The Haunted Mansion, no matter what Disney park it’s in (California, Orlando, Paris, or Tokyo), has been a fan favorite since it opened at Disneyland in 1969. For years even The Walt Disney Company would refer to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as the last attraction which Walt personally supervised, but that’s baloney. Walt was shown concept art and models of many of the effects that would appear in The Haunted Mansion which eventually opened years after his death.
Which brings me to today’s Halloween offering. The three Hitchhiking Ghosts appear infrequently in the ride, however they have become the iconic characters most identified with it. Years ago, Disney published three paper sculptures on The Disney Blog that allowed you to download, print out, and construct three very special models of the Hitchhiking Ghosts—their heads turn and follow you as you pass them by.
The effect is based upon the ancient optical illusion known as The Hollow Face. Most simply, a cast of a face is made in a concave (or negative) sculpture. If you look at the cast with one eye closed and walk by it, the face will appear to turn and follow your movement. The Walt Disney Company obtained a patent on a new process that lit the reversed face in such a way that it was more easily viewable while both eyes are open. These busts appear several times in its Haunted Mansions.
To see the sculptures created for you to download by Disney, watch this movie (since the camera has only one eye, the turning effect works very well).
And now it’s DIY time: click on each image below, download it. Print it out on cardstock and follow the instructions to create your own Hitchhiking Ghosts that will watch the trick or treaters and follow them as they go home. To increase the effect of the heads turning, wink at the ghosts as you pass them. They'll appreciate that.
All Materials Copyright Disney.
