All-Ages Reviews: The Haunted Mansion
Today the review is taking a look through the spooky hallways of The haunted Mansion. Buckle in, folks, this is gonna be a looooong one...
When hinges creek in doorless chambers, and strange and frighening sounds echo through the halls... whenever candlelights flicker, though the air is deathly still; that is the time when ghosts are present...
Welcome, foolish mortals... to the Haunted Mansion!
So it should surprise exactly no one that I’m a pretty big fan of the Haunted Mansion (the ride, not the movie), so when a comic featuring it was published, of course, I had to check it out. Now, if you know anything about the Haunted Mansion, then you know it’s one of the few Disney attractions to NOT have an actual story to it, instead just being a collection of colorful characters. Well, that’s more or less what the comic is as well. It’s an anthology book - a series of short stories about the mansion, the ghosts, and the people who stumble across them. It’s difficult to review an anthology because every part of it is different, different tones, different points of view, different writing styles and different art styles. This book goes from traditional comic art…
To manga-styled art..
To whatever style it is Roman Dirge uses…
So I can’t approach this book like I have so many other reviews. I hemmed and hawed over it for a while, considering just doing a quick overview, but with it being October and all, I decided that if I was going to do it, I’d go whole hog! So instead of one big review, this will be a set of mini-reviews for each of the stories the book contains. No matter how short or long the submission, we’ll do a quick look at them all! It’s important to note, however, that I think these stories are meant as “it could have happened like this” and aren’t intended to solidify the ghosts’ stories. Disney seems really reluctant to pin any of them down, though I am still amused that “Master Gracey” (Yale Gracey was the name of one of the imagineers who worked on the ride, the name was a reference to him and not intended to be tied to the mansion’s story) became so ingrained by fans as the identity of the ghost host that that particular bit of fanon has seemingly since become canon, so I guess you never know.
But before we get started on the reviews, I want to take a moment to talk about the book itself. There are several versions of this comic running around, but with me being the ridiculous fan that I am, I have the shiny hardcover version. The cover posted above is actually the art on the box that the book lives in. The book itself is a black, cloth-bound number with the Gracey crest embossed in gold on the front and a cryptic ‘999’ on the back. The edges of the pages are tattered and worn (a bit uniformly tattered, but it’s still a nice touch). It’s actually pretty classy looking, though for obvious reasons, that cover can’t be scanned.
Also of note is the ghost pictured on the box cover. That ghost actually doesn’t appear anywhere on the attraction…not anymore anyway. That’s the hatbox ghost, a figure that was initially installed in the mansion, but quickly removed when it became apparent that the effect for it just didn’t work. Unfortunately, the character had been included in a lot of promotional material for the ride and so fans adopted it as something of a mascot of the mansion, despite it no longer appearing there. The hatbox ghost is so popular in fact, that merchandise with the character is still being produced. (Guillermo Del Toro has said that his upcoming Haunted Mansion movie will feature the hatbox ghost prominently.) I can’t help but think that it wouldn’t be nearly as popular had it not been removed, but as it stands, the hatbox ghost is something of an in-joke among fans, sort of like the Wilhelm scream before everyone found out about it, so for funsies we’ll keep a lookout for any more of his appearances as we go through.
“Room for a Thousand” by Eric Jones
The text for this story is basically just the ghost host’s narration from the ride transcribed pretty much word for word, while the art shows us the story of a ghostly new arrival.
It’s simple, but a good introduction to the book, giving us the basic premise of the ride upfront, but not in a way that’s dull or repetitive.I like the style of the art, very simple, but I like the thick outlines combines with the cross hatch shading. A good combination of simplicity and detail.
This isn’t one of my favorites, but I like it, it’s a cute way to open the book.
Also, we get our first appearance of the hatbox ghost.
“Blueprint for Murder” by Jon “Bean” Hastings
This one is the story of the mansion’s two architects and how their own ambition leads to their undoing. It probably won’t come as a surprise that these two end up as a couple of the mansion’s ghosts, but which ones? I’ll leave that for you.
