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The Haunted Mansion is an action/adventure video game developed in 2003 by High Voltage Software. The game is based on the ride and the movie of the same name.
Plot
Zeke Halloway is a young man searching for a job after the Civil War. Misled by a newspaper advertisement, he decides to employ as a caretaker for a nearby mansion, and as he arrives, is greeted by the six friendly ghosts that cause him to faint. When he awakes, a spirit in a crystal ball named Madame Leota informs him that an evil spirit named Atticus Thorn has trapped 999 souls in the mansion as part of his attempt to take over the Afterlife and should be sent into the Depths of the Afterdeath. Zeke agrees to help them, and is given the Beacon of Souls, a magic lantern that fires bolts of light to fight off evil spirits. Zeke travels around the mansion, freeing shriveled ghosts and collecting legendary "Soul Gems", items that power up the Beacon. Zeke eventually gains a pirate's ring that unlocks a passageway to the Vault of Shadows, Atticus Thorn's secret lair behind a painting in the Foyer. Atticus reveals his plan to take over both the Afterlife and the Land of the Living, and he steals the Beacon of Souls from Zeke. Zeke faces off against Thorn's true form, a giant, worm-like creature, and ends up victorious and is thanked by the friendly ghosts. The Haunted Mansion is finally returned to light, and the 999 spirits are set free. Zeke is employed as caretaker of the estate, and continues to live in harmony with the remaining ghosts.
Setting
A Renaissance influenced eighteenth century mansion. This mansion is located in a bayou nearby New Orleans, Louisiana. The date is the afternoon of October 17, 1879.
Zeke's Story
Ezekiel Halloway is a Louisiana young man desperately searching for work after the Civil War. Zeke grew up as an orphan, living with several caretakers throughout the years and is finally on his own. Zeke always felt lonely but had been used to it due to his parents' deaths. His father had died in the Civil War and his mother had gone missing shortly after. Zeke had to learn to fend for himself- by himself. He'd always dreamed to become a writer and has written much but is stumped on what to write about in his current story. Zeke had always written about thrilling personal experiences yet hasn't had one in quite some time. Upon entering the mansion he discovers he has a story on his hands. That is- should he survive.
Organizations
Throughout the mansion, Zeke uncovers lost entries of the chronicles of Atticus Thorn. As Zeke reads these, he learns that Atticus is the leader of a group entitled the Order of Shadows. The purpose of the Order of Shadows is to find the Beacon of Souls along with the legendary Soul Gems and use its powers to suck souls from the living and use their energy to conquer the Land of the Living as well as the realm of the dead, soon leaving nothing but food for worms.These chronicles date from 1342 to 1867, indicating Thorn's state of undead. Another league is the Brotherhood of Souls, of which Madame Leota joined after being tricked by Thorn into joining the Order of Shadows and then realizing his deception. The purpose of the Brotherhood is to use any passed on soul energy for good and hide the Beacon from Thorn and his Order of Shadows. As mentioned in one of Thorn's chronicles, "The Beacon now travels through the valleys of Spain" the Beacon has been passed through regions of the Brotherhood all throughout the entire world.
Characters
Ezekiel Halloway- nicknamed Zeke. He is an unmarried dreamer who pursued to become a writer. Dee Bradley Baker provided the voice Zeke
Madame Leota- Death by Drowning in Mausoleum while trying to channel spirits. Imprisonment by evil powers of Atticus Thorn and the Order of Shadows
The Duelist's Ghost- Death by Duel in the Wild West
The Organist's Ghost- Crushed by Organ in Ballroom
The Beheaded Knight's Ghost- (Obviously) Death by Decapitation during Renaissance
The Opera Singer's Ghost- Death by "bringing the house down"- literally- at a concert
The Old Lady's Ghost- Death by Poisoned Tea in the Parlor
The Pirate's Ghost- Death by Crew turning against him in the Seven Seas during a hurricane
Atticus Thorn- The main antagonist. Death by Beacon's light. Seeks to destroy everything and contains supernatural powers of which he uses to turn each room in the mansion into dark supernatural puzzles in which Zeke can undo by turning on the lights. Corey Burton provided the voice of Thorn
Atticus' minions and other enemies
Atticus Thorn imprisoned many souls and turned them into mindless, memory-less minions. Several varieties are listed below.
Evil Spirits - Zeke encounters these in every room and they easily shrivel up and hide when the lights are turned on. Seen first in the Great Hall.
Spiders- These small, purple-and-white spiders cause not much harm and can be easily squished if Zeke steps on them. Seen first in the Foyer.
Giant Spiders- These spiders are larger than Zeke, orange and black, and are seen throughout the entire mansion, although not as often as the smaller ones. The also shoot strong webs to take Zeke in and bite him, causing much harm. Seen first crawling outside a window in the Conservatory. Fought first in the Game Room.
Banshee Women- Upon entering the Downstairs Hallway, Zeke sees a beautiful ghost with brown hair covering her face and a faded pink dress. She floats around the corner and then disappears. Zeke then goes into the Kitchen hoping she'd be there and she is. She calls his name and then floats up to him, emitting an awful scream to go with her "Scream" face. Zeke encounters these in almost every room following the Kitchen. Seen first in Kitchen.
Skeleton Warriors- In the Graveyard, they raise up from underground and attack Zeke. They also have Bone-erangs that they throw at him and shield themselves with their coffin doors. Zeke sees them throughout the mansion since. Seen first in Graveyard.
Gargoyles and their sidekicks- In the Mausoleum Battle, Zeke must defeat them. Every time the Gargoyles punch the ground with their fists, they release monkey skeletons that try to attack Zeke. He encounters them in a few rooms after. Seen first in Mausoleum.
