- “Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat, call in the spirits, wherever they’re at! Rap on a table — it’s time to respond. Send us a message from somewhere beyond… Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine! Creepies and crawlies, toads in a pond, let there be music from regions beyond. Wizards and witches, wherever you dwell, give us a hint, by ringing a bell.”
- ―Madame Leota's incantation
Madame Leota is a character from the Haunted Mansion, she is a crystal ball that can tell the future. She is portrayed and named for imagineer Leota Toombs while voiced by Eleanor Audley.
History[]
Background[]
Madame Leota's history appears to change depending on the park and version of the Haunted Mansion.
Disneyland[]
Madame Leota was a Romani, self-described "World Renowned Psychic" presumably active in the 18th and/or 19th century.[1] Madame Leota was known to operate in the city of New Orleans, where she used a Vardo and operated out of the store "Madame Leota's Somewhere Beyond" in New Orleans Square where she practiced clairvoyance and witchcraft.
Madame Leota appeared to be close with Master Gracey and his family which owned the nearby mansion, where she had her own séance chamber. Madame Leota appeared to have shared a space in the mansion's garden with Master Gracey. Madame Leota also had a dedicated séance room within the mansion itself. Madame Leota died of unknown causes and went on to be a ghost materializing within her crystal ball within the Haunted Mansion.
Madame Leota's soul would perform incantations, materializing spirits as a service for the Haunted Mansion's "Ghost Host" and undead populace. The mansion's raven accompanied her for at least some of these incantations. Madame Leota appears to have some connection to the mansion's "Ghostess", nicknamed "Little Leota" as she looked identical to Madame Leota.
Disneyland Paris[]
Madame Leota was a clairvoyant who was known to operate in the mining town of Thunder Mesa, Arizona during the 19th century. Leota had some connection to the evil Henry Ravenswood, owner of the Big Thunder Mining Company.
After an earthquake killed Henry Ravenswood and his wife, Martha, as well as the doomed marriage of their daughter Melanie, Leota would appear as a spirit within the séance chamber of Ravenswood Manor. Here, Leota materialized spirits and demons which aided in forever terrorizing the young would-be bride, apparently in league with her evil father. Advertisements seemed to reference Leota's business remaining active into the 1880s/1890s.
Magic Kingdom[]
Madame Leota was a witch who fled persecution from Salem, Massachusetts during the infamous witch trials of 1692-1693. Leota became a supernatural shopkeep in an unidentified village within the Hudson River Valley of upstate New York, with her business "Memento Mori". Madame Leota also appeared to be of close relation to the Gracey family which owned the nearby mansion.
When Leota died, she was buried in the family-plot of Gracey Manor. Madame Leota's soul would perform incantations, materializing spirits as a service for the Haunted Mansion's "Ghost Host" and undead populace. The mansion's raven accompanied her for at least some of these incantations. Madame Leota appears to have some connection to the mansion's "Ghostess", nicknamed "Little Leota" as she looked identical to Madame Leota.
Development history[]
The clairvoyant character was planned throughout many stages of the Haunted Mansion's development. Early tests for the technology used to portray her utilized the face of Imagineer Leota Toombs, leading to imagineers keeping Leota as the face and naming the character after her. The character was voiced by Eleanor Audley, the same voice actress as Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty and Lady Tremaine in Cinderella.
The Phantom Manor version of the character is performed by neither Audley nor Toombs, but rather Oona Lind. During the seasonal Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay, she is portrayed by Leota Toombs' Imagineer daughter, Kim Irvine while voiced by Susan Blakesee who also voices modern appearances of Maleficent and Lady Tremaine.
Madame Leota's crystal ball received an update, allowing her to float above the table.
In 2014, the Walt Disney World store "Memento Mori" replaced Yankee Trader, themed to Madame Leota and connected to her Liberty Square backstory. In 2025, a Madame Leota themed store was created in Disneyland's New Orleans Square, along with a portion of Madame Leota's garden in the expanded queue.
Appearances[]
Disneyland[]
Disney California Adventure[]
Super Star Limo[]
Madame Leota made a cameo in this infamous extinct attraction, summoning Hollywood agents.
New Orleans Square[]
There used to be a merchandise stand for the Haunted Mansion themed to Madame Leota's vardo.
The Haunted Mansion[]
Madame Leota originates from this attraction. She appears in a crystal ball within the séance room, reciting an incantation to materialize the ghosts of the Haunted Mansion. A section of the outdoor queue is themed to having been part of the garden used by Madame Leota in life.
Haunted Mansion Holiday[]
In this seasonal overlay, Leota appears in a large crystal ornament and recites "The thirteen days of Christmas" as tarot cards with characters from the Nightmare Before Christmas float around her.
Madame Leota's Somewhere Beyond[]
This store is themed to having been run by Madame Leota in life.
Tomorrowland[]
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue[]
Madame Leota makes a cameo in the queue, within a piece of luggage passing by G2-9T in Spaceport THX1138.
Disneyland Paris[]
Frontierland[]
Phantom Manor[]
An alternative version of Madame Leota appears within the séance chamber. During refurbishments, advertisements for her services have appeared on construction walls.
Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger[]
The Phantom Manor version of Leota's services are advertised in this newspaper.
Walt Disney World[]
Disney's Hollywood Studios[]
Star Tours: The Adventures Continue[]
Madame Leota makes a cameo in the queue, within a piece of luggage passing by G2-9T in Spaceport THX1138.
Disney Springs[]
Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail[]
Magic Kingdom[]
Liberty Square[]
The Haunted Mansion[]
Madame Leota originates from this attraction. She appears in a crystal ball within the séance room, reciting an incantation to materialize the ghosts of the Haunted Mansion. In the queue, her tombstone appears near the entrance to the foyer. On the tombstone is a sculpture of Leota's face, which sometimes opens her eyes to peer at guests before shutting them.
Memento Mori[]
This store is themed to having been run by Madame Leota in life. Her face appears on the signage and on cast-member brooches. Within, there is a portrait of Madame Leota as a mortal, and her face will sometimes appear within the mirror.
Main Street U.S.A.[]
Town Square Theater[]
There is a green crystal ball coming from, "Leota" Crystals. It is model 1969, referencing the Haunted Mansion's opening date in Disneyland.[2]
Tokyo Disneyland[]
Trivia[]
- Madame Leota's tombstone makes a brief cameo in the third act of the Princess and the Frog.
- A trumpet in the séance room has, "X" on it, tributing imagineer X. Atencio.
- Madame Leota's spell book contains the spell, "Kree Kruh Vergo Gaba Kalto Kree", a spell from the 1968 Disney comedy Blackbeard's Ghost where it was a spell of Blackbeard's tenth wife Aldetha Teach, used to summon Blackbeard's ghost from limbo.
- The Grim Reaper in Leota's spell book has the Leering Head design used for the Hatbox Ghost and Hitchhiking Ghost, Ezra.
- Leota's store "Memento Mori" takes its name from a Latin expression meaning "Remember you will die", though the word "Memento" here being used as a synonym for souvenir.
- Madame Leota's vardo took some influence from unused concepts for Rolly Crump's Museum of the Weird.
Gallery[]
