Thunder Mesa

And Frontierland, well, that became much more than a collection of Western attractions.

It became Thunder Mesa, and that meant the Haunted Mansion needed to belong to Thunder Mesa too.

Welcome to Phantom Manor.

Where the original Haunted Mansion is basically, wouldn't it be fun if ghosts had a party? Phantom Manor asks, what if instead we gave everyone generational trauma? The building itself tells you immediately that we're doing something different.

Basically, Walt's rule about keeping the outside looking pristine had been thrown directly out the window.

And that's because Phantom Manor has something the American Haunted Mansion intentionally don't emphasize, a much clearer story.

We're in Thunder Mesa.

The town's fortunes are connected to Big Thunder Mountain and the mining industry.

Get yourself a, get yourself a cozy drink and a blanket, and let's begin.

Once upon a time, in the height of the Gold Rush, Henry Ravenswood set up the Thunder Mesa Mining Company.

There he made his money, and a bustling town sprung up around Big Thunder Mountain.

With his earnings, he built a stately Victorian manor on the top of a hill overlooking the town and the mine.

Mm.

The gold and Henry's luck, as it always does, eventually ran out.

In 1860, a great earthquake hit Thunder Mesa.

Is it Mesa or Mesa?