Who is the Phantom? A 30 Year Phantom Manor Retrospective

[@dar-nakkallig]

Wait... So you’re telling me the Phantom is not the Ravenswood’s plumber’s third son’s daughter’s fifth son? Now... Why would someone ever believe this? Because that son (who became the Phantom) is obviously the 13th counted dead after the earthquake... And there is 13 hours in the clocks, right? Thusly the number 13 is haunted... Unless he haunted the house first causing the 13 hours...

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

The Phantom is Henry Ravenshood

[@dar-nakkallig]

@@christophermichaelclarence6003 wait Really?!!! I thought it was the Ravenswood’s plumber’s third son’s daughter’s fifth son!!! What a news shocker… lol

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

@@dar-nakkallig Lol WTF are you talking about ? I'm French by the Way. I've grown up and been on this ride 20 times. I can assure you Henry Ravenswood is the Phantom. Mélanie's father The Four suitors that you see on the streaching room were mudered by his hand. Cuz none of them are good enough for his daughter. The Whole Frontierland links with the backstory of Phantom Manor.

[@dar-nakkallig]

@@christophermichaelclarence6003 I am joking, I would have expected something over the top (as my comment was) would make it obvious... but I suppose with the Internet... nothing is...

[@phantomology13]

found matpat’s alt account

[@skinnyhimbo5835]

The phantom is actually Henry Ravenswood’s evil Twin brother who is ALSO a plumber

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

It's Henry Ravenswood is the Phantom Manor

[@GarrisonValentinelli-pk1bf]

But what if the Phantom, was a serial killer, who was hired by Henry Ravenswood to kill Melanie's fiancé?

[@timheye7863]

Actually, the theory that the phantom could have been the thunderbird is something that I could support. The warnings he ignored awakened the shapeshifting thunderbird and tormented the offspring of the one responsible. It opened the passage to the underworld after which he took possession of the manor, just as Henri took possession of thunder mountain. The Thunderbird is a shapeshifter from the underworld and a guardian of the gate. He stays with her until she dies and can take her to the underworld, just like he did with her father. In his last scene you can see him literally change shape into a decaying version of a human. You can assume that in that form he also showed love for Melanie in time and already took the manor to the underworld/other side with him where he didn't kill anyone, but made her belief that he did, that she only has him now, surrounded by demonic spirits. And that the relationship became a love/fear relationship with the legendary spirit.

[@JackieWohlenhaus]

The phantom is Walt Disney’s great great grandfather! Ravenswood jumped his claim and ruined his chances at wealth forcing the family to move to the Midwest, which is a fate worse than death.

[@burneyboys02]

When Offhand Disney brought up the theory of the Phantom being Henry Ravenswood I was totally onboard cause a father and daughter being in a irritating relationship definitely makes sense. Now I finally got the "kept the master HAPPIER" joke. Well played Henry🤦🏾‍♂️

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

Not at all the Phantom is obviously Henry Ravenswood, Father of Mélanie Ravenswood. Tried to prevent all the suitors that tried to marry his daughter The only delabited Haunted Mansion with a creepy cemetary and the only one that walk through the front door 🇫🇷😈👻🎃💀

[@williamswonderland3636]

The phantom is actually the guy that sold her the wedding dress and he needs it back cuz he thought his wife was gone forever or fiance was gone forever but turns out that he really she came back from a hospital trip where she was kidnapped by a hyena doctor

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

Not at all the Phantom is obviously Henry Ravenswood, Father of Mélanie Ravenswood. Tried to prevent all the suitors that tried to marry his daughter The only delabited Haunted Mansion with a creepy cemetary and the only one that walk through the front door 🇫🇷😈👻🎃💀

[@queenmedesa]

Fiancee

[@williamswonderland3636]

@@queenmedesa pardon?

[@elfang0r]

@@williamswonderland3636 if the betrothed is a woman, it's spelled fiancee.

