Grim Grinning Ghosts
Encyclopedia
"Grim Grinning Ghosts" is the theme song for the Haunted Mansion
attractions at Disney theme parks. It was composed by Buddy Baker
, with lyrics written by X Atencio. Its melody has been adapted for numerous uses since its composition in the late 1960s.
of A minor, with lyrics by Disney legend Xavier "X" Atencio. Different variations use 4/4 or 3/4 for the meter
. The following chord progression
is used for all versions: Am, B7, Am, B, Am, F7, Am, F75, Am, E7, Am. Typically, each chord lasts for two beats of 4/4 or three beats of 3/4. This underlying chord progression provides a macabre mood for the Haunted Mansion attractions. The song modulates to B-flat minor thus: Am, E7, F7, Bm and on to B-minor via Bm, F7 and F7. The melody then modulates back to A-minor after repeating a dissonant chord six times. When recording the song, the organist actually played the song backwards to achieve the discord that the composer intended. The organ part that can be heard in the song is that tune played forwards.
The title comes from William Shakespeare
's poem Venus and Adonis
:
. Speakers disguised within the sets allow the music to fade in and out as guests pass through the different areas. The following variations of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" can be heard in these attractions.
One of the voice talents in the attraction is Thurl Ravenscroft
, who was recognizable from other Disney projects, the annual Chuck Jones
/Dr. Seuss
Christmas special How The Grinch Stole Christmas and as the voice of Tony the Tiger
. He leads "singing busts" in the graveyard scene with his characteristic voice. A projected film loop is used to animate the busts, with Ravenscroft and the other vocalists appearing as "themselves". The Ravenscroft bust is often misidentified as being an image of Walt Disney himself. The other four voices of the busts are Jay Meyer, Chuck Schroeder, Verne Rowe, and Bob Ebright.
Grim Grinning Ghosts has been covered by the Canadian rock group Barenaked Ladies
, and most recently in live concerts by Weird Al Yankovic as part of his ever-extending "Yoda Chant". A variation of this song is also used at Disney World's Magic Kingdom
HalloWishes
fireworks show and Disneyland's Halloween Screams
fireworks show. It's also used in parades at Disneyland Paris Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland
during the Halloween season.
The seasonal "Haunted Mansion Holiday" overlay at the original Anaheim attraction mixes the tune with Danny Elfman's
melody lines from The Nightmare Before Christmas
together with Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
and Jingle Bells
. One of the most prominent instances of this is a straight orchestral statement of the "Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize" melody line that plays at the end of the cue for the stretching room.
, Big Thunder Mountain
and Thunder Mesa, Phantom Manor featured a more coherent storyline and an all-new orchestral soundtrack by composer John Debney
.
Phantom Manor takes a different approach to the same concept as the Haunted Mansion attractions. The intended mood is one of corrupted elegance, rather than morbid kookiness. As a result, the soundtrack is different as well. The regular Haunted Mansion attractions feature music that is usually played or sung by characters in the scenery: an organist's waltz, a graveyard band jamboree, and so on. Phantom Manor, however, has a full orchestral soundtrack that takes a more cinematic approach, although all of the music is based on "Grim Grinning Ghosts." A variety of instrumentations are used. At various moments, guests hear piano, organ, alto flute, a boy's choir, a jazz band, and a female voice soloist who symbolizes the character of Melanie Ravenswood, all in addition to the ordinary orchestral complement.
released a Haunted Mansion movie, composer Mark Mancina
was asked to write the film's music. Like Phantom Manor's soundtrack, the movie score is orchestral and uses "Grim Grinning Ghosts" frequently. However, Mancina used "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in somewhat different ways from Debney, focusing more on relatively light-hearted background music and ominous crescendos of orchestra and organ than on waltz-like passion. Cues such as the film's overture allowed Mancina to work with both "Grim Grinning Ghosts" and a theme of his own invention. A scene in the mansion's graveyard also features the attraction's singing busts, whose musical selections include a few lines from the song. The vast majority of the film's music, though, was never officially released as a soundtrack, though copies of a complete album given to staff and orchestra members can occasionally be found for sale. Four minutes of the score did make it onto the "Haunted Hits" CD release, which groups "Sara Passes Out," the overture, and "Going to Heaven" into one track entitled "Overture from The Haunted Mansion." However, none of the orchestral and/or organ statements of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" are heard on this album.
in the Toy Box mode. In the Sid's Haunted House level, after clearing the first room, the song plays in a continuous loop until clearing the last room.
Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. A significantly re-imagined incarnation of the ride, known as Phantom Manor, is located in Disneyland Paris...
attractions at Disney theme parks. It was composed by Buddy Baker
Buddy Baker (composer)
Norman "Buddy" Baker was an American composer who scored many of Walt Disney's films, such as The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Shaggy D.A., The Million Dollar Duck and The Fox and the Hound.Baker was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, and got his degree in...
, with lyrics written by X Atencio. Its melody has been adapted for numerous uses since its composition in the late 1960s.
General overview
"Grim Grinning Ghosts" features Buddy Baker's melody, usually in the keyKey (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of A minor, with lyrics by Disney legend Xavier "X" Atencio. Different variations use 4/4 or 3/4 for the meter
Metre (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
. The following chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
is used for all versions: Am, B7, Am, B, Am, F7, Am, F75, Am, E7, Am. Typically, each chord lasts for two beats of 4/4 or three beats of 3/4. This underlying chord progression provides a macabre mood for the Haunted Mansion attractions. The song modulates to B-flat minor thus: Am, E7, F7, Bm and on to B-minor via Bm, F7 and F7. The melody then modulates back to A-minor after repeating a dissonant chord six times. When recording the song, the organist actually played the song backwards to achieve the discord that the composer intended. The organ part that can be heard in the song is that tune played forwards.
The title comes from William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's poem Venus and Adonis
Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare poem)
Venus and Adonis is a poem by William Shakespeare, written in 1592–1593, with a plot based on passages from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is a complex, kaleidoscopic work, using constantly shifting tone and perspective to present contrasting views of the nature of love.-Publication:Venus and Adonis was...
:
- Look, how the world’s poor people are amaz’d
- At apparitions, signs, and prodigies,
- Whereon with fearful eyes they long have gaz’d,
- Infusing them with dreadful prophecies;
- So she at these sad sighs draws up her breath,
- And, sighing it again, exclaims on Death.
- ‘Hard-favour’d tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean,
- Hateful divorce of love,’—thus chides she Death,—
- ‘Grim-grinning ghost, earth’s worm, what dost thou mean
- To stifle beauty and to steal his breath,
- Who when he liv’d, his breath and beauty set
- Gloss on the rose, smell to the violet?
Haunted Mansion
Many different music loops are used throughout the Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo DisneylandTokyo Disneyland
is a 115 acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to be built outside of the United States and opened on April 15, 1983...
. Speakers disguised within the sets allow the music to fade in and out as guests pass through the different areas. The following variations of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" can be heard in these attractions.
- Entrance Foyer: As guests enter the dimly-lit foyer, a distant organ can be heard. "Grim Grinning Ghosts," played in the slow cadence of a funeral dirge, rumbles through the mansion. This simple arrangement is intended to set the spooky tone for the attraction. It features melody and bass line on a Robert MortonRobert Morton Organ CompanyThe Robert Morton Organ Company was a producer of theater pipe organs and church organs, located in Van Nuys, California. Robert Morton was the number two volume producer of theatre organs, building approximately half as many organs as the industry leader Wurlitzer...
theater organ and an almost inaudible countermelody on tubular bellTubular bellTubular bells are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal tube, 30–38 mm in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Its standard range is from C4-F5, though many professional instruments reach G5 . Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are a smaller...
s. - Loading Area: Guests leave the "stretching room" and proceed down a hall of morphing portraits. One of the ride's most unconventional musical selections plays in the background. An alto fluteAlto fluteThe alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range...
plays a low rendition of Baker's composition, with tubular bells doubling the melody. There is also a wind-like sound effect that follows the pitches of the song. - Piano Parlor: In the Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland versions, guests pass by a decrepit music parlor. A shadowy phantom sits at the piano, playing "Grim Grinning Ghosts" as block chords with heavy rubato. This rendition isn't heard in the original Disneyland mansion, but it was recorded during the production of the original attraction. Many sources claim that Buddy Baker himself performed this piece.
