[DisneyDreamer16]

Secrets of the Mysterious Bride

As you may know, Phantom Manor bases its storyline on the unfortunate fate of a young bride, and it does so with brilliant wistfulness. But what about the bride in the attic at the other Mansions?

There are some that say Master Gracey, the supposed owner of the Haunted Mansion, murdered his young bride on the eve of their wedding, after catching her in the attic with a young man, whom he also killed viciously by decapitating him with an old sword; Gracey never had the chance to find out that the young man was merely a runner from the bridal shop, bringing a last-minute collection of veils and hats for the young bride to sample...

Still others claim that Gracey's young bride lost her sanity, and killed herself by leaping off of the top of the old mansion on her wedding day, still wearing her gown, causing Gracey, in a fit of despair, to hang himself from the rafters of his home. It's even been said that Gracey may have killed his bride in the attic after a fit of unsubstantiated jealous rage, and then buried her in a brick column out in the family graveyard after throwing her wedding ring out the attic window in disgust.

In fact, some Haunted Mansion cast members from the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World even claim that to this day, you can still see the imprint of the bride's wedding ring outside of Gracey's old mansion in Liberty Square.

[zoey9797]

HM is my absolute, hands down favorite attraction...

But isn't it a bizarre addition to the Disney theme?

Anyone know the story behind how it became?
~Zoey

[Dana]

Great info! My DD is still afraid to ride this attraction solely because it's got the word "haunted" in it. Maybe this January she won't be scared. Thanks for the story.

[downsouthtigger]

The story of the haunted mansion has always confused me as to the many stories I've heard, but they all do surround a young bride.

The originally story involved a young sea captain, if you look at some of the decor you'll notice some nautical themes. The young captain fell in love with a bar maid in the tavern he often visited. After months of courting the young captain decided she was the one for him and proposed to her. On this very same night the young captain had a small shipment that he had to run down the coast. Since it was such a short trip he and his crew quickly packed up, he told his new fiancee he should be back within the week and to prepare for the wedding upon his arrival. that night there was a terrible storm, and the young captain was not heard from. A few weeks pass and the young barmaid gets a letter telling her they found the wreckage of the ship, no bodies were ever found. The young bar maid hears of this and goes into a deep depression. Another week passes and still no sign of the young captain, she goes into the attic and put on her wedding dress. If she can't marry him in life, then she will be with him in death! She then kills herself in the attic, by which means no one will ever know. Some say poison, but others say she stabbed herself in the heart. However she did it you can tell her pain as her ghost is still in the wedding dress, and her heart beats with the pain only lost love knows.
As the weeks pass the young captain somehow makes it home. His determination and love for the young barmaid kept him alive while at lost at sea, none of the other crew survived. As he enters his home he searches for his fiance, but never finds her. He goes to the tavern and asks, but the locals know not where she is. She has left him, he thinks, she couldn't wait and fell in love with another. As months pass the young captain becomes a recluse, not caring for the outside world and thinking always of his young barmaid. He goes into the attic to gather some belongings to leave for another job, to which he finds his young bride. Her body decomposed wearing her wedding dress.
The young captain knows not what to do, here lies his deceased fiance, she had not left him, but thought he left her. Knowing he cannot be with her and knowing he cannot stay he finds a wandering gypsy, Madam Leota. He begs her to find others to keep his finace company so she will never be lonley again. Leota complies and conjures up spirits so the young barmaid will never have to suffer the emptiness which lead her to her demise. With that done, the young captain gathers up what little he needs and locks the mansion up. He sails off not knowing where he is going, he knows he just needs to go away. To this day he has never come back to the town, nor the mansion and has never been heard from again.

[DisneyDreamer16]

Thats a pretty cool story

[babets]

I don't know what it is but every time I ride HM in the MK in Orlando, I always wonder what it would be like to go through it with the lights on! I feel as if Disney himself is there in that HM. I absolutely love it!!

[DisneyHog6]

Originally posted by downsouthtigger
The story of the haunted mansion has always confused me as to the many stories I've heard, but they all do surround a young bride.