[@williamswonderland3636]

@@elfang0r I'm dyslexic the only way I can even spell that is with voice to typing

[@megan_henderson]

Anne!! HOW could you forgot the super popular fan theory that the Phantom is in fact Michael Eisner!!

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

WTF. The Phantom is Henry Ravenswood. The Father of Menalie

[@queenmedesa]

But he's still alive !

[@queenmedesa]

Great video , I love phantom of the opera, so this is my favourite Disney ride

[@disneyparksstarwarslover7638]

Phantom Manor is the best Haunted Mansion for sure, and my favorite too!

[@punprincess3214]

I have a theory to explain why the stage shows made melanie and the phantom romantic, this theory is from a tumblr artist that does awesome art of phantom manor. the phantoms from the stage shows are Melanie's fiance Jack back from the dead to comfort her from the torment of her father, since Henry doesn't want him in the manor, he has to stay out so when Melanie has a chance to leave, she can meet with her beloved.

[@phantomology13]

whose theory is that? I also headcanon them as Jake’s ghost so it’s cool that someone agrees Also it’s a pretty clever idea since that’s basically how their relationship worked when he was alive (since they had to keep it secret, I always assumed she’d sneak out to see him)

[@VinluvAntonHandesbukia]

I like to think Henry is the ghost host in the stretching room and the decomposing corpse at the end of the phantom Canyon,but the other phantoms are the vengeful spirits of Melanie’s suitors all counterproductivly trying to kill you and eachother.

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

I'm just kind of pissed they removed all the references to Melanie's original fiance, Jake. I mean I know there's nothing contradicting his existence in the ride today but still, I wish they at least kept him as the hanging figure above the guests.

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

No idea as well

[@queenmedesa]

She looks like a boyfriend collector now

[@phantomology13]

they really got rid of the most important part of the lore because nonexistent people found it insensitive

[@phantomology13]

should have changed his design though because bro looked like Mario in that portrait

[@phantommanorgroom]

@@phantomology13 I looked fantastic in that portrait and you know it

[@kirbysuperstar5494]

My favourite explanation is the phantom is Melanie's father. It just makes the story much more twisted, this poor woman is terrorised in both life and death by her own father, now a vengeful phantom

[@crystalgemgirl731]

His possessiveness of her could be a Many Furs kind of thing.

[@phantomology13]

@@crystalgemgirl731 no ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@crystalgemgirl731]

@@phantomology13 I know it's disgusting and frowned upon these days, but in the time this story takes place... Well, it wasn't

[@crazyhannahcreations9806]

Oh amazing video here! Phantom Manor is my fave version of the haunted mansion! All of these theories sound fun to theorize about. I do have an idea on one, if they did many suitors for Melanie, why the heck didn't they had one of them be the phantom? This refurb could've set it up, that Henry was wanting to keep Melanie at the manor. At the same time could've find perfect suitors wealthy enough to suit for the manor. One of the suitors was a jealous type (like Gaston from beauty and the beast) Wanting Melanie for her, and her money. Which could see why many of the suitors ended up in their fate. With a mysterious phantom with it. What if, that jealous suitor could've been the phantom and also Henry. Wanting to keep Melanie to not leave the mansion. Yet she wanted to leave and move on, with one suitor she likes and it could be the old fiance from the original attraction. Also Love the video, and enjoyed listening ^^

[@eyes_of_blue_9129]

Honestly, I think the Phantom is all the evil that was inside of Henry Ravenswood manifested into spiritual form. Like the plaque on the outside of the manor says 'I shall not die completely.' I believe that means the evil inside of Henry didn't die with the rest of him. Or completely took over and showed him as the monster he truly is. Therefore, since he hurt Melanie so much when he was alive by trying to keep her all to himself, he's condemned to keep hurting her in the afterlife. All sadistic impulses, all the horror and evil within is either all that's left, or has destroyed whatever love Henry might have had for his daughter. A rather fitting punishment, wouldn't you say? Whoever has decided to read this, I hope you're having a great day! ☺️

[@pinksamm]

Phantom Manor deserves more love all I’ll say.