The art in this one is has a cartoony style to it. It has a lot of motion to it with very fluid stokes in the lineart and a lot of curves and swirls.
The biggest crime to this one is that it’s a bit wordy, but it’s never boring. It’s a fun read, intersting to see how their own double crossings close in on them.
“While Fifi is Away” and “Night of the Ghost Fleas” Roman Dirge
I’m putting these two together, even though they’re separated in the book. There’s a couple of creators who do multiple stories in this, but Roman Dirge’s both feature the same character. Fifi, a self-important ghost poodle trapped outside of the mansion in the pet cemetery.
Dirge’s style really matches the macabre humor of this book, quirky but not overly cutesy. The stories are short and funny. Like the story before, they have a lot of text, but it’s all very fun to read.
Only two of these little stories were done for the book. They aren’t my favorites, but I do wish there were more.
“Talking Heads” Black Olive
This one shows the beheaded knight ghost from the cemetery attempting to get some advice from Madame Leota on what it’s like to live headless. Madame Leota, however, doesn’t realize she’s dead, and so can’t offer much help.
Madame Leota not realizing she’s dead seems to be a running thing, which is fine, but I’m not terribly fond of her characterization here. I think it’s probably largely due to Eleanor Audley’s voice, but I always see her as being wise, powerful, and a little malevolent. This silly characterization doesn’t work for me. HOWEVER, once you accept that that’s the way she is, it’s a fun little story. The art is highly stylized, with very simple character designs, and a bit cluttered with panels, but it seems to suit the general silliness of the story and it’s a fun little read.
“The New Groundskeeper” D.W. Frydendall
There is one living person in the haunted mansion, the groundskeeper. In this story, the usual groundskeeper is fired and replaced with a tough guy who only wants the position to hunt for treasure rumored to be hidden on the grounds. He has no idea what he’s really in for.
This story uses a very traditional black and white comic style. There’s nothing too outrageous about it, but it’s pretty high quality, so it works out fine.
The story itself is pretty straightforward, not grerat, but there’s nothing wrong with it. It mostly seems like and excuse to cram as many of the ghosts into the panels as possible…including our old buddy, the hatbox ghost.
“The Groundskeeper’s Secret” by Christopher (That’s how he was credited!)
Following on the last story, we return to the usual groundskeeper to answer the big question this character raises. Clearly, the ghosts terrify him, so why does he go back to the mansion night after night?
This one’s kind of interesting as all the narration is written as new lyrics into the Grim Grinning Ghosts song, so it’s not a just straightforward story. The art here is not my favorite, it feels loose, almost incomplete at points, but it’s not to the point where it distracts me from the story.
This one's a short, simple tale, but it's very sweet and despite the fact that the art is not my favorite, it ends up being one of my favorite stories in the book.
“The Woman in Black” by Serena Valentino and FSc
This tale is not about one of the residents of the mansion, but of a mysterious woman who haunts the grounds. It’s interesting to me, because I think it’s actually based on an urban legend. There are a few tales about real ghosts around the mansion, most notably the “man with the cane”. I couldn’t find it on doombuggies, but I remember reading a story about a woman on the grounds as well.
The art is similar to a manga style, very expressive and atmospheric. This story is genuinely creepy at points…
But it’s also somewhat sweet and subverts expectations a bit. It’s another one I really enjoy.
“The Big Nap” by Jon “Bean” Hastings and Jon Morris
This story is starring Gus that incredible cus! A.K.A. one of the hitchhiking ghosts. It tells the story of Gus’ life from his humble beginnings as a shepherd and the many adventures that this exciting start leads him on to.
The story has no real narration or dialogue; it’s all told through the art which is very simplistic, as well as being kind of adorable. It's always something I love, when an artist can tell a story without relying on words to explain it all, it's not an easy thing to do. It's a quick tale, but a fun one, leaving you a bit sympathetic to Gus' desire to get outta dodge.
We also get another shot of the hatbox ghost.
“Night of the Caretaker’s Dog” by Chris Reilly, Steve Ahlquist and Crab Scrambly
It’s a pretty simple story, the groundskeeper’s dog is stealing bones and the ghosts aren’t happy. After all, would you be if some dog was chewing up your leg every night?