- Seance Room: Guests pass through the ominous Corridor of Doors (while the foyer organ plays again) and enter Madame Leota's seance room. A variety of instruments float through the room, including a harp, a tambourine, and a trumpet. The song's melody hums softly on organ in the background, while the other instruments fade in and out.
- Ballroom: A 90 feet (27.4 m)-long mezzanine overlooks the mansion's ballroom, which is swarming with translucent ghosts. On the far left, spirits pour from the pipes of an organ prop as "Grim Grinning Ghosts" howls through the ballroom, this time as a waltzWaltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
. This piece makes use of unusual chords, including minor/major sevenths and cluster chords. Baker originally approached organist Gaylord B. Carter, who had recorded the other organ tracks for the mansion, for this ballroom waltz. But Carter was taking too sensible an approach for Baker's tastes, so he took a transcription of Carter's improvisations to William Sabransky. Sabransky then improvised from Carter's attempts. - Attic: A phantom pianist, similar to the one in the Walt Disney World piano parlor, is seen. He is laboring over a grim refrain of Richard WagnerRichard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's "Bridal ChorusBridal ChorusThe "Bridal Chorus" "Treulich geführt", from the 1850 opera Lohengrin, by German composer Richard Wagner, is a march played for the bride's entrance at many formal weddings throughout the Western world...
" instead of "Grim Grinning Ghosts." This music loop, which was added to the Disneyland attraction several decades after it opened, is actually synchronized with the music in the next area. The piece has been transposed into the keys of A minor, A♭ minor, and B minor, with the chords and key changes mimicking those used in "Grim Grinning Ghosts." The piece's structure has also been modified to integrate seamlessly with the graveyard jamboree, which becomes more and more audible as the guests leave the attic.
- Graveyard Jamboree: X Atencio's lyrics are first heard in the graveyard scene. A large number of different music loops play throughout area. Most of them are ghosts singing the lyrics over a background loop that provides the 1960s style bass line and rhythm section. One of the tracks features a harp, trumpet, oboe, flute, and set of stones. All four verses are present, with first two in A minor, the third in B♭ minor, and the fourth in B minor. This presentation of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is by far the loudest and most noticeable in the ride. The broken bust features Thurl Ravenscroft, who also sang "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch."
- Exit Crypt: Guests exit their Doom Buggies and proceed through the exit crypt, which leads back up to New Orleans SquareNew Orleans SquareNew Orleans Square is a themed land found exclusively at Disneyland, though a similarly themed area can be found within Tokyo Disneyland's Adventureland. Based on 19th-century New Orleans, it was the first new land to be added to Disneyland after the park's opening. The land was opened to the...
. A final, somber a capella refrain can be faintly heard with different lyrics.
One of the voice talents in the attraction is Thurl Ravenscroft
Thurl Ravenscroft
Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft was an American voice actor and singer best known as the deep voice behind Tony the Tiger's "They're grrreat!" in Frosted Flakes television commercials for more than five decades. Ravenscroft was also known, however uncredited, as the vocalist for the song "You're a Mean...
, who was recognizable from other Disney projects, the annual Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
/Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
Christmas special How The Grinch Stole Christmas and as the voice of Tony the Tiger
Tony the Tiger
Tony the Tiger is the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, appearing on its packaging and advertising. More recently, Tony has also become the mascot for Tony's Cinnamon Krunchers and Tiger Power...
. He leads "singing busts" in the graveyard scene with his characteristic voice. A projected film loop is used to animate the busts, with Ravenscroft and the other vocalists appearing as "themselves". The Ravenscroft bust is often misidentified as being an image of Walt Disney himself. The other four voices of the busts are Jay Meyer, Chuck Schroeder, Verne Rowe, and Bob Ebright.