[@CorVids1031]

"Others were new spins on classic formulas" *shows spinning tea cups* I see what you did there. The only thing I'm really salty about for the refurb isn't the phantom, it's Melanie. I liked her being more of a tragic character who advocated for getting the riders out of the mansion safely so they wouldn't meet the same fate she did. The phantom as the "hitchhiking ghost" made perfect sense in that regard. You got away! Or... did you? The refurb changed it so she was the ghost at the end, asking bystanders to marry her, seemingly out of madness and desperation to move on, but having an overall mad demeanor. I dunno. Constance fills the wacky crazy bride shoes. Let Melanie be her own thing.

[@phantomology13]

they also changed the storyline so she had multiple suitors and then got rid of the hanging body so that Jake wasn’t even a canon character anymore almost feels like they’re trying to make her a carbon copy of Constance, although her dad killed her suitors and not her, hopefully they’ll keep it that way like Constance and Melanie are my favorite haunted mansion characters, but let the girlies have some individuality

[@phantomology13]

overall the old storyline was better in every way, I love the dynamic of a mining company owner’s daughter falling in love with the foreman, the only thing is that I really don’t like the art style of the old portraits

[@beanosbeanos956]

15:51 ok I'm really curious about that headstone, the self-respect one. Other than the colour it's completely identical to one from a 1992 episode of the british sitcom red dwarf. Wonder how it got in front of phantom manor and if it's still there or was just a prop for shooting whatever that promotional video was.

[@gotcha-toon3940]

The phantom is the lorax because Melanies husband was tearing down the trees so he killed him and made himself scarier so he could scare people

[@crocus8080]

Clearly the phantom is supposed to be the graveyard dog from the original haunted mansion! It's his humansona, it makes total sense

[@christophermichaelclarence6003]

Not at all. The Phantom is obviously Henry Ravenswood, Father of Mélanie Ravenswood. Tried to prevent all the suitors that tried to marry his daughter The only delabited Haunted Mansion with a creepy cemetary and the only one that walk through the front door 🇫🇷😈👻🎃💀

[@philipmonihan8222]

I accept your challenge to make a ridiculous fan theory. Let's see, the Phantom is... Gaston Leroux, yeah, getting back at Disney for ripping off his story!

[@blackivy7582]

Okay, I'll probably get hate for this, but hear me out. What if the Phantom is just a figment of the mind? I know, I know. We see him multiple times and he keeps popping up, but think about it. The Bride in this one suffers a tragic and great loss, and then is haunted by this spirit for the rest of her life. We only SEE said spirit once in the house/UNDER the house with the Bride. So my thoughts was that he originally was a figment of her mind, and then he later became real once she died and manifested as a supernatural spirit? This is just a "for fun" theory, btw.

[@louabi7581]

Bruh, this figment of the mind hung Melanie's fiancee ? 🤔

[@blackivy7582]

@@louabi7581 Once again, it was a "for fun" theory for the video. But if you want to go with my theory, the fiancee could have hung himself and the grief caused Melody to imagine the Phantom. Or, Melody could have killed her fiancee and then created the Phantom as a scape goat for the guilt. Yes, I'm aware Henry Ravenscroft is the actual Phantom. This is a "for fun" theory.

[@shadowangel6359]

@@louabi7581 What if the fiancé was already dead and this is mostly following Melanie's decaying psyche imagining the Phantom haunting her after he died and never showed up to their wedding? Like we are in Melanie's psyche and everything is just born because of Melanie's unraveling state of mind?

[@louabi7581]

@@shadowangel6359 wow really interesting theory! And maybe she hung her husband because of her madness ?

