Phantom Manor is an attraction located in Frontierland within Disneyland Paris. It first opened its doors in 1992 and is inspired by the Haunted Mansion attraction in Disney parks in the United States.
The attraction tells the story of the Ravenswood family, who built a large Victorian-style mansion in the mountains of Thunder Mesa, a small mining town in Louisiana.
The head of the family, Henry Ravenswood, owned the mine located opposite his mansion, within the Big Thunder mountains. Despite the Indian legend, which tells that the mine is inhabited by the Thunderbird, an ancient deity guarding a fabulous treasure, Mr. Ravenswood decided to exploit it to profit from these valuable resources.
It wasn’t until 1860, after amassing wealth, that the story took a tragic turn for the family. Melanie, the daughter of the Ravenswood couple, fell in love with a miner from the Big Thunder Mining Company. The young couple, wishing to leave town to live their lives peacefully, decided to marry, but this angered Mr. Ravenswood, who believed his daughter deserved better than just a miner.
The curse of the Thunderbird
On the eve of the wedding, after a shadow appeared in the sky, a terrible earthquake struck the town of Thunder Mesa, reducing most of the town to dust and killing the parents of the young bride. Devastated, the young Melanie decided nevertheless to proceed with the ceremony, but it was too late; a shadow had already taken possession of the mansion.
A somber ceremony
On the big day, once all the preparations were done, Melanie went to the altar in her beautiful long white gown, to wait for her future husband. But as the hours passed, and despite the wait, the groom never showed up.
Before leaving the mansion, the guests began to say that the disappearance of the young miner was the work of Mr. Ravenswood, returned from the dead.
Consumed by grief and sorrow, poor Melanie lost her mind and never left the mansion, imprisoned by the ghost of her father, so that she could never marry, neither her beloved, nor anyone else.
A wedding that will never take place
Years passed, and Melanie was courted several times by different suitors. But strangely, despite their advances, all of them died mysteriously, leaving no trace.
Now, years have passed, and the inhabitants of Thunder Mesa sometimes claim to see the spirit of Melanie, in her wedding gown, appearing at the windows of the mansion. So don’t hesitate to take a walk around the property, visit the family cemetery, but be careful, you never know what you might find there…