Grim Grinning Ghosts has been covered by the Canadian rock group Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
, and most recently in live concerts by Weird Al Yankovic as part of his ever-extending "Yoda Chant". A variation of this song is also used at Disney World's Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
HalloWishes
HalloWishes
HalloWishes is a fireworks show that takes place during "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park...
fireworks show and Disneyland's Halloween Screams
Halloween Screams
Halloween Screams is a fireworks show that takes place during Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort.-History:...
fireworks show. It's also used in parades at Disneyland Paris Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland is located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is the first theme park located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks. The park opened to visitors on 12 September 2005...
during the Halloween season.
The seasonal "Haunted Mansion Holiday" overlay at the original Anaheim attraction mixes the tune with Danny Elfman's
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
melody lines from The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to...
together with Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
"Jolly Old St. Nicholas" is a Christmas song. Its authorship is often credited to Wilf Carter. However, since the song is mentioned in earlier works , this attribution is unlikely. The song has also been credited to Benjamin Hanby, author of "Up on the House Top", at some point in the 1860s,...
and Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
. One of the most prominent instances of this is a straight orchestral statement of the "Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize" melody line that plays at the end of the cue for the stretching room.
Phantom Manor
On April 12, 1992, Phantom Manor was opened at Disneyland Park Paris. Based on the original Disneyland ride but with a new backstory tied into FrontierlandFrontierland
Tokyo Disneyland's instance is known as Westernland, as "frontier" does not adequately translate into the Japanese language. The Mark Twain sails this park's Rivers of America...
, Big Thunder Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an indoor/outdoor mine train roller coaster located in Frontierland at several Disneyland-style Disney Parks worldwide...
and Thunder Mesa, Phantom Manor featured a more coherent storyline and an all-new orchestral soundtrack by composer John Debney
John Debney
John C. Debney is an American film composer. He received an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ...
.
Phantom Manor takes a different approach to the same concept as the Haunted Mansion attractions. The intended mood is one of corrupted elegance, rather than morbid kookiness. As a result, the soundtrack is different as well. The regular Haunted Mansion attractions feature music that is usually played or sung by characters in the scenery: an organist's waltz, a graveyard band jamboree, and so on. Phantom Manor, however, has a full orchestral soundtrack that takes a more cinematic approach, although all of the music is based on "Grim Grinning Ghosts." A variety of instrumentations are used. At various moments, guests hear piano, organ, alto flute, a boy's choir, a jazz band, and a female voice soloist who symbolizes the character of Melanie Ravenswood, all in addition to the ordinary orchestral complement.
The Movie
When Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
released a Haunted Mansion movie, composer Mark Mancina
Mark Mancina
Mark Alan Mancina is a U.S. composer, primarily for Hollywood soundtracks, such as his collaboration with Trevor Rabin on the soundtrack for Con Air. He arranged many of the songs behind Disney's The Lion King including the Broadway musical...
was asked to write the film's music. Like Phantom Manor's soundtrack, the movie score is orchestral and uses "Grim Grinning Ghosts" frequently. However, Mancina used "Grim Grinning Ghosts" in somewhat different ways from Debney, focusing more on relatively light-hearted background music and ominous crescendos of orchestra and organ than on waltz-like passion. Cues such as the film's overture allowed Mancina to work with both "Grim Grinning Ghosts" and a theme of his own invention. A scene in the mansion's graveyard also features the attraction's singing busts, whose musical selections include a few lines from the song. The vast majority of the film's music, though, was never officially released as a soundtrack, though copies of a complete album given to staff and orchestra members can occasionally be found for sale. Four minutes of the score did make it onto the "Haunted Hits" CD release, which groups "Sara Passes Out," the overture, and "Going to Heaven" into one track entitled "Overture from The Haunted Mansion." However, none of the orchestral and/or organ statements of "Grim Grinning Ghosts" are heard on this album.
Toy Story 3: The Video Game
The song can be heard briefly in Toy Story 3: The Video GameToy Story 3: The Video Game
Toy Story 3: The Video Game is a platform video game loosely based on the film Toy Story 3. It was published by Disney Interactive Studios and developed by Avalanche Software , Asobo Studio and n-Space...
in the Toy Box mode. In the Sid's Haunted House level, after clearing the first room, the song plays in a continuous loop until clearing the last room.