Fav Five – Grim Grinning Ghost Variations of Disney’s Haunted Mansion Theme Abound!

in Disneyland Resort, Music

Grim Grinning Ghost

image: Michael Gavin

This is Halloween season, and nothing says boo to you better than Disney’s Haunted Mansion! Buddy Baker and X Atencio’s Grim Grinning Ghosts, the theme to the mansion, if you will, is the pulse that drives the attraction and brings the spirits to un-life. This popular and catchy calling card is almost immediately recognized when performed. With more variation and covers than different incarnations of the Mansion itself (New Orleans Square, Liberty Square, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland), this toe-tapping terror tune is a personal favorite (having over 100 different covers in my creepy cobwebbed collection).

Thus, for Halloween week (you didn’t really think it was limited to just ONE day, did you?), I’ve managed to dig up the ghoulish greatest of the grave: A fiendishly fearsome favorite five Grim Grinning Ghost covers/variations:

5. Those Guests fortunate enough to have dined in the exclusive Club 33, a members-only restaurant above the Blue Bayou in New Orleans Square, Disneyland, should recognize this relaxing recording.

4. Keeping it lyric-free for a little longer, I’d be honored to share this spirited heavy metal cover (one of several) of Grim Grinning Ghosts.

3. Jack Skellington and company swarm the Disneyland Haunted Mansion every fall and transform it into a Nightmare before Christmas. Thus the Pumpkin King would be proud of this mix of Halloween and Grim Grinning Ghosts by Voctave. This macabre mix was an instant favorite when as soon as it was released this week.

2. Another recent release is a cappella arrangement of “Grim Grinning Ghosts” by Voiceplay.  The amazing make-up in this playful paranormal presentation was done by Morphstore (home to several alumni of Face-off).

1. The first eerily exciting cover of Grim Grinning Ghosts I was devilishly delighted with is still my personal favorite.  From their first album (released in 1998), here are the Ghastly Ones and Ghostly Stomp from their CD A-Haunting We Will Go-Go.

Related : 13 Thrilling Examples of Spook-tacular Home Haunting

This, by far, is barely the gravel in the graveyard for a ghostly gathering of Grim Grinning Ghost covers. There are techno variations, several swing covers, and scores of songs that reference or cover the ghostly great Haunted Mansion theme (try these on for size: Bare Naked Ladies, as featured in the Haunted Mansion movie; Windows to the Sky does a fiendishly fun version; this upbeat swinging cover by JackG is a ballroom must; or if a more modern dance style is preferred, Nick Keller’s remix is perfect).

When it comes to figuring the fav five, it was a difficult decision, keeping in mind there’s always room for one more.

in Disneyland Resort, Music

View Comments (5)