Welcome, foolish mortals, to this UNofficial page about Disney's Haunted Mansion's ghostly references.

An academic study of 
The Seance Circle
-the significances of Madame Leota's Chamber-
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All of these references are from the script of the Seance Circle:

"Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween..."

Goblins are small mischief-making spirits.  They usually like children and sometimes bring them small gifts.  Goblins rarely like adults, and are known to toss furniture around and generally cause problems for them.  

The word "goblin" has been used at least since the mid-17th century, and comes from the French, gobelin, which may in turn come from the Latin or Greek words which mean "rogue."  

A hobgoblin is a small spirit like a goblin, but usually not malicious.

There is only one known way to be free of a goblin:  At night, toss flax seeds all over the kitchen floor.  The goblin will feel obliged to pick up every seed.  This will take him all night.  After a few nights of this, the goblin will become exhausted and move elsewhere.

return to the script

The word ghoul has been used in the English language since the middle of the 18th century, and perhaps earlier.  It refers to a grave-robbing spirit from Mohammedan countries.  Ghouls are a species of djinn.  They usually live in wilderness areas, or around cemeteries.  People rarely encounter them.

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Halloween, also known as All Hallows' Eve, is the last night of October.  Traditionally, it is Samhain (pronounced "sohh-whenn"), the Celtic New Year.  On Samhain, or Halloween, the veil between the worlds of humans and spirits becomes very thin.  Spirits can enter our world and manifest when they cannot at any other time of year.  It is the most "haunted" night.  

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"Awaken the spirits with your tambourine..."

By the mid-1850's, mediums had advanced far beyond just rapping on tables.  One of the most famous and successful mediums, Scotsman D. D. Home, had "spirits" play an accordion during seances.  Tambourines, drums, even trombones were used to convince an audience that the spirits were present.

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