- “A composer of renown and note here reposes, his melodies fade as he now decomposes; He's gone from this world of trouble and strife, but a touch of your hand brings his music to life”
- ―The Organist's epitaph
The Organist also known as the Composer, Herr Victor Geist and Ravenscroft is a character from the Haunted Mansion.
History[]
Background[]
This was an organist in the 19th century whose ghost became a spirit in the Haunted Mansion, playing the pipe-organ in its ballroom which spirits emerged from.
Development history[]
The organist was designed by Marc Davis and sculpted by Blaine Gibson, while inspired by pipe organs' role in horror media and unused concepts for Rolly Crump's Museum of the Weird where a skeleton would have played a pipe-organ. The pipe-organ used for the character was a repurposed prop from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) where it was used to represent Captain Nemo's organ aboard the Nautilus and where the main change made was replacing the mirror with a bat shaped stand for the organist's sheet-music.
The organ music playing outside and in the foyer/queue is being played backwards by organist Gaylord Carter to reverse the air noises coming from the pipes and sound more unnatural. In the actual ballroom scene, the organ music was provided by William Sabransky who played it with wild improvisations to still sound unnatural.
In 2011, an interactive, "Composer's Crypt" was added to the queue of Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion, representing the burial-place of the organist. One side of the crypt had instruments resembling those of the Phantom Five seen in the mansion's graveyard, while the other side has odd instruments mostly based on Rolly Crump's concept-art for the Museum of the Weird. This crypt also featured the name, "Ravenscroft" on the section of the crypt modelled after the pipe-organ. This was supposedly meant to be a brand-name (located on a sculpture on an otherwise nameless crypt) of the (decoratively sculpted) pipe organ, and was a tribute to singer Thurl Ravenscroft who portrayed Uncle Theodore in the Haunted Mansion.
In 2016, the organist had a major role in the, "Ghost Post" where he was given the new name of, "Herr Victor Geist" (a play on the ghost category of Poltergeist), as well as a German accent. This name has since been more commonly used in merchandise and stories based on the Haunted Mansion.
Appearances[]
Ghost Post[]
Herr Victor Geist was a character who communicated with guests in this interactive attraction.
Haunted Mansion[]
The pipe organ can be heard playing from the queue and the foyer. He physically appears in the foyer where, "Organ Banshees" emerge from the pipes of his organ. In Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion, his crypt appears in the queue and touching the instruments on the side cause them to play Grim Grinning Ghosts. At the end of the crypt is a sculpture of a pipe organ, and touching its keys cause it to play music and spray.
Haunted Mansion Holiday[]
The organist plays an organ rendition of Kidnap the Sandy Claws. His candelabras are replaced by Jack O'Lanterns in Santa hats while a Christmas present is placed on the reading board.
Trivia[]
- On the Composer's crypt is a carving of a one eyed cat. This references the one eyed black cat who was a major antagonist in an unused script for the Haunted Mansion, while based on the one eyed black cat, "Pluto" from Edgar Allan Poe's gothic horror story, The Black Cat (1843).
- On the composer's crypt is a sculpt of the Raven seen throughout the ride, whose appearance resembles Diablo from Sleeping Beauty.