Knights- After Zeke turns on the lights in the Trophy Room, a knight comes to life and attacks him. They scream and grunt loudly and try to impale Zeke with their axes at every chance they get. They show up in almost every room after and chase him in the hallways. Seen first in Trophy Room.
Dark Reapers- When the chase scene in the closet of the Children's Room is over, Zeke feels safe. Unfortunately the lights are still off and a similar creature to that of the Grim Reaper busts down the closet door and attacks Zeke. The Dark Reapers make a weird noise when first seen and every subsequent reappearance after turning invisible. They are fought in a few rooms after the Children's Room is cleared, including the Attic, where Zeke gets his 999th soul. Seen first in the Great Hall after Zeke breaks down the barrier and walks through the door. Also seen floating in mid-air outside the windows of the Winter Garden after the lights are turned on. Fought first in Children's Room.
Atticus Thorn and the Worms- Atticus Thorn throws new moves he has learned during the time you haven't found a soul gem. First found in Ballroom. Seen in a few rooms after inside the mansion, including when you get the second round of soul gems. He also has strange Worm creatures helping him when he fights you that emerge from his cloak. At the end, Atticus is revealed to be a giant Worm creature. He can breathe fireballs from his mouth and bite you if you get too close. Plus, the giant gem on his chest can send out a flash and take away your life, depending where he is looking.
Scenes from the game and rooms
Great Hall: The starting room and the training area. The lightswitch is easy to get.
Foyer: There are two staircases leading to the lightswitch that collapse when Zeke steps on them and the only route is through a painting. The small spiders are the enemies first introduced here.
Conservatory: Zeke must activate a piano and climb on books to activate the cello and violin to get to the switch. The Tome of Shadows is first found here.
Game Room: Zeke must defeat a giant spider which is the main enemy and pocket balls in a pool table to get the switch. The first upgrade of the beacon is found here. The duelist is introduced here.
Downstairs Hallway: Zeke encounters here a Banshee girl and nailed doors with clawed hands.
Kitchen: After defeating the banshee ghost which is the enemy introduced in this level, Zeke must make a trail of wine in order to bring light.
Dining Room: The light switch is easy to get to here, but when Zeke activates it, the candles in the chandelier start floating around the room and Zeke must light them to bring light
Maid’s Room: The room acts like a maze and Zeke must find 4 doors leading to the switch.
Ballroom: Zeke uses spider webs here to access the organ where the switch is behind it. Atticus Thorn is first fought here. The second upgrade of the beacon is found here. The Organist's ghost is introduced here.
Winter Garden: Zeke avoids the falling floors here to get the water fountains to the proper gratings
Graveyard: Zeke must activate the singing busts to raise the mausoleum and crypts. The skeleton warriors are the enemies first introduced here.
Mausoleum: Zeke must battle the Gargoyles and sidekicks in 3 minutes.
Pantry: In this room, a portal begins the next battle. This is the second encounter with Atticus Thorn. The third upgrade is found here, The Beheaded Knight's ghost is introduced here.
Upstairs Hallway: The next hallway in the game. It is either accessed in the foyer or in the downstairs hallway.
Trophy Room: The fireballs thrown by the fireplace that Zeke must shield himself with shields are used to light up the room. The knight ghosts are the enemies first introduced here.
Toy Room: Zeke must walk by using the ball to get the switch which is inside the toy box.
Study Room: Zeke must step on the round carpets to make the furnitures lead to the light switch which is above the cupboard.
Sun Room: Zeke must arrange the mirrors to make light and this is the third encounter with Atticus Thorn. The fourth upgrade is here. The Opera singer's ghost is introduced here.
Museum: Zeke must make it through a chessboard like game without being placed in front of a knight.
Children’s Room: Zeke must survive while being helped by Madame Leota in the chase in the closet. The enemy first introduced here is the Dark Reaper.
Sitting Room: Zeke must chase the light switch to its place.
Parlor: Zeke must step on the circular carpets to arrange the walls leading to the switch. This is the fourth encounter with Atticus Thorn. The final beacon upgrade is found here. The Old Lady's ghost is introduced here.
Gallery: Zeke must change the evil paintings to good to turn the lights on.
Observatory: This is similar to the Super Mario Games. Zeke must jump from every obstacle to gain access to the light switch
Attic: The enemies introduced in all levels are finally fought here. The cranks Zeke turns brings light to the room. The Pirate's ghost who is introduced here gives Zeke a pirate ring which is the key to the Vault of Shadows
The Stretching room: This serves as the entrance to the Vault of Shadows.
The Vault of Shadows: The final level of the game. Zeke must defeat Atticus Thorn twice who is a gigantic insect like creature. After that, The next area is Hell where Atticus, after being defeated submerges in flames.
Trivia
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- Many famous scenes from the Haunted Mansion (Ballroom/Dining Room, Stretching Room, Endless Hallway and the Attic, just to name a few) appear in the game.
- Some characters in the Haunted Mansion ride appear as well in the game. They include Madame Leota from the Seance Circle and her tombstone (Walt Disney World only), the Beheaded Knight's Ghost, the Organist, the Opera Singer's Ghost, the Duelist's Ghost, the Bride's Ghost, the Hitchhiking Ghosts, the Singing Busts, and many more.
- The song Grim Grinning Ghosts from the ride The Haunted Mansion is featured in the credits of the game.
- Based on both the Haunted Mansion Rides and Movie.
- Zeke appears to be modeled somewhat after the Caretaker seen in the rides.