[@queenmedesa]

@@louabi7581 fiance , he was a man

[@PlaybillsAndPixels]

The phantom is just in Melanie’s imagination because she could not accept that her groom committed suicide.

[@thehapagirl92]

“The Haunted Mansion : imagineering a Disney classic” on InternetArchive states on page 43 at the bottom right of the page that the phantom is likely Henry, Melanie’s dad. It’s free to make an account and free to rent the book. You’re welcome.

[@KyraHogue]

I laughed SO HARD when you said the FNAF fandom agrees on basics of the story. I WISH that was true! It SHOULD be true! But the more the series grows, (AKA bloated) the less agreement there is in the "true" story.

[@HannahBanina]

Clearly the Phantom is the Hatbox Ghost. He just moved from New Orleans to France for 40+ years to practice his terror with ghoulish delight and conscripted George Hightower to take his place once he got back to Anaheim, but then George went and made it all weird behind his back four years later. Hatty got word of this eventually and is only going to join Constance again in Florida because she’s actually _less_ creepy than her final husband. Like seriously, he asked her about George after he got back to Anaheim and Connie was like “Oh yeah no I didn’t even kill him for his money it was just on principle for him, that’s why I swore off marriage at all after him. Why do you ask?” “…I’ve made a terrible mistake. 😥” “???”

[@rancidtown]

Woah new channel to watch oh yeah

[@meganf7087]

8:18 man this theory is giving Elisabeth dad Musical.

[@Unicornvault3788]

Once upon a time, there was a magical skeleton that fell in love with a fair maiden who was unfortunately betrothed to another man. So the Skeleton killed and cold and trapped the soul of the young woman for all eternity. And they lived happily ever after. Fin - Ende - The End

[@meganshaw1987]

Makes me wonder whatever happened to Henry’s wife-Melanie’s mother.

[@queenmedesa]

She died in the earthquake!

[@allysanchez5630]

Melanie’s father being the phantom means he killed her future husband to stop her from finding her own happiness and keep her with him forever while he did terrible things. He just couldn’t learn to let her go. What a jerk!

[@crystalgemgirl731]

And sick if you think about it... The reason he didn't want to let her go may have been more than family love... Incest wasn't frowned upon in those days.

[@allysanchez5630]

@@crystalgemgirl731 that may be, but still, she was growing up and every parent has to learn to let go eventually. It’s her choice to start her own life and her decision, not his.

[@crystalgemgirl731]

@@allysanchez5630 I know. But, back in those days, women didn't have rights. It was all "Stay in your place, better seen and not heard", I HATE that.

[@allysanchez5630]

@@crystalgemgirl731 well, now that story has ended. Just ask Naomi Scott’s jasmine.

[@crystalgemgirl731]

@@allysanchez5630 I love Speechless.

[@Unicornvault3788]

i think that I heard or read a theory that Jasper Jones was the Phantom. I don't have any more information than that.

[@NAVEMAN3]

So wait. The phantom isn't Melanie's father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate? I mean, he does have more than enough reason to go after the family after the Spaceball incident. He does look better without the helmet.

[@Neyebureturns]

Maybe they can say that in reality there are two Phantoms: the first one is the father, who killed the boyfriend, and then he became the Phantom and is the one dances romantically with the bride

[@KyraHogue]

