ONE | TWO

You board your black Christmas sleigh and glide up the staircase as unseen hands pulls down on the safety bar of the sleigh.

At the top of the staircase is a stack of Christmas presents wrapped Halloween style and sitting at the very top of the stack of presents is a menacing vampire teddy bear surveying the contents of each sleigh.

You glide past the presents and the first thing you see is a garland made entirely of bones.

More rapid than vultures the Mansion was changed

All was soon covered, adorned and deranged

And what to your wondering eyes disappears

Is Jack’s little friend Zero

The ghost dog reindeer

Floating in the middle of the mirrored hallway is Jack’s dog, Zero. There is a nice pile of bones with a bow and gift tag addressed to Zero atop.

Nothing here was forgotten

It all looked so pleasant

A coffin Jack says

Makes a fine Christmas present

It is here that you begin to hear something, a strange kind of singing in a raspy mischievous tone that is oddly compelling…

As you float into the conservatory, the perpetrator of this refrain comes into view. It’s a plant. In a plant stand. With teeth. Look closely, that plant stand not only has teeth it also has eyes. And the plant sings. It’s got lots of heads, they all talk to each other in a plant language we can’t understand. Probably a good thing. It’s my favorite part of the entire attraction and I want to take that plant home. Once again though, it’s probably a good thing I can’t. It would most likely devour me in my sleep. Or at least, chew an arm off…

As you move past the coffin where the corpse is still trying to get out, you begin to realize there might be more to this plant than meets the eye. The walls are covered with vines that cling to the doorways and brick-a-brack. A sinister shadow falls upon the wall. It’s something pointy and sharp.

A few more feet and you realize that plant you just saw is the baby. There’s a monster-sized wreath hovering against the ceiling with arms that are moving the chandeliers. And that monster-sized wreath has the most wicked, menacing, teeth you’ve ever seen. It also has more babies. They chatter too and sing fa la la.

The chattering of the plant gives way to Gypsy violins and the tinkling sound of a solitary ringing bell.

Into the séance room you go…

Leota still presides here but the room has changed a bit. That menacing vampire teddy bear sits where the crow once did and it is ringing the bell. It’s enjoying it. It has teeth too. Big pointy teeth that mesh into one another. Leota is oblivious. Her tambourines and trumpets have been replaced by a collection of 13 tarot cards and she recites her gift list of the Thirteen days of Christmas.

The thirteen cards represent;

Snakes with thirteen rings of power

Doctor Finklestein with twelve signs of the zodiac

Ghosts with eleven candles floating

The Witch with ten telling tea leaves

A furry black spider with nine magic crystals

The Harlequin Monster with eight balls of knowledge

The Lake Creature with seven pearls of wisdom

The Vampires with six mystic mirrors

The Clown With The Tear Away Face and five lucky charms

Oogie Boogie with four wheels of fortune

The ghoul street musicians showing their three lifelines

Sally holding two passion potions

Sandy Claws hands placing a star on the fortune card tree

The railing surrounding Leota is decorated with white feather boa garlands and a nutcracker stands guard near Leota’s table. As Leota speaks, the Evil Teddy Bear keeps ringing its bells.

Time to view the Ballroom

It’s the most astounding thing and it’s not at all possible to take in at one time. The dining table is still there. It’s now set with spider web plates and mummy goblets. There is a hidden Mickey plate arrangement, but it’s in a different spot.

On the table sits the most amazing gingerbread house that is actually made from gingerbread. There are giant Oogie Boogie gumdrops and dice. There are headstone-shaped cookies with colorful sprinkles and beautifully wrapped presents with skulls, cats, and Zero.

Sandy Claws’ sled has landed in the open door with dozens of carved pumpkins spilling out. Ghostly presents (of the Christmas variety) fly into the room. The fireplace is still lit, but stocking now hang from the mantle. Jack-O-Lanterns are shoved into every nook and cranny. Through the window above fly skeleton reindeer as the ballroom dancers glide by a giant Christmas tree like none that you’ve seen. It looks like something even Charlie Brown would reject with nary a needle to a branch. In fact, if you look close, you will see those branches end not in twigs, but in hands that reach out to help hold the decorations intact. Large black spiders have fun with orange tree lights as they bounce up and down through the branches. Under the tree are presents of all kinds, large and small, each wrapped as one would expect Halloween would arrange.