The art in this one is not really my thing. It’s an interesting style, but it uses too many lines making everything just look kind of lumpy. Still, it serves the story well enough.
The story itself is an excuse to see the ghosts just in their element, and it has a bit of fun with the idea.
“The Mummy’s Curse” by Christopher (again)
This one is just a quick two-page story about the mummy in the graveyard explaining where he comes from, why he’s drinking tea and what he might have brought to the mansion.
The art works fine and it’s a cute little tale, not much more to say. It’s only two pages, what do you want from me?
“The Peppermint Girl” by John Habermas and D.W. Frydendall
This tale tells of two young men who come upon the mansion’s party. They feel bad for a girl ghost who’s left out of the festivities. Clearly the only way to help her out is for one of them to die and become a ghost themselves.
This story’s a little grim, and I can’t say I really care for it. Repeated suicide attempts played for laughs aren’t really something I find entertaining. I’m not going to say it’s outright offensive, it just makes me a little uncomfortable. The end of the story is a good ghost story ending, that part’s fine, it’s just how we get there that I don’t care for. It doesn’t help that the two young men are kind of unlikable. I like the ghost girl all right, but I don’t really like either of the guys, which makes it hard for me to care about them one way or the other.
This uses the same art as “The New Groundskeeper” and it’s the same here. Good quality and it works. The story is just not for me, though, this one’s my least favorite in the book.
“Big Game” by Aaron A.
A big game hunter and his beleagured biographer visit the mansion, hoping to catch a ghost. It won’t be that easy.
Putting aside the ridiculous concept (literal ghost hunting! This is a good idea!) it’s a fun little story. Not that I'm going to be too hard on it for being silly, though, it's a haunted mansion book, it's kind of nice it doesn't take itself too seriousl! This story is actually kind of similar to the peppermint girl one in a way, only simpler and therefore without all the annoying parts.
The art is a highly stylized and high contrast. It’s a little too busy for my tastes, but nice and dynamic.
Also, I THINK this is the hatbox ghost again…hard to tell with this style.
“A Dynamite Party” by Devon Devereaux
This little story is of a bumbling man who decides to crash the party at the mansion. He loses his glasses shortly after arriving, and so doesn’t see that the other guests are ghosts. Hijinks ensue.
The art style in this one is weird…I’m not a fan. It’s very stiff and kind of expressionless. The story’s a bit dull, too. It’s really nothing but one long setup to the punchline.
The hatbox ghost makes another showing, though.
“Blue Loup Garou” by Ben Towle
This tale attempts to explain where the constant howling on the castle grounds comes from. Turns out it’s a little werewolf who’s stuck there, howling in sorrow.
This one, like the last one, is just a long setup for the joke, but unlike the last one, I did enjoy it until we got to the “payoff” (which is really just a bait and switch). The art style is kind of cute, and it seems fitting to the story.
“The Pickwick Capers” by Jon “Bean” Hastings
This is another one that explains the backstory behind one of the mansion’s residents. It tells the story of a thief who ultimately ends up trapped in the mansion and attending the ballroom party.
This one is done by the same person who did “Blueprint for Murder” which told of the mansion’s architects, so the art is the same, and I still like it. This one’s also somewhat wordy, but again, it never gets boring, and I really like that they took the time to tell us the backstory of such a small, background character.
“Doom of the Diva” by Alice and Andy Price
This story is of an opera singer who is a bit demanding and a diva. She’s booked one night to perform in the mansion, but the audience is dead.
This one’s also a little grim, though I’ve warmed up to it a bit more than I did the first time reading it, and it doesn’t rub the wrong way quite the same way that “Peppermint girl” did. It also gives new meaning to the ghost host’s “there’s always MY way” line. The art here is wonderful, it has a great cartoony style with a lot of detail. There’s a lot put into every panel and each time you look at it there’s something new to spot.
Initially this was going to be in my “skip” list, but one a second reading it doesn’t bother me as much, and there’s too much good here to overlook.