This is a long rant. I have beef with the new version of the story. The father being the Phantom? Fine. That's the interpretation I thought made the most sense. It's super over the top now, which is annoying, but passable. What I cannot stand is basically everything else. In the original version, Melanie is in her wedding dress because she lost her ONE TRUE LOVE. Why is she in her wedding dress in the current version?? Hers was originally a poignant story of star-crossed lovers that has stood the test of time. Two young lovers divided forever by fate. Now she has an insane number of fiancés that is so laughable, it goes beyond the suspension of disbelief. In such a small town, word would get out after the second one, even to the surrounding areas to stay AWAY from Ravenswood, regardless of money. But even this is passable compared to the complete and utter destruction of Melanie's character. In the original, she points us in the right direction to get out of the 'hell' version of Thunder Mesa. I always read that as her protecting the riders from her fate, even if she can't completely save you from the Phantom, whoever he really was in that version. In this one, she seems possessed and asks "Will you marry me?". Eww. What the heck? So now either Melanie is a spirit trying to marry anyone or seduce people to their grave, or she's possessed? Or something else just as weird? Phantom Manor needed TLC. Heck, I'd still like their Leota to get a complete redo since the Paris version looks visually inferior to every other version, but that's besides the point. I loved the original version of Phantom Manor ever since I heard about it back in the late 2000s. Heck, it was my main reason for wanting to visit DLRP. I never got to see the beautiful original. But thank you for the video and for a place to put this rant.

[@courtneyholly6743]

Didn’t she have more then one lover. Maybe the phantom was one of her lovers and finding out she was engaged to another man he was enraged and killed the fiancé, and then came obsess with her while he is alive and then follow her in death maybe the lover was one of the medium son and when they were in love Henry killed him. And medium curse the family with the spirt of the her son. Maybe the Melanie was so in love with the lover that after he died.

[@queenmedesa]

I don't like that new 4 lovers , she looks like a hussy

[@oncer95]

I sort of thought that the phantom was her father, tormenting her

[@clown-cult96]

This has always been bizarre to me because, maybe because it’s cuz I’m not American, but I never had any doubt that the phantom was anyone but Henry. So, I get my validation lmao

[@CountJosh]

Keep working on The Phantom/Henry Ravenswood Theory

[@michaelangelioliebers7601]

The phantom of the opera is an Universal studio Monster like Wolfman and Dracula Frankeinstein Monster and Mummy Creature From The Black Lagoon and the original person played Phantom Of Opera was Lon Cheney Jr and the story was the opera was on fire and he got deformed and his face got burned and hides in a chamber and kills people.

[@pearsooo6972]

I'm the Phantom

[@phantomology13]

bro got an iPhone in the 1860s

[@phantommanorgroom]

YOU

[@ComfyRhyme20574]

I love the Phantom Manor. However, I hated when they changed it. I mean, where was the mystery? My theory: is that the phantom is Melanie's half-brother (her dad had an affair with the maid, before Melanie was born, and locked the maid and his illegitimate son in the basement. The son was deformed as well. (This is where it goes all phantom of the opera style..) and he fell in love with Melanie (kind of like the phantom did with christine.(Melanie doesn't know of his existence.)) He grows up as her 'angel'. Melanie's half-brother kills her fiancé (if he can't have her no one can.) But basically the plot of phantom of the opera.... Weirdly I've got a whole music playlist for this theory on my phone.😅

[@happymaskedguy1943]

I think it’s fantastic in terms of story. But most people have no idea what makes a good story.

[@phantomology13]

Maybe the real phantom was the friends we made along the way

[@KnockKnock.1994]

I bet you I’m not first, but I’m early :>

[@dar-nakkallig]

Where’s my money? Lol... You lost your bet... You were not only early, but the first commenter...

[@KnockKnock.1994]

@@dar-nakkallig Y A Y- I’m broke.

[@queenmedesa]

French lesson : fiancee for a woman, fiance for a man

[@phantomology13]

I feel like no one talks about how weird and gross the theories that Henry was in love with his daughter are. Like, the ride is supposed to be family friendly, obviously that isn’t it. Why do people think that anyway? Is it because he’s possessive? The possessive dad thing is literally a trope, why else would there be so many joke shirts related to dads killing their daughters’ boyfriends? There are people in the comment section of every phantom manor-related video suggesting this theory, and all I have to say is that they need to touch grass. But congratulations to them for being Olympic athletes in mental gymnastics, I guess.

[@cafeAmericano]

Your voice should be playing on a loop 24/7 in pow camps. Its that unbearable