Haunted Mansion Beauty Shots (Or "Why I'm Murder To Buy For")

Hello there

So, today I have opted for another of my "beauty shots" posts, where I take pics of a collection and then stress myself out that it comes off as showing off.

Never let it be said I don't put myself through emotional torment to bring you the treats on my Patreon page.

I also appreciate that the subject of these pictures may be something you have no knowledge or investment in.  Well, you'll have heard me banging on about it, but I very much doubt it's tickled your fancy.  However, I do very much feel that the aesthetic of the Haunted Mansion is something that can be appreciated, regardless of interest in the attraction itself.

At the very least it's another opportunity to have a snoop around my stuff for you, and this is surely leading up to nudes eventually.

Now, as they say, look alive...

Our pictures begins here in this gallery, where you see paintings of some of the mansions guests as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state.

These are closer looks at the statues that I recently made the dioramas for.  I repainted the portraits without the figures, made some frames and placed them on stands.

I remain delighted with these but there has been a little bit of warping on the stands themselves and the corners are coming up.  I'm going to replace them with wooden ones which should sort this out.  Daft I didn't do wood ones in the first place really.

On to the bedroom...

Obligatory promotion of art I did that's available on Etsy.  Or I think it is.  I can't remember if I ended the listing.  If I didn't, they are well cheap in the Infinite Hermit Art shop on Etsy...

If you're ever tempted to buy these books (and they are great), make sure you get the hardcover copies.  They are the same size as the original Lemony Snicket books which are a joy to hold, but the UK paperback reprints are a disgrace.  Look like they've been photocopied.

I bought this set of statues in the park and they caused all manner of confusion.  They were marked as $90 and I had to check if that was "each" (which would have made total sense and be in line with the other merch).  It transpired this was for the full set, and even the girl on the till was confused.  They're really gorgeous, really amazing quality and a bargain in every sense of the word.  This is the Dread Family, which is a relatively new addition outside the Haunted Mansion.  It's this series of statues, and it's also a puzzle as to who killed who (they're all dead).  The ride itself has the answer hidden away by the hitchhiking ghosts right at the end, if you're too daft to work it out.  Like I was.

Onto the stairs, take your loved ones by the hand, please, and kindly watch your step.

This is a reprint of the original opening poster.  Pretty sure it's a hooky one, but it's nicely printed onto cloth (which is wasted as it's behind glass).  This is the DisneyLAND Haunted Mansion and, for the record, I'm not a fan of the building design.  It really divides people, and Walt Disney signed it off saying he wanted it to be pristine on the outside rather than looking spooky.  It is one of the few things I am happy to declare that Walt Disney was absolutely not right about, and the subsequent design of the Disney World building, after he died, and Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris (their equivalent of the Haunted Mansion) completely proves that I am right and Walt Disney was wrong.  And you can quote me on that.

As a point of interest, Walt Disney never actually lived to see any of the Haunted Mansion's open.  He was involved in the planning, but didn't make it to opening day.

A few little trinkets on the corner shelves of the stairs.  These are Christmas Tree ornaments really, and at the back is a "pin" or BADGE as normal people call them.  Disney are obsessed with pins (BADGES) and release thousands a day it seems.  I am so glad it does nowt for me, and I've never had any interest in buying into that little club.

We are downstairs now...everything gets a bit more fragile, so watch your children, please.

Another in-park purchase from me, and another bit of proof that I have a really good eye for what to buy that will end up getting retired and hard to find without tons of cash. To be honest, if I could have only bought a solitary thing whilst being in Florida it would have been this. Along with all the things in the stretching room these are my favourite part of the ride itself.  They're the last characters you see (in the Disney World version) and they temper the disappointment of the ride ending by being an ace design.  It's perhaps a bit of nostalgia from childhood on my part, but I'll never not be excited by the Hitchhiking ghosts.

I know, pretty stunning right?  This is Constance or "The Bride", and this little statue gets transformed by lighting.  It's a brilliant design, as the face has a different level of translucency to the rest of the statue which makes it really pop.  I'm in the early stages of designing a diorama for this beauty.  In the ride she is in the attic, surrounded by portraits of the husbands she's killed.  I'm hopeful it's be a nice diorama but it's going to need a specific blue spotlight and we know I'm not the greatest on the electrics front (Ben, if you're reading this, I may need your services again - Ben did the lights for my R2-D2).

That top signage is a great hooky version that my pal Sammy got me this year.  I don't tend to get things I could plausibly make really accurately myself, but the sign below would be out of my skillset.  I really love it, not least because it is the Disney World version of the mansion in the picture. 

Oh and speaking of beauts...

This has soared into top spot of my collection.  I mentioned it in Cabin Fever this week, and quite how long I've waited for it (I'd actually made peace with giving up on it).

It's the Olszewski (pronounced Olsheshki) miniature of the Disney World Haunted Mansion and is all kinds of perfect.  Olszewski actually made miniatures of the majority of Disney's rides and architecture but they're thin on the ground nowadays (I am still holding out for a bargain on the Cinderella castle which might be the most beautiful miniature I've ever seen, but is retired and wayyyyyy out of my - or anyones - price range). This one though, is already treasured, and it has so much more going on than we see in this front-on pic...

Let's have a look round the back.  Not like that...

Ooooh secret compartment, but how on earth are they going to fit all the scenes in that...?

oh WHAT?!?!?!

(This was genuinely what tipped me over into getting it)

Sorry that last one is slightly blurry.  My hands still shake with excitement at it...

These are the gargoyles from the stretching room which I recently got round to putting up above the fireplace.  The one on the right has an annoyingly temperamental candle which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.  Obviously today it didn't.  There's no way into the thing itself to try and fix it, everything is very secure and doesn't unscrew or whatever, so am lumbered with it.

Beneath them we have the same designs but actual candle holders.  Another thing they don't make any more and I grabbed at just the right time.

Hi from me in the mirror.  And damn that faulty candle.

Right come on, last few bits of odds and sods...

Another hooky sign from Etsy...honestly don't know why I worry about cease and desists...everyone is making stuff...

These are hitchhiking ghosts bottle stops, but as I don't drink I have just shoved them in with the plants.

I am ludicrously particular about mugs.  Like, never buy me a mug as a gift.  It's a chance in a million that I'll like it and I am already at full capacity with a very curated collection. Proper mug snob, and I wouldn't even use the one in the middle (it was end of line and cheap).

You will tell me when this gets stupid won't you?

I know, I know, it was stupid from the start...

Big fan of that candle but I use it so rarely.  Terrified of it finally running out, and they're daft expensive.  It smells of the ride which is a lovely thing to have, and I tend to put it on for few minutes whenever I'm at my desk getting stressed at the keyboard.  Although, weirdly, the Monster Clay I used for the Country Bears Jamboree frame also smells of it, so it's not the end of the world....

Speaking of CBJ - sneaked the album into this pic of the Haunted Mansion picture vinyl.  I love both of these albums so much.  The music in the Haunted Mansion is a major part of it for me, and well worth a listen (it'll be on YouTube, as will ride through videos of the attraction itself which you can watch and see what all the fuss is about).

There we go, a mammoth post that was meant to be an easy one for me.  I don't know why I still think picture posts are gonna be quick...this has taken me hours.

You collect stuff too right?  Tell me it isn't just me with this weird obsessional streak.

Thank you for staying to the end, there's a decent chance a ghost will follow you home after being around all this stuff, so keep an eye out.

Much love as always from here

Adendum: The lights on the Haunted Mansion miniature have stopped working since I scheduled this post and I'm genuinely distraught and depressed about it.  I just keep staring at it.

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