With all the detail and crowds, you think the hatbox ghost would be a shoo-in, but I couldn’t find him. However, it does seem DC’s Gentleman Ghost made an appearance…with Swamp Thing if I’m not mistaken…
“The Mystery of the Manse” story by Dan Vado, Art by David Hedgecock and Mike Moss
This one’s the big one. The centerpiece story of the whole book (even though it’s at the end). It’s a 6 part story actually telling us the backstory on Master Gracey. Unlike most of the other stories in this book, this one is neither very creepy nor funny, it’s mostly dramatic. It feels a bit out of place here in some ways, and doesn’t really match the feel of the ride either, but it is a compelling story. I found myself thinking as I was re-reading it, “THIS story would make a fantastic movie!” It not only tells us the origins of Master Gracey, we also get the story behind the attic bride (the old, mourning bride, not the current black widow) and how Madame Leota died suddenly mid-séance, not realizing she’d passed and continuing her séance forever. Gracey was not a very good man in life, he lied, and stole and murdered, and he reaped the benefits of it in the end. There are a lot of little things too, a nod to the original unused-but-recorded dialogue for the ravens, the original plan for a nautical theme, and an explanation for something on the ride I never stopped to think about: why the ghost host’s narration stops at the attic and he doesn’t rejoin you until near the end of the graveyard. Additionally, it ties in well to the other stories of the anthology, mentioning previous stories, like the architects and explaining the rumor of buried treasure, as well as leading into the final story. There’s one other familiar figure this explains as well…
Relevant text is first box in second panel
The six parts of this story actually are all done in different art styles - so different that at one point, I thought it was 6 different artists, but according the credits, there were only 2. This is getting long, so I won’t go into all of them, but all of them are very good, though the constant shifts were a little jarring. My favorite, though, is the first style - stark pen and ink drawings mixed with occasional painted panels. It’s strange, but it sets the tone of the story very well, I think.
It’s honestly a bit strange, as I mentioned, for a Haunted Mansion story, and so I can’t say it’s among my favorites, but I’m very impressed by how much work Dan Vado put into making sure the story was consistent and matched all the other tales as well as adhered to the ride. It may not be the best ghost story, but it makes for a good story in general, especially when combined with the others in this anthology.
“The Interview” by Dan Vado and Drew Rausch
Now, you would expect that something like “Mystery of the Manse” would be the finale, since it’s the big show stopper piece, but we do have just one more. This 3 part story is set in modern day, as a girl goes to the mansion to interview for a maid position. She’s startled by the ghosts, but ends up really loving the mansion and those in it. She wants to return, though her boyfriend is against it. Little do either of them know what the mansion ghosts are waiting for.
The art feels like it’s somewhere between Roman Dirge and Ben Templesmith.It’s kind of sketchy and somewhat weird, with a lot of little details to notice. Much like Dirge’s art, it feels very appropriate to the story. I really enjoyed it. And with this final story, we bid our last farewell to the hatbox ghost.
The story’s a bit quirky, a bit sweet, and a bit sad. The ending is somewhat strange, but somehow fitting. I wish this series could’ve gone on forever, but if it has to have an ending, this is actually a good one.
This comic, though it can be creepy and disturbing at times and has quite a bit of dark humor, is for all ages in the same way as the mansion itself. It might genuinely scare younger kids, but its scares overall are pretty harmless. Being scared isn’t a terrible thing, and I wouldn’t take this book away from little ones who wanted to read it, especially since most of the stories fall more on the “silly” side. It does talk about death pretty frequently, but any kid that has a high enough reading level for this will be fine. That said, it holds up well for older audiences as well, especially those already familiar with the ride - though I think it explains itself well enough for those who aren’t. It has a dark side to it, but it’s not afraid to have fun either. While the stories themselves can be pretty hit and miss, I think the talent chosen for it was chosen well, I can see why each of these creators was involved and many of them seem to have a real love of the material. I would’ve loved to see more of this - there’s 999 happy haunts to talk about after all - but I’m pleased with what we got and happy to recommend it to anyone who might want a few fun dark tales.