If you look carefully behind the tree, you will notice a new room has been added. A stack of books floats like a tree, in mid-air in a new library. It has eyes that stare out at you.

Which means... we’re going into the attic now. The body of a giant snake winds its way around the toy-filled room. The toys, of course, are Halloween’s version.

There’s a snake-like Christmas tree with a star at the top, a jack-in-the-box, the yellow duck with a gunshot wound, and tons of presents piled high. Each present is unique, but my favorite of all is the round one with a wreath. Make sure you look closely at that one, try to spot the singing plant on the side of the box.

There’s a giant Naughty or Nice list that winds its way around the room. The naughty children have been marked by skull and crossbones. Only one name has two such marks, Stevie. He must have been extra bad. I wonder, could that be little Stevie Davison? As your black Christmas sleigh rounds the bend you realize that the snake is a hungry sort. It has devoured a present and is working on the Christmas list.

Too soon, you immerge from the attic, but the sight is wondrous and the sound isn’t bad either.

Yes, the entire graveyard is covered in snow. And the curly hill from the movie Nightmare Before Christmas is there too. It’s encrusted with Jack-O-Lanterns. And, there are gigantic snow angels blowing their trumpets.

The sleigh glides down through the spooky trees as it always does and you catch a glimpse of the Vampire Teddy Bear perching in the crow’s spot on the tree branch. It laughs. That thing is wicked. Then the sleigh pulls around to reveal Sandy Claws with Zero floating at his side. The old caretaker has taken a vacation (his dog has not…try to find him elsewhere in the graveyard). Jack is so pleased with his Sandy Claws persona…

Most of the graveyard residents are still there but they’ve dressed up for the season. I think they’re having a high old time and are really happy Jack stopped off at the Mansion. They’re singing and playing their version of Christmas carols. Someone dropped pumpkins atop the Singing busts, but they still manage to sing (and nicely so).

The black Christmas sleigh makes it way through the graveyard.

Where the three Hitchhiking Ghosts once tried to thumb a ride, Lock, Shock and Barrel hold court with an assortment of toys and scary presents. If you look closely though, in the distance, you just might spot three familiar silhouettes.

Your black Christmas sleigh rounds the bend and instead of a ghost following you home, a present tries its best to snag a ride. Make way, they’re big jack- in- the- box toys that take up a lot of room. You may be host to a cat, a skull, or a pumpkin.

Alas, it’s time to depart your sleigh and make your way out of the crypt. Jack has decorated here too. There are pumpkins and a few bits of snow. If you pay attention you may even hear Sally calling to Sandy Claws as he flies in front of the moon.

BACK

Sue Kruse on the event show

Adrienne Krock with the $65 perspective

Adrienne Vincent- Phoenix with the $200 perspective

Return to Contents

The Ghost Host was portrayed by a true Paul Frees aficionado...  it’s a "dead on" imitation and tribute to the original genius

Over one hundred Jack- O- Lanterns were carved for the Mansion.

Counting both the interior and exterior, approximately 450 candles flicker in the night.

Zero gathered over 200 bones to use as décor, garland, and presents.

50 blankets of ghostly white snow helped cover the graveyard.

Madame Leota’s "13 Days of Christmas" are featured in 13 spinning Fortune Cards that tell of the Christmas gift that, according to her, "My Ghoul love gave to me..."

The eerie, edible hand made Gingerbread House featured at the Ballroom dining table weighs over 100 pounds.

27 new animated figures have joined the Haunted Mansion Holiday.

Kim Irvine, daughter of the original "Madame Leota" now makes a spirited performance as the Haunted Mansion’s favorite psychic. Leota Toombs, long-time Imagineer, gave life to the head that for decades has floated inside the Haunted Mansion’s Crystal Ball.