Thanks to Harry, I received an email from Guillermo Del Toro yesterday letting me know that he is a big fan of Doombuggies.com! I’ve invited him to come and share his some of his collection here on Haunted Mansion Collectibles! Please leave some love here in the comments so he knows how much we would enjoy a sneak peek into his collection!!

It’s today, playful spooks!! I’ll be there. Will you?

When Disneyland was celebrating its 50th Anniversary, the Disney Catalog came out with some wicked cool Haunted Mansion items, including this limited edition pin collection.

Now, I’m not a pin collector, but lenticulars have a very high ranking in this house, so the fact that these were pins quickly became outranked by their cool lenticular status! Honestly, I’m very impressed with these mini-lents….

Now I was all excited to use a fancy-schmancy mouse roll over effect to show you the lenticular pins, but after spending a day trying to figure out why the code wouldn’t work, I learned that WordPress hosted blogs don’t allow mouse roll over effects. Boo! (If I’m incorrect, Internet, pray tell!)

Here’s the Screaming Pop-Up Ghost

Knight on Horseback

Here is my favorite pin. Madame Leota, of course! “Creepies, crawlies….”

Medusa…she’s pretty cool, too!

and finally…the Hat Box Ghost with Crown

Jody Daily, Disney Artist, talked with DoomBuggies.com about the pin set:
“The hatbox ghost actually would have 4 stages (head, eyes, nothing, and eyes again fading back to the head). Leota has three different expressions (closed eyes & mouth, open eyes/closed mouth, open eyes and mouth). The other three pins have only two stages, but on the screaming “pop-up” head portrait we tried to line up their eyes exactly so that the eyes will stay the same. GEEKY!”

These little suckers were difficult to photograph, so I apologize for the quality of the images. Video would be nice, and perhaps I’ll update this post with a video soon. Thanks to my daughter for loaning me her Webkins bat for displaying!

Disneyland Haunted Mansion Pin Collection
Exclusive to Disney Catalog
Edition Size 1500
Pins range in size from 1.5 to 2 inches
Original Price: $44.95
Released April 7th, 2006

Hey, Ghost-fans…

Now playing on the Mousetalgia podcast (Episode 44): A never-before-heard interview with legendary Disney voice Thurl Ravenscroft in honor of this week’s CD re-release of “The Story and Song from the Haunted Mansion” record album. Subscribe at iTunes or listen at http://www.Mousetalgia.com.

RIP.

** Get DoomBuggies’ official Guide to the Secrets of Disney’s Haunted Mansion: Just $14.95! **

Happy Halloween, Foolish Mortals!

I hope that this tricky season is treating you well! Having barely recovered from the numerous 40th anniversary celebrations for the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, DoomBuggies has another special surprise for you this week: a new Mousetalgia podcast featuring an interview with Kat Cressida, the voice of the Black Widow Bride in the Haunted Mansion attic. (Mousetalgia is the official podcast of DoomBuggies.com.) Kat talks to us about getting the role, the history of the Mansion, and the secrets inside the attic. We also discuss all the Halloween happenings at Disneyland park – so for some spooktacular fun, you won’t want to miss this episode! You can either go to iTunes and search for Mousetalgia (this week’s episode is 52), or you can listen directly from:

http://www.mousetalgia.com

Here’s another spectacular treat for you: recording artist Keith LuBrant has recorded a phantastic rendition of “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” and he’s offering it this season as a free download! Grab it while you can:

http://www.lubrant.com/ggg/

If you missed out on all the excitement over the past few months as Disneyland celebrated the Haunted Mansion’s 40th anniversary, don’t hesitate to join the DoomBuggies.com forums and read all about the recent happenings, art releases and events. Rumors are flying about the Hatbox Ghost’s eminent return to the Mansion – so be sure to join our forums for the latest news and reports.

http://disneyshauntedmansion.yuku.com

You can also join us on facebook, to keep up with all the day-to-day Haunted Mansion news and features. Become a fan today:

http://www.facebook.com/doombuggies

That’s all for now… have a safe and scary Halloween!

-The Chef

** Get DoomBuggies’ official Guide to the Secrets of Disney’s Haunted Mansion: Just $14.95! **

As many of you are no doubt aware, Disney voice actor Dallas McKennon passed away last week at the age of 89. McKennon had a long and successful career, providing voices for all sorts of Disney projects, including records, films, and the theme parks.