Next up will be A Skeleton Story…which should be a LOT easier to review than this was…whew!
When hinges creek in doorless chambers, and strange and frighening sounds echo through the halls... whenever candlelights flicker, though the air is deathly still; that is the time when ghosts are present...
Welcome, foolish mortals... to the Haunted Mansion!
So it should surprise exactly no one that I’m a pretty big fan of the Haunted Mansion (the ride, not the movie), so when a comic featuring it was published, of course, I had to check it out. Now, if you know anything about the Haunted Mansion, then you know it’s one of the few Disney attractions to NOT have an actual story to it, instead just being a collection of colorful characters. Well, that’s more or less what the comic is as well. It’s an anthology book - a series of short stories about the mansion, the ghosts, and the people who stumble across them. It’s difficult to review an anthology because every part of it is different, different tones, different points of view, different writing styles and different art styles. This book goes from traditional comic art…
To manga-styled art..
To whatever style it is Roman Dirge uses…
So I can’t approach this book like I have so many other reviews. I hemmed and hawed over it for a while, considering just doing a quick overview, but with it being October and all, I decided that if I was going to do it, I’d go whole hog! So instead of one big review, this will be a set of mini-reviews for each of the stories the book contains. No matter how short or long the submission, we’ll do a quick look at them all! It’s important to note, however, that I think these stories are meant as “it could have happened like this” and aren’t intended to solidify the ghosts’ stories. Disney seems really reluctant to pin any of them down, though I am still amused that “Master Gracey” (Yale Gracey was the name of one of the imagineers who worked on the ride, the name was a reference to him and not intended to be tied to the mansion’s story) became so ingrained by fans as the identity of the ghost host that that particular bit of fanon has seemingly since become canon, so I guess you never know.
But before we get started on the reviews, I want to take a moment to talk about the book itself. There are several versions of this comic running around, but with me being the ridiculous fan that I am, I have the shiny hardcover version. The cover posted above is actually the art on the box that the book lives in. The book itself is a black, cloth-bound number with the Gracey crest embossed in gold on the front and a cryptic ‘999’ on the back. The edges of the pages are tattered and worn (a bit uniformly tattered, but it’s still a nice touch). It’s actually pretty classy looking, though for obvious reasons, that cover can’t be scanned.
Also of note is the ghost pictured on the box cover. That ghost actually doesn’t appear anywhere on the attraction…not anymore anyway. That’s the hatbox ghost, a figure that was initially installed in the mansion, but quickly removed when it became apparent that the effect for it just didn’t work. Unfortunately, the character had been included in a lot of promotional material for the ride and so fans adopted it as something of a mascot of the mansion, despite it no longer appearing there. The hatbox ghost is so popular in fact, that merchandise with the character is still being produced. (Guillermo Del Toro has said that his upcoming Haunted Mansion movie will feature the hatbox ghost prominently.) I can’t help but think that it wouldn’t be nearly as popular had it not been removed, but as it stands, the hatbox ghost is something of an in-joke among fans, sort of like the Wilhelm scream before everyone found out about it, so for funsies we’ll keep a lookout for any more of his appearances as we go through.
“Room for a Thousand” by Eric Jones
The text for this story is basically just the ghost host’s narration from the ride transcribed pretty much word for word, while the art shows us the story of a ghostly new arrival.
It’s simple, but a good introduction to the book, giving us the basic premise of the ride upfront, but not in a way that’s dull or repetitive.I like the style of the art, very simple, but I like the thick outlines combines with the cross hatch shading. A good combination of simplicity and detail.
This isn’t one of my favorites, but I like it, it’s a cute way to open the book.
Also, we get our first appearance of the hatbox ghost.
“Blueprint for Murder” by Jon “Bean” Hastings
This one is the story of the mansion’s two architects and how their own ambition leads to their undoing. It probably won’t come as a surprise that these two end up as a couple of the mansion’s ghosts, but which ones? I’ll leave that for you.
The art in this one is has a cartoony style to it. It has a lot of motion to it with very fluid stokes in the lineart and a lot of curves and swirls.
