionis set to reopen in late August 2024 with itsNightmare Before Christmasoverlay and external refurbishments. It won’t be until January 2025 that fans will see if these rumors are proven true.
Disneyland
Disneyland is a theme park based in Anaheim, California that incorporates popular rides based on Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and more.
