This blog is moving!

Today I'm excited to announce that Haunted Mansion Collectibles is moving to a new home! Our new site will still offer the same material, but in a much better format in which to showcase my pictures more easily. Anything and Everything HMC will still be here for reference sake, but I will no longer be updating this blog. Please don't forget to update your bookmarks.

Our new home can be found at www.HauntedMansionCollectibles.com or click here.

MPC Model Kit - Grave Robber's Reward

I've never constructed a model kit, but if I had the time, proper materials, and a bit more patience, I could probably get into them. I love recreating scenes from the Mansion for our halloween yard haunt, so I can see how these miniature models could appeal to someone like me.

MPC released four Haunted Mansion Model Kits in a series with the new concept of ZAP/ACTION! ( I had to capitalize the zap/action because that is how it is on the box.. MCP must have been excited about this new concept. har har) What I found interesting about these kits beyond the ZAP/ACTION motion, is that 2 of the scenes aren't actually in the Mansion at all, including this first one. When I first saw this kit listed on ebay, I mistook Grave Robber for Grave Digger, you know that scaredy-cat character with his emaciated dog located just outside the gates of the cemetery? Yeah, I guess we actually call him the Caretaker, but anyway, I thought that was the character in this kit. Even after I bought this kit several years ago, I thought the person holding the shovel was the same guy in ride...until I actually read the side of the box.

Did you know there is a little background story to each kit on the side of the box?




I wasn't expecting the picture to show up so tiny, so let me give you the transcript for the story.

1. A lonely light illuminates a dark deed.

2. "They said Ebeneezer's fortune is hid under his coffin" Spoken by the grave robber

3. "Said he was going to take it with him."

4. But a touch of ZAP/ACTION and suddenly...up leaps the ghostly grabber!

5. Grave robber continues to speak, unknowing that the ghostly grabber is almost upon him: "I'll soon be rich... and get to go to college."

Ok, lets stop right here for a moment. College?!?! Really? Is this Disney's way of validating this dark deed.. so this guy can go to college? Maybe this guy was a mortician, because he obviously has no problem hanging around a bunch of dead people, but decided he wanted to be doctor or a lawyer, a much more respectable and profitable career, but didn't get that scholarship to Harvard. Sorry, let's finish this little sordid tale...

6. "Your money's not safe anyplace nowadays," says Ebeneezer!

This just cracks me up! Perhaps the caretaker standing outside the cemetery actually IS the grave robber frozen in fear of Ebeneezer's ghost. After all, he is standing there with the shovel in one hand, and the lonely light in the other, with the same scarf and coat. Circumstantial evidence? And I can't help but wonder if the lure of higher education is what's kept him there for nearly 40 years.

Mr. Spooky Costume

I got an email the other day from Stuart Schneider, co-author of Halloween: Costumes and other Treats. Halloween is my favorite holiday and this book will be added to my ever growing collection of books on the subject.  This book shows many Halloween costumes from 1920-1970.  And wouldn't you know it, one of the costumes in the book is a Ben Cooper Walt Disney Character Costume - Mr. Spooky.  The Mr. Spooky costume comes complete with vinyl costume and plastic mask.  As you can plainly see, the Haunted Mansion logo is on the body of the costume!

So, just who is this Mr. Spooky character in the Mansion?  hmmmm?  He looks an awful lot like the early versions of the Hat Box Ghost, in my humble opinion.  What makes this such a wonderful find is that, if you're lucky, you might find one that predates the Mansion opening in 1969.  The costume in the following picture is dated 1962.   

Nice.

All photos copyright 2002 Stuart Schneider

Stuart has written many books on all kinds of collectibles, and is currently working on a new book featuring some beautiful photographs of cemeteries by Rebecca Benjamin.  Ghosts In The Cemetery should be released sometime in May, 2008.  

All photos copyright Stuart Schneider

Thanks Stuart for stopping by and for sharing a very cool vintage piece.  I've yet to see this piece on ebay, and while I'm no authority, I think its safe to say this collectible is pretty rare.  

Haunted Mansion Magic

Did you know that Griffins in the Gallery (stretching room) are very sensitive? It's true, according to the "Magic from the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland" book. Circa 1970, this 59 page booklet comes with colored illustrations of characters from the Haunted Mansion ride, including Madame Leota (looking very much like Maleficent), the executioner, and the opera singers. There are several chapters, each dedicated to a specific genre: card magic, money magic, paper magic, mental magic, and handkechief magic. There is even a ventriloquist lesson! Phineas J. Pock is given credit for the introduction. A wonderful addition to any fan's collection!

Here's a picture of the crying griffin.


My friend, Guy the Ghoul, also a booklet titled "Magic from the Haunted Mansion". Notice that 'in Disneyland' is NOT part of the title. Everything else about the two booklets are identical, from what I can tell. I would love to know the secret behind that little mystery....