Haunted Mansion Director Reveals Biggest Ride Easter Egg Fans Have Been Missing

It may not contain the thrills of some of the other attractions in the various Disney Parks, but The Haunted Mansion has spent years establishing itself as one of the most popular and recognizable rides Disney has ever opened. The spooky exploration of a house filled with ghosts has created a massive and dedicated fanbase over the last few decades, meaning that the recent movie adaptation of the ride had some very lofty expectations from viewers. Justin Simien’s live-action Haunted Mansion aimed to create an experience as close to the ride as possible, while also packing the film with Easter eggs and nods to the fan-favorite attraction.

There are ride references packed into every frame of Haunted Mansion, though some are a bit more noticeable than others. In honor of the film’s recent debut on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD, ComicBook.com spoke with Justin Simien and asked about some of the harder-to-spot Easter eggs hiding within Haunted Mansion. While the director admitted that eagle-eyed fans have noticed just about everything, there’s a specific painting that hardly anyone has been talking about since the movie’s release.

“People don’t really talk a lot about the painting on the Seance Room door, but that’s a May to December,” Simien explained. “It’s a painting that was in the Haunted Mansion and it left and it came back, but she ages as the film goes along, and that’s a little one that people don’t always notice. Also, there’s a lot of faces on the ride. There’s a lot of hidden faces and eyes and things, and you certainly feel that a little bit in the wallpapers. I think you see it in the doorknobs and stuff. But that was something that was sort of like, it’s like the hidden Mickeys at Disneyland. We were constantly working in odd things that it just gives you a sense that you’re being looked at or that’s something staring back at you, but maybe it’s a little subconscious. But I have to say, the fans are quite keen, so there’s very little that they haven’t found yet.”

The May to December painting shows a woman getting older as time passes. In the film, that painting is located on the door to the Seance Room. If you look out for it as the film goes on, you’ll notice that the woman in the painting ages every time she’s shown on camera.

Including the Hatbox Ghost as the Villain

The Hatbox Ghost, played by Jared Leto, is the main antagonist in the Haunted Mansion movie, which is an interesting choice given how small a part he plays in the ride itself. 

Longtime fans of the Haunted Mansion attraction have helped make the Hatbox Ghost popular over the years, despite the fact that he hasn’t been featured in the rides for very long. Simien went on to say that the love the fans had for the character is why it made so much sense to feature him in a prominent role.

“There were these images, these framed pictures of him around, and people just over the years became obsessed with him and he crept into the canon, and you always got to pay attention to stuff like that in fandom because that’s where the magic always happens,” Simien told us. “Three’s always a creative intention, but then when the audiences get ahold of it and they start to pick apart things and hone on things, it’s the excitement about him being a character actually preceded him being a character the way we understand him.”

Haunted Mansion is now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD. The film is also streaming on Disney+.