The Waltzing Dead, also known as the Waltzing Ghosts or Ballroom Ghosts, are a group of ghosts found in the Haunted Mansion.
History
Background
The Haunted Mansion
These twelve individuals were ballroom dancers who died and came to haunt the Haunted Mansion. It is unknown if (but believed that) they had some affiliation with the manor during their lifetimes.
Couples:
- A blonde woman in a yellow dress with a blonde moustached man in a grey suit.
- A pale-pink haired man in an aqua suit with a pink haired woman in a pink dress.
- An orange haired man in a grey suit with an orange haired woman in an orange dress.
- An aqua haired man in a grey suit with a turquoise haired woman in an aqua dress.
- A purple haired man in a salmon suit with a purple haired woman in a violet gown.
- A man in a green suit with a woman in a green dress.
Phantom Manor
These twelve men and women were residents of Thunder Mesa who were attendees of the wedding of Mélanie Ravenswood. The wedding came to be a disaster with the groom mysteriously disappearing, having been murdered by the Phantom of the manor. In death, the ballroom dancers haunted Ravenswood Manor in an eternal wedding dance.
Appearances
The Haunted Mansion
The ballroom ghosts can be seen in the ballroom scene of the Haunted Mansion, dancing in couples to the pipe-organ music of the organist. They fade in and out of sight as they dance, all while being transparent. The effect behind their appearance is achieved with an effect known as Pepper's Ghost, in which their figures' reflections are projected onto a plane of glass in-front of the guests.
Phantom Manor
In Phantom Manor, the ghosts are seen in the ballroom of Ravenswood Manor where they dance to the doomed wedding of Mélanie Ravenswood. Their appearance in the ride is practically identical to that from the Haunted Mansion.
Parades
Cast-members portraying the ballroom ghosts will often appear in Halloween parades at the Disney Parks.
Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade
In this Walt Disney World parade they are part of the 3rd group, appearing behind the float holding the Hitchhiking Ghosts. Cast members are asked to fabricate fictional backstories for the dancers and including elements of these histories in their costumes (E.G. if one of them was poisoned, their hand might be on their throats, or if one of them was electrocuted, they'll shake when they dance)
Frightfully Fun Parade
In this Disneyland parade, they are part of the first group and are very similar to their Boo-to-You incarnation.
Mickey's Halloween Celebration
The ballroom dancers appear in-front of the, "Illusion Manor" float in this Disneyland Paris parade. They are themed much more heavily with the backstory of Phantom Manor in this parade and have brighter costumes.
Mystical Spirits of the Blue Bayou
In this event held at the Blue Bayou restaurant in New Orleans Square, the female ghosts are named the Bayou Belles and are summoned as entertainers by Dr. Facilier.
Other Appearances
Film
The Haunted Mansion
In this film, the ghosts are seen to have been attendees of a Mardi Gras party held in Gracey Manor by Master Gracey on the night that his bride, Elizabeth died. When Master Gracey's ghost confronts Elizabeth's reincarnation Sara Evers about this in the 2000s, the ghosts of the ballroom dancers materialize around the two which scares Sara.
Printed Materials
The Ghost Gallery
In the 1990s, cast-members of the Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World created a backstory for the attraction as a means of answering guest questions. All of this backstory was recorded on paper and while unofficial, has since influenced both the original Haunted Mansion's official and semi-official features as-well as adaptations based on the Haunted Mansion.
In this story, the ballroom dancers were six couples invited to a party in Gracey Manor hosted by Madame Leota in the year 1909. When they denied her and her lover Master Gracey attention, she used magic that caused them to uncontrollably dance until dying of exhaustion.
Video Games
Kinect: Disneyland Adventures
The ballroom ghosts appear during the boss-fight with Constance Hatchaway in this video-game. They can be attacked by the player using a flashlight.
Disney Crossy Road
The ballroom dancers are NPCs in this video-game's Haunted Mansion levels, being obstacles to be passed.
Trivia
- Due to the reflection used in their effect, the women are leading the men in their waltz. When questioned about this, imagineer Blaine Gibson described it as a, "Screw up" while X. Atencio rationalized it as them simply being ghosts and not adhering to social mandates.
- There were originally intended to only be six dancer animatronics which would be reflected to look like twelve. However this effect didn't work as intended so six more figures were made. Due to this, some early promotional material for the ride shows only half the amount of dancers than there are in the final ride.
External Links
