Like it says on the tin, this is a history of the legendary Disney Parks attraction, the Haunted Mansion. The story of its is one of competing ideas among the imagineers - some wanted it to be scary, some wanted it to be funny, and Walt mainly wanted it to be clean and well-maintained. The attraction opened after over a decade of planning and work, and despite - or perhaps because of - the lack of unity on what it should be, it became an instant classic. The book also carries us through on a virtual ride on a Doom Buggy exploring the different details and modifications made over the years. Would you believe they once had a live human performed in knight's armor swinging a sword at passing guests? This is a fun and in-depth book about the Haunted Mansion and what makes it brilliant. ( )

Beginning right at the first mentions by Disney about building a haunted house attraction in Disneyland, to his initial plans, and the team he put together to work on the project. The effects are explained, such as the ballroom ghosts and the seance room (the head of Madame Leoda wasn't an actress but a Disney imagineer, while her voice was the same actress who had played Malificent). The stretching room at Disneyland really is stretching, as it's an elevator that takes guests underground to the ride, and the script of the "Ghost Host" was written by an assistant pulled from the animation department, who also wrote the "Yo Ho Ho" song for The Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It was also interesting to read of all the office politics that went into making the ride what it is today, especially as Disney himself died before the attraction was finished. The attraction at Disney World is also covered, and a bit of the Tokyo version too.

The author isn't the most engaging storyteller and it took me a couple of chapters to warm to his style, which really shouldn't happen with such a fun subject, but the amount of information about The Haunted House ends up making this book well worth reading. ( )