As Haunted Mansion fans, you might take particular note of the fact that McKennon created many of the sounds and voices in the Haunted Mansion, including the whimpering dog at the caretaker’s side, and the long, howling scream heard in the stretching rooms.

This week (July 20-26, 2009 – Episode 37), the Mousetalgia.com podcast contains an exclusive interview with Dal McKennon from 2003 that was never broadcast. It provides some wonderful insight into the life of an often-overlooked Disney star. We also discuss the current Haunted Mansion “O-pin House” events going on at Disneyland – so give it a listen!

http://www.mousetalgia.com

or find us on iTunes and subscribe there.

RIP,

-The Chef

** Get DoomBuggies’ official Guide to the Secrets of Disney’s Haunted Mansion: Just $14.95! **

On August 9, 2009, the Haunted Mansion celebrated its 40th b-day in style, with an artist signing at the Disneyana store in the morning by Shag, and a gathering of DoomBugs (above) to celebrate the Mansion’s birthday properly. On the evening of August 8, a private “Swinging Wake” was held at Disney’s Paradise Pier to honor Shag for his new release of 13 frightful Haunted Mansion images, featuring an open “Shagtini” bar, an undertaker jazz band, and endless sweets and hors d’oeuvres. But the real star of the weekend was the Haunted Mansion, which was open at midnight Aug. 9th to a select family for the first-ever sleepover in the manse. A live webcam of the entire night showed some mysterious goings-on… including a serenade by the Hitchhiking Ghosts themselves! Amazing!

Be sure to listen to this week’s Mousetalgia podcast for a special Haunted Mansion birthday episode!

RIP.

** Get DoomBuggies’ official Guide to the Secrets of Disney’s Haunted Mansion: Just $14.95! **

DoomBuggies presents The Bridal Bash Banquet at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 from 3 to 6 p.m.

As the 40th Anniversary of our favorite haunted domicile draws near, we at Doombuggies decided that one party just wasn’t enough. Since all of us here are part of one huge haunted family – and since families always help with weddings – we figured it was only appropriate to throw a Big Bridal Bash to help celebrate dear Constance’s betrothal.

So you are all cordially invited to attend a special celebration on Tuesday September 8th, 2009!

Our Bash will feature special guests, a live emcee (or a dead one if he’ll work cheap enough), photo ops, and a killer buffet that will leave you dying for more. This will be THE social event of the season. If you’re heading out to the HM 40th Anniversary Celebration at Disneyland (or even if you’re not), make plans to drop by and join the fun at this swinging shower. And we’ve planned around the official Disney events so you won’t miss a thing. The New Orleans-themed Jazz Kitchen is just steps away from Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel, in the Downtown Disney District.

This event is going to be a scream, so send your RSVP today and help us redefine “wedding party!” Space is limited and tickets will sell quickly, so start making final arrangements now.

Tickets are $49.99, and are available by sending payment via Paypal.com to chefmayhem@aol.com. The deadline to purchase tickets is June 1, 2009. We hope to see you there!

RIP.

** Get DoomBuggies’ official Guide to the Secrets of Disney’s Haunted Mansion: Just $14.95! **

Voice actor Dallas (“Dal”) McKennon has passed away at 89, just shy of his 90th birthday, which would have been July 19. While best known for his extensive work as a voice for various animated features, McKennon also voiced numerous voice tracks used in the Disney theme parks – most notably his warning for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, in which he exclaimed “Hold on to your hats and glasses… this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!”

Mansion afficienados might note that McKennon also voiced the deaf old man in the Haunted Mansion’s graveyard, who, unable to decipher the mummy muttering through his bandages, has been doomed to an eternity of croaking out “What’s that? Louder!” Additionally, McKennon claimed that he was also the voice behind the whimpering dog outside the graveyard gates, as well as a few assorted moans, groans and wails from inside the attraction – including the famously horrifying scream inside of the stretching gallery.

“Since he does some of the Haunted Mansion screams, his fans may be interested to know that he can be seen doing that on-screen in the schlocky Vincent Price movie “The Tingler,” if they remember that one,” recalled Tim Hollis, author of Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records. “Toward the end of the picture, Dal appears as a projectionist in a movie theater, with a giant rubber grubworm locked around his throat. Dal then lets loose with practically the same scream you hear in the Haunted Mansion stretch room.”

RIP, Dal.

Read the full article here.

** Get DoomBuggies’ official Guide to the Secrets of Disney’s Haunted Mansion: Just $14.95! **