31 Days of Halloween: Disney & Marvel's "The Haunted Mansion"

When I was a kid, we would watch The Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night on ABC. No matter what the movie or show was, we sat down as a family to watch it. The intro that played before Michael Eisner would come out to introduce the movie was a montage of cartoon clips & footage from the disney parks. My favorite part of that opening was a five second clip of a ballroom full of waltzing ghosts from Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride. Whenever I saw this, I would ask my mom & dad (both who, having lived in California, knew a lot more about Disneyland than I did) to regale us with tales of what the Haunted Mansion ride was like. Did you walk through it or was there a cart that pulled you? Were the ghosts real, lured there or kept against their will by some ghostly deal-went-wrong with Mr. Disney? Needless to say, I was hooked.

Now, when my family finally visited Disneyland at the beginning of my fifth grade year, I was beyond excited to visit The Haunted Mansion. When we arrived,  I was heartbroken to find that it was under construction & closed to the public. Similarly, when I visited Disney World with my middle school band three years later, I had the stomach flu the day we visited the Magic Kingdom & could not go in The Haunted Mansion for fear of getting sick on the ride.

I still think about that to this day. Yes, I know I need to learn to let things go.

*insert labored sigh for dramatic effect*

So you can imagine my surprise & excitement when I saw that Marvel & Disney had teamed up on a middle grade (Rated T for Teen) comic based on the iconic ride! Rick & I were trolling a Grand Junction comic book store while on a mini-vaca for our 6th anniversary & the shop we were in carried mostly single issues. I'm usually a trade/graphic novel girl, so I was having trouble finding some reading material for the remainder of our trip. While Rick checked out, I had one last look around the shop & came across the first two issues of Joshua Williamson & Jorge Manuel Carocha Coelho's The Haunted Mansion. 

This story centers on Danny as he searches for  his missing grandfather. His search leads him right to a mansion that could hold all the answers to the questions he has about his life & the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his grandfather. No old mansion would be complete without ghosts & this particular house has 999, but not all of them are happy or friendly! Who wants to help Danny & who is hell bent on hurting him? You'll just have to read to find out!

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There are currently five issues out for your reading pleasure & this is the perfect time of year for such an atmospheric literary treat. You can check out a sample here. If you can't track down the comics but still want to get in the spooky mood, check out a playlist based on the ride & comic here. And if that's not enough to tingle your spine, check out the Disneyland ride for yourself! But beware, dear readers & friends, all is not always as it seems........

WELCOME, FOOLISH MORTALS, TO THE HAUNTED MANSION!!!!

Jeff Granito Art