"I didn't really get any interplay with the kids-(it) would have been fun to do that, but very few things (are) done like that. It's all primarily done one voice at a time," Renoudet continued. "Except for the Saturday morning cartoons... now those we did like old radio shows, except, of course, we can't overlap. I think because that was Disney's (way), and they were so locked into animation recording-they did almost all of the things individually and then cut them together," Renoudet said.

Between the memorable work of both Frees and Renoudet, the Ghost Host character remains one of Disneyland's most notable elements in any of its attractions. Sadly, Paul Frees died in 1986, leaving a gaping hole in Disneyland's talent pool. In 1999, when Walt Disney Imagineering decided to create a 30th-anniversary tribute CD in recognition of the Haunted Mansion, Fred Frees filled in for his father's role briefly, recording some new Ghost Host tracks for some marketing material. However, when Disneyland needed a new voice to reinterpret the entire Ghost Host script for their special holiday version of the Haunted Mansion, they turned to Corey Burton, a reliable voice talent who has worked extensively for Disney, and can be heard throughout the theme parks as well as in the recent film "Neverland" as Cap'n Hook. Burton, however, bristles at the thought of being considered the "new" Ghost Host. "I suppose I did a decent impression of the master, and the presentation worked well, but I hope only the genuine, original Mansion remains intact until the end of time, to inspire and thrill future generations," Burton clarifies.

"As I was inspired to enter into this career because of the Mansion's impact on me as a kid, you'd think it would be a dream come true," Burton explained. "Actually, it came as a surprise, when I went in to record what I thought was to be a brief demo of the Ghost Host voice for a 'presentation.' It's probably just as well; if I'd known ahead of time that I'd be standing in for my idol-if you ask me, Paul Frees remains the greatest voice genius ever-I might have been paralyzed by nerves," Burton said. "But his voice still constantly resonates in my head, so I just plowed ahead as with any normal session. With the fine script, constant reference to the original track, and engineer Randy (Koppinger's) excellent sound processing-which I got to sit in on-I was relieved that it would sound acceptable to fans of the attraction."

As the Haunted Mansion's legion of fans can attest, each of these fine manifestations of the Ghost Host character have added elements that create a whole greater than the sum of each part… an attribute of so many Disney creations. But of course, the success of any project boils down to the fans reaction to the work. And the Haunted Mansion seems to work just fine. As the Ghost Host himself might say to each fan: "You have a very active imagination… that's good…"

Author Jeff Baham is the creator of DoomBuggies.com, the internet’s definitive unofficial tribute to Disney’s Haunted Mansion attractions. He is also a long-time haunted house creator and promoter. This article was used with permission.

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