Could the happiest place on earth possibly be haunted? Read on to find out!
Disney World, Orlando, FL
Haunted Mansion
Naturally, the first on the list is the classic Haunted Mansion ride. It seems to be haunted by more than the animated spirits of the ride. The ride is said to be haunted by a little boy who has actually been caught on camera (you can follow this link to see the picture). He seems to be having fun on the ride as employees hear him laughing as well as going “hurry baaaaack” like the ghost at the end of the ride does.
Another creepy legend that surrounds this ride is that Madame Leota’s spell book was once a very realistic prop; it was said to be an authentic book of witch craft. A former employee said the book wouldn’t stay upright, the table was often flipped over, and the book was often moved from it’s original spot on it’s own. All of this spooky activity caused them to replace it with an actual prop.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Another classic ride is Pirates of the Caribbean, which is haunted by a spirit known as “George.” Legend says that a construction worker died while the ride was being built and his spirit still haunts the ride today. The employees are known to greet him in the morning and say goodbye to him at night so that he doesn’t cause any trouble. If anyone on the ride says, “I don’t believe in George,” then the ride allegedly breaks down.
Tower of Terror
All the spooky rides seem to have hauntings attached to them. An employee of the park is said to have suffered a heart attack and died while working in the Tower of Terror. He haunts the ride now, particularly the platform where he was helping riders get onto the ride when he died. Current employees are allegedly afraid of this platform as he’s often spotted there or getting onto that platform’s elevator.
Disneyland, Anaheim, CA
Matterhorn
The Matterhorn is said to be haunted by a spirit known as “Dolly.” Employees that work this ride often claim to feel as though they are being watched when they do their safety walk throughs of the ride. And there might be some truth to this. “Dolly” may just be a woman who died on the ride in 1984 when she out of her seat and was hit by another oncoming car. (I am leaving the woman’s name out for privacy reasons).
Firehouse
Walt Disney had an apartment above the firehouse on Main Street at Disneyland. Employees leaving the park would often see the light on as he was working late at night. It seems that he may still be working in the afterlife in his beloved park. One night an employee went in to make sure the light was off; when she got downstairs she could see in the window that the light was still on. She went upstairs and unplugged the lamp, but when she got back downstairs the light was on again. It’s been left on since as a tribute to Walt.
Haunted Mansion
This park has a similar story to the WDW version of the ride. A mother spread the ashes of her son on the ride without the park knowing about it. In this version, you can hear his ghost cry for his mother which is much more heartbreaking.
Pirates of the Caribbean
This version of the ride doesn’t seem to have a haunting tied to it, but that may be because what was causing the haunting has been removed. You see, when they were constructing the ride originally the got real skeletons from UCLA to use as props (kind of like the movie Poltergeist). They aren’t there anymore as I’m sure someone finally figured out using real skeletons in an amusement park ride is in bad taste (to put it mildly).
Space Mountain
The Disneyland version of this ride is haunted by a phantom rider known as “Mr. One Way.” If there’s an empty seat on the ride he’s said to get in and ride through the roller coaster until the last tunnel. He’s apparently been spotted by a few riders because they often come back, yelling for help from an employee because they saw someone fall out of the ride.
It’s A Small World
This is probably the creepiest legend of all. The dolls on the It’s A Small World ride apparently move once the ride has been turned off. Employees have even alleged that they’ve seen them in different spots when they return in the morning.
References
October All Year 