The biggest crime to this one is that it’s a bit wordy, but it’s never boring. It’s a fun read, intersting to see how their own double crossings close in on them.
“While Fifi is Away” and “Night of the Ghost Fleas” Roman Dirge
I’m putting these two together, even though they’re separated in the book. There’s a couple of creators who do multiple stories in this, but Roman Dirge’s both feature the same character. Fifi, a self-important ghost poodle trapped outside of the mansion in the pet cemetery.
Dirge’s style really matches the macabre humor of this book, quirky but not overly cutesy. The stories are short and funny. Like the story before, they have a lot of text, but it’s all very fun to read.
Only two of these little stories were done for the book. They aren’t my favorites, but I do wish there were more.
“Talking Heads” Black Olive
This one shows the beheaded knight ghost from the cemetery attempting to get some advice from Madame Leota on what it’s like to live headless. Madame Leota, however, doesn’t realize she’s dead, and so can’t offer much help.
Madame Leota not realizing she’s dead seems to be a running thing, which is fine, but I’m not terribly fond of her characterization here. I think it’s probably largely due to Eleanor Audley’s voice, but I always see her as being wise, powerful, and a little malevolent. This silly characterization doesn’t work for me. HOWEVER, once you accept that that’s the way she is, it’s a fun little story. The art is highly stylized, with very simple character designs, and a bit cluttered with panels, but it seems to suit the general silliness of the story and it’s a fun little read.
“The New Groundskeeper” D.W. Frydendall
There is one living person in the haunted mansion, the groundskeeper. In this story, the usual groundskeeper is fired and replaced with a tough guy who only wants the position to hunt for treasure rumored to be hidden on the grounds. He has no idea what he’s really in for.
This story uses a very traditional black and white comic style. There’s nothing too outrageous about it, but it’s pretty high quality, so it works out fine.
The story itself is pretty straightforward, not grerat, but there’s nothing wrong with it. It mostly seems like and excuse to cram as many of the ghosts into the panels as possible…including our old buddy, the hatbox ghost.
“The Groundskeeper’s Secret” by Christopher (That’s how he was credited!)
Following on the last story, we return to the usual groundskeeper to answer the big question this character raises. Clearly, the ghosts terrify him, so why does he go back to the mansion night after night?
This one’s kind of interesting as all the narration is written as new lyrics into the Grim Grinning Ghosts song, so it’s not a just straightforward story. The art here is not my favorite, it feels loose, almost incomplete at points, but it’s not to the point where it distracts me from the story.
This one's a short, simple tale, but it's very sweet and despite the fact that the art is not my favorite, it ends up being one of my favorite stories in the book.
“The Woman in Black” by Serena Valentino and FSc
This tale is not about one of the residents of the mansion, but of a mysterious woman who haunts the grounds. It’s interesting to me, because I think it’s actually based on an urban legend. There are a few tales about real ghosts around the mansion, most notably the “man with the cane”. I couldn’t find it on doombuggies, but I remember reading a story about a woman on the grounds as well.
The art is similar to a manga style, very expressive and atmospheric. This story is genuinely creepy at points…
But it’s also somewhat sweet and subverts expectations a bit. It’s another one I really enjoy.
“The Big Nap” by Jon “Bean” Hastings and Jon Morris
This story is starring Gus that incredible cus! A.K.A. one of the hitchhiking ghosts. It tells the story of Gus’ life from his humble beginnings as a shepherd and the many adventures that this exciting start leads him on to.
The story has no real narration or dialogue; it’s all told through the art which is very simplistic, as well as being kind of adorable. It's always something I love, when an artist can tell a story without relying on words to explain it all, it's not an easy thing to do. It's a quick tale, but a fun one, leaving you a bit sympathetic to Gus' desire to get outta dodge.
We also get another shot of the hatbox ghost.
“Night of the Caretaker’s Dog” by Chris Reilly, Steve Ahlquist and Crab Scrambly
It’s a pretty simple story, the groundskeeper’s dog is stealing bones and the ghosts aren’t happy. After all, would you be if some dog was chewing up your leg every night?
