I had this idea of resetting WDW's Haunted Mansion in an English manor house in the British countryside, since England has a rich tradition of ghosts and haunted houses in history, folklore and literature.
Among the hustle and bustle of Victorian Square in Neo Disneyland,, lies a rather decrepit gothic manor house with it's imposing arabesque architecture. Guests will make their way through a wrought iron gate guarded by gargoyles that will follow them by turning their necks. They will make their way through a courtyard with over grown vegetation and exotic plants, and marble statues that are actual cast members that will come to live.
Next, they will navigate their way through the family plot of tombstones of the Tillingast family that dates back from the Dark Ages to the 19th/20th Century. A maid or butler character will open the front doors and escort guest to a short hallway and into the foyer.
Once guests assemble in the foyer with an antique mirror in the far conner, a voice is heard within the walls as a the lights on the chandelier flickr. "Welcome mortal guests to Ravenwoods Hall. I am Lord Edmund Gracey the 13th. Lord and master of this accursed manor house. Oh do forgive me if I didn't made myself visible to you mortals." He then manifests within the reflected surface of the mirror, as a gentleman in 19th century attire. "Ah that's better, I see you are curious of how this once opulent mansion became haunted? Then follow me."
A panel in the wall opens to revel an octagonal shaped room with portraits of the Gracey family in different eras. A lord with Elizabethan neck ruffles, a Medieval lady, a young woman in early 1800s dress and parasol, and an boy in Edwardian sailor suit. Once guests are assembled inside, Lord Gracey will explain about the mansion's history as the walls start to stretch and the painting start to revile their true self. The Elizabethan lord stands on a keg of dynamite, the Medieval lady is tided to a poll as she being bured a the stake, the woman with the parasol is on a boat that is headed towards the boggy waters and the children are standing next to their nanny that they've murdered.
"Our tour beings in this gallery of my ancestors as they were among the living. For centuries the Gracey bloodline dates back from the Dark Ages, when this manor house was built. Generation after generation, each of the family member suffered terrible tragedies of wars, pelages, accidents, murders and suicides. It seems that house is possessed by an evil curse. So leave now, or stay and become a new addition to the family."
The lights are extinguished one by one, as a crash of lighting reviles the corpse of Lord Gracey hanging on a noose around his neck. After that, the lights come on again as another panel opens to a hallway. "Oh I'm so sorry to frighten you, come along let's all stay together and continue our tour."
"Your carriage waits you to escort you to the explore more of the manor. Kindly watch your step."
Guests will then emerge from the gallery and into a hallway with coats of arms and tapestries where guests will board their doom buggies that take them through the halls and rooms of the mansion.
"Please allow me to lower the safety bar, and once inside remain seated in your carriages, no flash photography and watch your children."
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