Welcome to Phantom Manor

The old abandoned Ravenswood estate lies on top of a hill overlooking Thunder Mesa. As we approach, we can see shutters move in the wind and perhaps there’s a shape in one of the windows… but we’re too far away to be sure. We pass through the old rusty gate and up the carriage road.

The old gardens are dilapidated and overgrown but must have been of extraordinary beauty at one time. Inside an old gazebo, a tea set is still standing on the table as the eerie tinkling of an old music box accompanies us on our way. Walking through the empty garden pavilion with its crooked fountain, it almost appears as though we can hear music and voices in the wind.

We finally make it to the front door. After a short while, a sinister majordomo opens the heavy door and bids us inside. The foyer is dominated by an ornate chandelier from which dusty cobwebs are suspended.

Suddenly, a deep voice rings out through the room, with no-one to be seen.

“Vous… vous qui avez osé troubler la sérénité de ces lieux… Aurez-vous le courage de franchir la porte de cette maison… ? Allez, ne vous faites pas prier, entrez ! Qu’attendez-vous donc ? N’ayez pas peur, au point où vous en êtes… Montrez-vous en pleine lumière, que je vous voie un peu !”

(”You… you who have dared disturb the peace of these halls… Will you have the courage to step through the door of this house? Go on, don’t make me beg you, enter! What are you waiting for? Don’t be frightened now, as far as you have come… Show yourself in the light, so I can have a look at you!”)

As our unseen host speaks, the face of a young girl appears in a mirror in one corner of the room.

“Vous n’avez rien à craindre, chers amis. Allez, entrez, j’ai tellement de choses à vous faire découvrir !”

(”You have nothing to fear, my dear friends. Go on, step inside, I have so many things for you to discover!”)

A wall panel slides open and we enter an octagonal gallery. We notice paintings of the same young girl hanging on four of its walls as ghoulish candelabras seem to observe us from above. As we turn around, the wall panel has closed and there appears to be no other door. As our host speaks up again, the walls suddenly seem to stretch.

“Notre visite commence ici, dans cette galerie où vous pouvez admirer la douceur et l’innocence de la jeunesse. Hélas! Les choses ne sont pas toujours ce qu’elles paraissent… Les murs de cette pièce, par exemple, ne s’allongeraient-ils pas, par hasard ?”

(”Our tour begins here, in this gallery, where you gaze upon the sweet innocence of youth. Ah, but things are not always as they seem… The walls of this chamber, for example, can it be they’re actually stretching?”)

As the room grows taller, the paintings reveal their macabre secrets. The young girl is now seen in various precarious situations; threatened by monsters, wild animals or ghosts.

“Et comme vous pouvez le remarquer, il n’y a ni porte… ni fenêtre ! Quel angoissant problème à résoudre : par où sortir ? J’ai bien peur que vous soyez contraints de me suivre.””

(”And as you may note, there is no door… no window! What a frightful problem to solve: where to get out? I’m afraid you will have to follow me.”)

In a heartbeat, the lights go out and we witness a tragedy above us; up in the attic a dark figure can be seen hanging a man from the rafters as lightning illuminates the horrifying scene.

The spectacle ends as suddenly as it began. The lights come back on and another wall panel opens to release us into a portrait gallery.

“Oh pardon, je ne voulais pas vous effrayer. Continuons la visite, il y a encore beaucoup des choses à découvrir… Alors, gardez votre sang-froid et restez groupés. Je serais navré de vous perdre… si tôt…”

(”Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Let’s continue our tour, there is still much to see… So, remain calm and stay together. I’d hate to lose you… so soon…”)

Paintings appear to change as we walk past them.

“En passant devant ces inestimables oeuvres d’art, peut-être ressentez-vous comme une impression bizarre… N’ayez pas peur ! Ce n’est qu’une illusion d’optique. La vraie beauté de cette maison nous attend plus loin…”

(”As we pass before these priceless works of art, perhaps you have an odd sensation… Don’t be afraid! It’s only a trick of the light. The real beauty of this house awaits us further on…”)

At the end of the corridor, the young girl can now be seen in full wedding dress in another stately painting. We turn a corner and see an endless procession of vehicles in front of a grand staircase. As a storm rages outside we step on board one to continue our tour.

“Veuillez faire attention à la marche en montant à bord ! Le bal ne pourra commencer que si vous restez toujours assis bien calmement !

“Kindly watch your step as you board please! The party will commence only if you remain quietly seated at all times!”

The vehicle carries us further into the dark hallways of the manor.