The art in this one is not really my thing. It’s an interesting style, but it uses too many lines making everything just look kind of lumpy. Still, it serves the story well enough.
The story itself is an excuse to see the ghosts just in their element, and it has a bit of fun with the idea.
“The Mummy’s Curse” by Christopher (again)
This one is just a quick two-page story about the mummy in the graveyard explaining where he comes from, why he’s drinking tea and what he might have brought to the mansion.
The art works fine and it’s a cute little tale, not much more to say. It’s only two pages, what do you want from me?
“The Peppermint Girl” by John Habermas and D.W. Frydendall
This tale tells of two young men who come upon the mansion’s party. They feel bad for a girl ghost who’s left out of the festivities. Clearly the only way to help her out is for one of them to die and become a ghost themselves.
This story’s a little grim, and I can’t say I really care for it. Repeated suicide attempts played for laughs aren’t really something I find entertaining. I’m not going to say it’s outright offensive, it just makes me a little uncomfortable. The end of the story is a good ghost story ending, that part’s fine, it’s just how we get there that I don’t care for. It doesn’t help that the two young men are kind of unlikable. I like the ghost girl all right, but I don’t really like either of the guys, which makes it hard for me to care about them one way or the other.
This uses the same art as “The New Groundskeeper” and it’s the same here. Good quality and it works. The story is just not for me, though, this one’s my least favorite in the book.
“Big Game” by Aaron A.
A big game hunter and his beleagured biographer visit the mansion, hoping to catch a ghost. It won’t be that easy.
Putting aside the ridiculous concept (literal ghost hunting! This is a good idea!) it’s a fun little story. Not that I'm going to be too hard on it for being silly, though, it's a haunted mansion book, it's kind of nice it doesn't take itself too seriousl! This story is actually kind of similar to the peppermint girl one in a way, only simpler and therefore without all the annoying parts.
The art is a highly stylized and high contrast. It’s a little too busy for my tastes, but nice and dynamic.
Also, I THINK this is the hatbox ghost again…hard to tell with this style.
“A Dynamite Party” by Devon Devereaux
This little story is of a bumbling man who decides to crash the party at the mansion. He loses his glasses shortly after arriving, and so doesn’t see that the other guests are ghosts. Hijinks ensue.
The art style in this one is weird…I’m not a fan. It’s very stiff and kind of expressionless. The story’s a bit dull, too. It’s really nothing but one long setup to the punchline.
The hatbox ghost makes another showing, though.
“Blue Loup Garou” by Ben Towle
This tale attempts to explain where the constant howling on the castle grounds comes from. Turns out it’s a little werewolf who’s stuck there, howling in sorrow.
This one, like the last one, is just a long setup for the joke, but unlike the last one, I did enjoy it until we got to the “payoff” (which is really just a bait and switch). The art style is kind of cute, and it seems fitting to the story.
“The Pickwick Capers” by Jon “Bean” Hastings
This is another one that explains the backstory behind one of the mansion’s residents. It tells the story of a thief who ultimately ends up trapped in the mansion and attending the ballroom party.
This one is done by the same person who did “Blueprint for Murder” which told of the mansion’s architects, so the art is the same, and I still like it. This one’s also somewhat wordy, but again, it never gets boring, and I really like that they took the time to tell us the backstory of such a small, background character.
“Doom of the Diva” by Alice and Andy Price
This story is of an opera singer who is a bit demanding and a diva. She’s booked one night to perform in the mansion, but the audience is dead.
This one’s also a little grim, though I’ve warmed up to it a bit more than I did the first time reading it, and it doesn’t rub the wrong way quite the same way that “Peppermint girl” did. It also gives new meaning to the ghost host’s “there’s always MY way” line. The art here is wonderful, it has a great cartoony style with a lot of detail. There’s a lot put into every panel and each time you look at it there’s something new to spot.
Initially this was going to be in my “skip” list, but one a second reading it doesn’t bother me as much, and there’s too much good here to overlook.
