The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion (1969)

In 1969, this Disneyland Records Storyteller album was released to commemorate the opening of Haunted Mansion. Intended as a simple promotional album, this recording has become a cherished childhood memory for many a Disneyland guest. "The Story and Song from The Haunted Mansion" includes original scenes and effects that never made it into the final attraction as it follows the story of two teenagers (voiced by Robie Lester and a young Ron Howard) who take refuge inside the eerie mansion during a rainstorm. (Synopsis from DisneyStore.com) The picture above shows Ron Howard in the Happy Days episode "Haunted", made about 5 years after the album.

Disneyland Haunted Mansion 8mm Souvenir Film (c. 1974)

Edited from souvenir films that were sold at Disneyland and Walt Disney World in the 1970s.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: Hauntings Ghostly Adventure

[This post has been updated to reflect the closure of Hauntings in 2015.]
The town of Gatlinburg, in the Smoky Mountains, houses a lot of sidewalk attractions and shops: museums, arcades, custom airbrushed t-shirts, taffy, miniature golf, more airbrushed t-shirts, etc. Several attractions are themed towards the bizarre and supernatural, including Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, Ripley's Haunted Adventure, World of Illusions, Ghost Haunts Tours, and Mysterious Mansion.


I first visited an attraction called Hauntings in June 1991, during a summer trip to Tennessee. The show took place in a small room, dimly lit, with seating for about 20 people. Throughout the show, objects seemed to move by themselves (candle moving across mantle, spirit writing on slate board), noises were heard throughout the room (chains rattling, wolf howling), and an eerie voice narrated. At the end of the show, a figure appeared in the flashing of a strobe light, thrusting a chainsaw menacingly at the audience.

In 2009, I visited the attraction again. It had actually changed very little since 1991, although (unfortunately) the madman with the chainsaw had been removed from the show. Instead, there was something that occurred where a large head was moving toward the audience. I can't remember what that was about, but it managed to catch me off guard. Anyway, the video I posted contains narration from the beginning of the show. Most of it is pretty laughable, including a direct quotation of Rod Serling's opening spiel from The Twilight Zone, and annoying music ripped off from the Halloween theme.



Even though the attraction was pretty cheezy, it was refreshingly quaint. Unfortunately, it closed in 2015. The strip is increasingly being taken over by larger Ripley's attractions. Current Ripley's attractions in Gatlinburg:

Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum
Ripley's Davy Crockett Mini Golf
Ripley's Haunted Adventure
Ripley's Marvelous Mirror Maze
Ripley's Moving Theater
Ripley's Super FunZone

Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978)

Originally aired October 28, 1978, and released in theaters outside the U.S. as Attack of the Phantoms the following year. Anthony Zerbe appears in this made-for-TV movie as an evil inventor working at an amusement park. He also appeared in Child of Glass, another 1978 made-for-TV film. NBC bumper: Movie:

Phantom of the Park Movie from some random person on Vimeo.

Disneyland Showtime (1970)

Here is an excerpt from a program called "Disneyland Showtime" that aired on The Wonderful World of Disney on March 22, 1970. It features a behind-the-scenes look at the newly-opened Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland, and the segment is narrated by Kurt Russell.