Grim Grinning Ghosts

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Grim Grinning Ghosts is the theme song for the Haunted Mansion attractions at Disney theme parks. It was composed by Buddy Baker, with lyrics written by X Atencio. Its distinctive melody has been adapted for numerous uses since its composition in the late 1960s.

Contents 1 General Overview 2 Variations 3 Phantom Manor 4 The Movie 5 Fan Versions

[edit] General Overview

Grim Grinning Ghosts features Buddy Baker's melody, usually in the key signature of A minor, with suitably eerie lyrics courtesy of Disney legend "X" Atencio. Different variations use 4/4 or 3/4 for the meter. The following chord progression is used for all versions: Am, B, Am, Bb, Am, F7, Am, F7, Am, E7, Am. Typically, each chord lasts for two beats of 4/4 or three beats of 3/4. This underlying chord progression provides an appropriately macabre mood for the Haunted Mansion attractions. The alternation between minor, major, and dominant 7th chords prevents the song from becoming too gloomy. The song modulates to B-flat minor thus: Am, E7, F7, Bbm and on to B-minor via Bbm, F7 and F#7. The melody then modulates back to A-minor after repeating a Ab dim7/Bb chord six times.

[edit] Variations

Many different music loops are used throughout the Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland. Speakers disguised within the sets allow the music to fade in and out as guests pass through the different areas. The following variations of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" can be heard in these attractions.

• Entrance Foyer: As guests enter the dimly-lit foyer, a distant organ can be heard. "Grim Grinning Ghosts," played in the slow cadence of a funeral dirge, rumbles through the mansion. This effectively sets the spooky tone for the attraction, although most guests only register this background music subconsciously. This arrangement is a simple one, featuring melody and bass line on a Robert Morton theater organ and an almost inaudible countermelody on tubular bells.
• Loading Area: Guests leave the "stretching room" and proceed down a hall of morphing portraits. One of the ride's most unique musical selections plays in the background. An alto flute plays a hollow and hauntingly low rendition of Baker's composition, with tubular bells doubling the melody. The unison doubling of alto flute and tubular bells is fascinating, as both voices are somewhat unfamiliar to the layman's ear. The rustling of wind can also be heard, along with sporadic thunderclaps. A wolf howls in the distance, adding to the gloomy atmosphere.
• Piano Parlor: In the Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland versions, guests pass by a decrepit music parlor. A shadowy phantom sits at the piano, slamming the ivory with a fervor that Rachmaninoff would have appreciated. The tune is "Grim Grinning Ghost," played as block chords with heavy rubato. This rendition isn't heard in the original Disneyland mansion, but it was recorded during the production of the original attraction. Many sources claim that Buddy Baker himself performed this piece. Interestingly, this version is played in the key of Bb minor, rather than the normal A minor.
• Seance Room: Guests pass through the ominous Corridor of Doors (while the foyer organ plays again) and enter Madame Leota's seance room. A weird entourage of instruments float through the room, including a harp, a tambourine, and a trumpet. An organ lays out a warbling foundation for the melody, while the other instruments fade in and out. This is probably the least noticeable use of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in the ride.
• Ballroom: A 90-foot-long mezzanine overlooks the mansion's incredible ballroom, which is swarming with translucent ghosts. On the far left, an ethereal organist (nicknamed "Wolfgang Furlong" by Haunted Mansion fans) seems to have forgotten that death deprived him of his virtuosity. Spirits pour from the pipes of an impressive organ as "Grim Grinning Ghosts" howls through the ballroom, this time as a waltz. This piece makes use of demented and unusual chords, including minor/major sevenths and cluster chords. An unusual turn of events was responsible for this bizarre rendition. Baker originally approached organist Gaylord B. Carter, who had recorded the other organ tracks for the mansion, for this ballroom waltz. But Carter was taking too sensible an approach for Baker's tastes, so he took a transcription of Carter's improvisations to William Sabransky. Sabransky then improvised from Carter's attempts. The result is an otherworldy waltz that manages to convey elegance, kookiness, and morbidity all at once.
• Attic: A phantom pianist was recently added to Disneyland's attic, much like the one in Walt Disney World's mansion's music parlor. This time, however, the pianist is laboring over a grim refrain of the "Wedding March," and not "Grim Grinning Ghosts." In an interesting twist, this Wedding March loop is actually synchronized with the music in the next area. The piece has been transposed into the key of A minor, with chords mimicking those used in "Grim Grinning Ghosts", so that the piano player is playing the melody from "Wedding March" with the right hand, but the "Grim Grinning Ghosts" chord progression with the left hand, allowing the two to come into harmony with one bar and then clash in harsh dissonance the next. As guests leave the attic, the march fades away into the graveyard jamboree.