The originally story involved a young sea captain, if you look at some of the decor you'll notice some nautical themes. The young captain fell in love with a bar maid in the tavern he often visited. After months of courting the young captain decided she was the one for him and proposed to her. On this very same night the young captain had a small shipment that he had to run down the coast. Since it was such a short trip he and his crew quickly packed up, he told his new fiancee he should be back within the week and to prepare for the wedding upon his arrival. that night there was a terrible storm, and the young captain was not heard from. A few weeks pass and the young barmaid gets a letter telling her they found the wreckage of the ship, no bodies were ever found. The young bar maid hears of this and goes into a deep depression. Another week passes and still no sign of the young captain, she goes into the attic and put on her wedding dress. If she can't marry him in life, then she will be with him in death! She then kills herself in the attic, by which means no one will ever know. Some say poison, but others say she stabbed herself in the heart. However she did it you can tell her pain as her ghost is still in the wedding dress, and her heart beats with the pain only lost love knows.
As the weeks pass the young captain somehow makes it home. His determination and love for the young barmaid kept him alive while at lost at sea, none of the other crew survived. As he enters his home he searches for his fiance, but never finds her. He goes to the tavern and asks, but the locals know not where she is. She has left him, he thinks, she couldn't wait and fell in love with another. As months pass the young captain becomes a recluse, not caring for the outside world and thinking always of his young barmaid. He goes into the attic to gather some belongings to leave for another job, to which he finds his young bride. Her body decomposed wearing her wedding dress.
The young captain knows not what to do, here lies his deceased fiance, she had not left him, but thought he left her. Knowing he cannot be with her and knowing he cannot stay he finds a wandering gypsy, Madam Leota. He begs her to find others to keep his finace company so she will never be lonley again. Leota complies and conjures up spirits so the young barmaid will never have to suffer the emptiness which lead her to her demise. With that done, the young captain gathers up what little he needs and locks the mansion up. He sails off not knowing where he is going, he knows he just needs to go away. To this day he has never come back to the town, nor the mansion and has never been heard from again.

Hey, thanks for the story. Is this the "official" WDW story behind HM?

[downsouthtigger]

Its one of the official stories ;)
Every CM is allowed to add to the HM mythos, but the original story was to include a sea captain and a barmaid.
I will post the other official story later, it's not as gruesome, supposedly.....

[got2lovedisney]

Keith a CM at the Haunted Mansion in MK took pity on our wandering/searching souls late one night and showed us the wedding ring...(we were using a tiny flashlight but couldn't spot it)

Ask the next time you are there and they'll show it to you.

[sjpurple]

That's great. We will ask a CM when we are there next time. My DGD would love to see the wedding ring. We couldn't find it either.

She just Loves the HM.

[Aggie96]

I have caught HM fever! I can't wait to get back there. I spent several hours last week on doombuggies.com looking at all the "behind the scenes" stuff. It is so great!! Anyone else go there?

[downsouthtigger]

That as a very well designed site Aggie! Thanks for sharing!!!
I just wondering how they got so many backstage shots, since I know for a fact thats a NO NO!
Anyways brought back lots of memories for me. One day my homeroom manager took us on a "field trip" and we got to see lots of things backstage. PotC, Spl M, and naturally HM!
I got to see the ballroom scene and the audio room. Best part about it was that it was while the ride was operating, so I could see the doom buggies passing right above me. Also if I woulda stepped in the wrong place I would've appeared as another ghost! Now that woulda been a story for the guests to tell.
"I was on HM one time and there was a ghost wearing a tommorowland costume! I went on it again and I didnt see him, so maybe he's a real ghost!" lol :laugh

[Captgoodguy]

There is a wedding ring in the pavement just as you are coming out of the HM. Look down at your feet and you will see it.

My Disney Sister has taken one of the tours but she was told a different story. This one has a much better flavor to it.

[Aggie96]

DownsouthTigger, you are too funny!! I am SO JEALOUS of your experiences! I went to the CP information seminar at A&M when I was there. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let me sign up because I was in my last semester. I offered to fail a few classes or drop some if they would let me go, but no such luck. Had to settle for working at the Disney Store while I was working on my Master's. It was cool, but not near as cool as working in the parks would be!! Someday... My best friend and I always say we are going to retire to Florida and work at Disney picking up trash. I think that would be so cool!!!
Glad you like doombuggies! I go there all the time when I need a little magic to get me through to my next trip!!!

[joseph3947]

Originally posted by babets
I don't know what it is but every time I ride HM in the MK in Orlando, I always wonder what it would be like to go through it with the lights on! I feel as if Disney himself is there in that HM. I absolutely love it!!

He is there! Walt Disney is one of the four men who's faces are on grave stones singing a song (which I can't remember) in the cemetery! :D :) Joe