With all the detail and crowds, you think the hatbox ghost would be a shoo-in, but I couldn’t find him. However, it does seem DC’s Gentleman Ghost made an appearance…with Swamp Thing if I’m not mistaken…
“The Mystery of the Manse” story by Dan Vado, Art by David Hedgecock and Mike Moss
This one’s the big one. The centerpiece story of the whole book (even though it’s at the end). It’s a 6 part story actually telling us the backstory on Master Gracey. Unlike most of the other stories in this book, this one is neither very creepy nor funny, it’s mostly dramatic. It feels a bit out of place here in some ways, and doesn’t really match the feel of the ride either, but it is a compelling story. I found myself thinking as I was re-reading it, “THIS story would make a fantastic movie!” It not only tells us the origins of Master Gracey, we also get the story behind the attic bride (the old, mourning bride, not the current black widow) and how Madame Leota died suddenly mid-séance, not realizing she’d passed and continuing her séance forever. Gracey was not a very good man in life, he lied, and stole and murdered, and he reaped the benefits of it in the end. There are a lot of little things too, a nod to the original unused-but-recorded dialogue for the ravens, the original plan for a nautical theme, and an explanation for something on the ride I never stopped to think about: why the ghost host’s narration stops at the attic and he doesn’t rejoin you until near the end of the graveyard. Additionally, it ties in well to the other stories of the anthology, mentioning previous stories, like the architects and explaining the rumor of buried treasure, as well as leading into the final story. There’s one other familiar figure this explains as well…
Relevant text is first box in second panel
The six parts of this story actually are all done in different art styles - so different that at one point, I thought it was 6 different artists, but according the credits, there were only 2. This is getting long, so I won’t go into all of them, but all of them are very good, though the constant shifts were a little jarring. My favorite, though, is the first style - stark pen and ink drawings mixed with occasional painted panels. It’s strange, but it sets the tone of the story very well, I think.
It’s honestly a bit strange, as I mentioned, for a Haunted Mansion story, and so I can’t say it’s among my favorites, but I’m very impressed by how much work Dan Vado put into making sure the story was consistent and matched all the other tales as well as adhered to the ride. It may not be the best ghost story, but it makes for a good story in general, especially when combined with the others in this anthology.
“The Interview” by Dan Vado and Drew Rausch
Now, you would expect that something like “Mystery of the Manse” would be the finale, since it’s the big show stopper piece, but we do have just one more. This 3 part story is set in modern day, as a girl goes to the mansion to interview for a maid position. She’s startled by the ghosts, but ends up really loving the mansion and those in it. She wants to return, though her boyfriend is against it. Little do either of them know what the mansion ghosts are waiting for.
The art feels like it’s somewhere between Roman Dirge and Ben Templesmith.It’s kind of sketchy and somewhat weird, with a lot of little details to notice. Much like Dirge’s art, it feels very appropriate to the story. I really enjoyed it. And with this final story, we bid our last farewell to the hatbox ghost.
The story’s a bit quirky, a bit sweet, and a bit sad. The ending is somewhat strange, but somehow fitting. I wish this series could’ve gone on forever, but if it has to have an ending, this is actually a good one.
This comic, though it can be creepy and disturbing at times and has quite a bit of dark humor, is for all ages in the same way as the mansion itself. It might genuinely scare younger kids, but its scares overall are pretty harmless. Being scared isn’t a terrible thing, and I wouldn’t take this book away from little ones who wanted to read it, especially since most of the stories fall more on the “silly” side. It does talk about death pretty frequently, but any kid that has a high enough reading level for this will be fine. That said, it holds up well for older audiences as well, especially those already familiar with the ride - though I think it explains itself well enough for those who aren’t. It has a dark side to it, but it’s not afraid to have fun either. While the stories themselves can be pretty hit and miss, I think the talent chosen for it was chosen well, I can see why each of these creators was involved and many of them seem to have a real love of the material. I would’ve loved to see more of this - there’s 999 happy haunts to talk about after all - but I’m pleased with what we got and happy to recommend it to anyone who might want a few fun dark tales.
Next up will be A Skeleton Story…which should be a LOT easier to review than this was…whew!