He’s a suitor. Bona fide.

Image: Disney

Other than the Bride, several other characters from The Haunted Mansion are worthy of brief discussion. The first of them is perhaps the most interesting. When you foolish mortals entered my humble abode for the first time on August 9, 1969, the Bride had a new suitor. Undeterred by the unfortunate fates of the previous five husbands, this gentleman stood by her side in the attic.

There was a catch, of course. The woman later known as Hatchaway had already worked her magic on him. The haunt without a name undeniably had style. Clad in a cloak and top hat, this older fellow balanced himself with a cane in one hand. It’s the contents of the other hand that elevated him to legendary status, though.

One of the ghastliest jokes Disney’s Imagineers unveiled for their new attraction was horrific even to me. This suitor held a hatbox in his hand. Occasionally, his head would disappear from the space above his shoulders. At this point, it would relocate to the hatbox. Clearly, the Bride had gotten to him, too. Only one problem persisted. The technology of this trick failed. Yes, even Disney’s Imagineers are imperfect creatures.

The tests they performed for their sleight of hand operated under different conditions than the actual Doom Buggies. Once the public invaded my territory, the Imagineers quickly realized their miscalculation. The track through the estate traveled too closely to the Hatbox Ghost, negating the effect. Guests couldn’t always tell what was happening and when they did, the amateurish nature of the trick distracted them from the majesty of my dwelling.

In simplest terms, the Hatbox Ghost’s face never truly disappeared. The trickery depended on lighting effects. Imagineers inserted black lighting inside the Hatbox Ghost’s head, which would shut down when the head was to disappear. The designers failed to consider the ambient light already placed in the attic for other parts of the attraction. Their glow highlighted the head too much, preventing it from vanishing. The problem wasn’t something they could fix at the time. Perhaps ironically, the Hatbox Ghost’s head disappeared months later, along with the rest of the ghoul.

The comeback kid

Image: Disney

What followed over the next few decades warms the heart I abandoned when I left my mortal coil. Fans of the Hatbox Ghost kept his memory alive despite the fact that they’d barely got to know him in the first place. The explanation for this oddity is that the marketing team at Disneyland had highlighted him in a lot of the early advertising for the new attraction. When he disappeared, guests naturally wondered why.

The legend of Disney’s mistake grew over time. As technology improved, fans of the greatest park attraction (in my biased but humble opinion) championed its return.  As the 40th anniversary of The Haunted Mansion approached, Disney wanted to do something to stir up interest in the celebration. They settled on a brief return of the character, albeit not on the ride itself.

Instead, the Hatbox Ghost remained banished from the estate but celebrated in other ways. Disney artists created souvenirs and other memorabilia featuring the once and future resident. The company also named him the official “spooksperson” for the Haunted Holidays celebration, a choice I resent to this day. Can the Hatbox Ghost even talk? That’s literally my one job at The Haunted Mansion!

Image: Disney

The popularity of the long-absent Hatbox Ghost in 2009 proved the point to Disney. Guests missed his classy presence and wanted him back. In 2015, they finally got their wish. Disney hinted that a change was coming when they released their 45th anniversary merchandise for The Haunted Mansion. The Hatbox Ghost became the de facto face of the franchise during this time.

When cast members removed the holiday facelift from December of 2014, guests correctly deduced that the placeholder wall erected in its stead hid the return of a The Haunted Mansion original. They were correct. On May 9th, 2015, more than half a century after the Bride’s suitor vanished without explanation, he made his triumphant return to Disneyland.

The Hatbox Ghost is different now. That’s because the initial installation was lost in time. Imagineers did their best to pay homage to the original look with the new design, though. He’s still the same fashionable trendsetter in stylish garments. The primary difference is that now his head disappears as intended.

Rather than run the risk of lighting betraying the effect once more, Disney took a more modern approach with the character. The Hatbox Ghost employs an animated illusion to build the effect of the disappearing head. And now, unlike in his first iteration, he’s capable of making sound. It must be a skill he developed during his brief, undeserved tenure as a spooksperson. As the head disappears, the Hatbox Ghost gleefully celebrates his trick, the one he spent 50 years trying to master. The whole situation is odd to me. You’d think he’d feel some bitterness over the Bride hatcheting off his head rather than embracing the role with such devotion. Then again, I’m probably just bitter about the spooksperson vote.

The entire affair with the Hatbox Ghost does lead to an interesting question, though. If only 999 ghosts live in my home right now and always have since the estate opened to the public, who moved in when the Hatbox Ghost left? And were they forced to move out again once he returned? Even I, the Ghost Host, cannot answer this particular question. But it’s nice to see my friend back in the fold again after so many years away.