• Graveyard Jamboree: At long last, X Atencio's lyrics are put to use. A large number of different music loops play throughout the graveyard. Most of them are ghosts singing the lyrics, although a ghoulish band is also playing, and a background loop provides the bass line and rhythm section. One of the more interesting audio tracks playing is a four-part ensemble of harp, trumpet, bagpipe, and flute which were recorded playing a reversed version of the score. This recording is played backwards, so while the melody is accurate to the song, and synchronized with the rest of the tracks, the sound has a particularly jarring quality. All four verses are present, with first two in A minor, the third in Bb minor, and the fourth in B minor. This presentation of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is by far the loudest and most noticeable in the ride. It also sounds the most dated, due to the distinct 1960's flavor of the rhythm section.
• Exit Crypt: Guests exit their Doom Buggies and proceed through the exit crypt, which leads back up to New Orleans Square. A final, a capella, somber refrain can be faintly heard, with different lyrics.

One of the voice talents in the attraction is Thurl Ravenscroft, recognizable from other Disney projects and as the voice of Tony the Tiger. He leads "singing busts" in the graveyard scene with his characteristic voice.

Interestingly, the seasonal "Haunted Mansion Holiday" overlay at the original Anaheim attraction mixes the tune with Danny Elfman's melody lines from The Nightmare Before Christmas together with Jolly Old Saint Nicholas and Jingle Bells.

[edit] Phantom Manor

On April 12, 1992, a new Disney mansion opened to the public at Disneyland Paris. This time, Imagineers named the attraction "Phantom Manor." Based on the original Disneyland ride but adapted to a Wild West theme, Phantom Manor featured a more coherent storyline and an all-new orchestral soundtrack by composer John Debney.

Phantom Manor takes a different approach to the same concept as the Haunted Mansion attractions. The mood is one of corrupted elegance, rather than morbid kookiness. As a result, the soundtrack is different as well. The Mansions feature music that is usually played or sung by characters in the scenery: an insane organist's waltz, a graveyard band jamboree, and so on. The Manor, however, has a full orchestral soundtrack that takes a more cinematic approach. All of the music is either based on or inspired by "Grim Grinning Ghosts."

Debney's lush and passionate score reflects and amplifies the mood of the ride. There is a sense of great beauty gone terribly wrong. The range of dynamic contrast is impressive, from the delicately macabre foyer music to soaring tutti chords in the Phantom Canyon scene. A variety of instrumentations are used. At various moments, guests hear piano, organ, alto flute, a boy's choir, an outrageous jazz band, and a romantic female voice soloist who symbolizes the character of the Bride. All this is in addition to the ordinary orchestral complement.

[edit] The Movie

When Walt Disney Pictures released a Haunted Mansion movie, composer Mark Mancina was asked to write the film's music. Like Phantom Manor's soundtrack, the movie score is orchestral and uses "Grim Grinning Ghosts" frequently. However, Mancina's interpretation of the tune is wildly different from Debney's interpretation for Phantom Manor. The dizzying passion that gives Phantom Manor's score its appeal is entirely absent from the film score. However, Mancina's score offers moments of menacing terror unrivaled in Phantom Manor. He uses "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in two main capacities: for light-hearted background music, and for ominous crescendos of orchestra and organ. In the latter case, Mancina brings a truly awesome gloom to the film.

The undebated highlight of the score (and possibly the movie itself) is the 3-minute-20-second Overture. It quite appropriately begins with an organ softly playing "Grim Grinning Ghosts," much like the music in the attraction's foyer, but in E minor. The 1st violins hovers on a high B, heightening the sense of eeriness. After this opening, Mancina presents an original waltz-like theme that initially seems innocent enough. Solo flute is featured in the melody, with the harpsichord and orchestra providing light harmony. As Mancina develops the theme, it becomes tinged with sinister overtones. A chorus adds some volume to the orchestra's sound while lending a "haunted" feeling. After several minutes of interesting development on the theme, a shrill ascending chromatic scale marks a sudden change of tempo, mood, and instrumentation. A female chorus suddenly shouts harsh syllables over the low brass and 1st violins, while tubular bells chime in the background. The music has become violent, almost demonic in its furious intensity. A huge crescendo gives way to a subito pianissimo. A female soloist in the chorus sings the first four notes of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" over soft, tinkling accompaniment. Without warning, the entire orchestra erupts in seven dissonant chords. And at last, Over a suspended cymbal roll, the overture segues into a final statement of the Haunted Mansion's theme song. In 2007(?) "Grim Grinning Ghost Trains" thundered on the rails of an old steam whistle, more ominous than ever, as the 1st violins quaver between the high B and the Bb below it. The overture ends on a quiet E minor chord.

Other outstanding cues include "The Gates Open," "Entering the House," "Ramsley's Coming," "My Way" and "Going to Heaven." Unfortunately, only the last of these was officially released by Walt Disney Records. The vast majority of the music was never released as a soundtrack. A mere four minutes of the score did make it onto the "Haunted Hits" CD release, which groups "Sara Passes Out," the overture, "Going to Heaven" into one track entitled "Overture from The Haunted Mansion."

[edit] Fan Versions

A popular animated short film was created by Hiya Animation Studios and a number of fan-based videos were created and are viewable on YouTube