STORY:

“There’s a legend at Disneyland that the Haunted Mansion ride is actually haunted. People say that sometimes people will sneak ashes of their loved ones into the park, then get on the Haunted Mansion, and while on the ride dump the ashes. I think the legend said it started with a couple who poured their child’s ashes because their kid always wanted to go to Disneyland. And the kid’s spirit just haunts the ride now along with the other people’s ashes.”

CONTEXT:

The informant is very involved in Disneyland news and has heard many legends about the park. She does not know exactly who she heard this legend from, but says it must have been from a TikTok account that she follows.

ANALYSIS:

Theme park hauntings are a fairly common urban legend. These locations are heavily associated with children and innocence, which drives many people to search for some hidden dark history within the park. This story is unique because often the park is haunted due to some unfortunate accident in its past, however in this case the park is being haunted by a child who never got to go there. This could be seen as a type of injustice haunting where the child gets to correct the injustice of being unable to go to Disneyland by remaining at the park after death. It is also interesting that the center of the haunting is the Haunted Mansion ride. The ride is seen as having some spiritual significance due to its subject matter, so it makes sense that a grieving parent would want to put their child’s ashes there.