R.C. Loveland,"Ghost Biographer"and Former Haunted Mansion Cast Member, Shares Some Stories

"As for the biographies, here's the basic story: Master Gracy had the Mansion built on a hillside for he and his bride (the one in the attic). Madame Leota was a medium who wanted Gracy badly, but he loved his bride more. Leota cursed the house and Gracy. They didn't die right away. There were quite a few other things that happened before Gracy and Leota died. I don't remember the exact way she died, whether she was murdered or not, but her body was pulled from the river, having shruken to the size of a doll (which is our explanation for Little Leota). The Mansion was cursed so everyone generally met nasty ends, and the spirits tended to stay there. The raven was Leota's pet. There is no apparent record of its actual death. Maybe it was never alive.

"I wrote stories for the lady having the birthday party in the ballroom and one of the portraits in the stretch room. But we often gave ideas to the other CM's to help them out. We also tried to keep events logical and interrelated... The lady at the party (I don't remember her name) loved to throw parties. She was always happy-go-lucky and liked everyone. But Leota didn't like her because the parties always interrupted her seances. One night Leota became so mad that she went to the lady and made a prediction that she would die on the same night, 13 years in the future (the 13 candles on the cake). Of course she did die 13 years later, but passing away peacefully in her sleep. Yet the parties still continue...

"I also heard a ton of stories about a real ghost being in the Mansion who walks around the sets. I never saw anything walking around by myself or riding and could never prove anything. This is not to say I don't believe in spirits, but I never found any in the Mansion. There was a man killed there. And the creepiest thing was that I met the daughter of his friend who was with him when it happened. During a Grad Night, I believe, two guys were in a doombuggy. One climbed out at Seance Circle to get to the Madame Leota effect. Well, in front and behind the ride path is a drop of 10-15 feet to the floor. There is a wall on each side for people walking the track (painted black of course) but there was a huge space between that wall and the platform where Leota's table was. He climbed over, fell, and broke his neck. It was creepy to run into the daughter of his friend...and this wasn't even at the park. We just happened to be talking about the Haunted Mansion."

"Unofficial" Biographies of the Haunted Mansion’s "Happy Haunts," written by the Cast Members themselves!

The stories Loveland and his crew put together were bolstered when Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion Hostess Tina Michael referenced the collection in an interview with Disney Magazine in the spring 1998 issue. In the next issue's "Reader Forum," the editors of Disney Magazine wrote: "We've gotten several letters from Haunted Mansion fans 'desperately' looking for a copy of the Ghost Gallery book that Haunted Mansion Hostess Tina Michael mentioned in [the last issue.] We're sorry to report that only one copy of this book (which is actually a loose-leaf notebook) exists, and it is for cast members' eyes only."

However, the biographies spoken about had actually been salvaged and posted online. The collection contains stories written by many different Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion cast members. Though there is no single "official" story behind the characters found in the Mansion, this collection of tales is notable as it was written by folks who knew the ride thoroughly, inside and out. Click here to read the stories.