October is the month for the scary and the macabre. Sometimes things happen that wouldn’t be especially noteworthy if they happened at any other time, but this is one where everything lines up in the most horrific way it could. People often love a good, fun, scare, and Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction is just the right place to serve that up. Unfortunately that fun turned into tragedy for a guest earlier this week.
On Monday, October 6th, a woman was found unresponsive on the famous spooky ride at Disneyland. There was no sign of any kind of accident or malice. Presumably, the guest suffered a heart attack. She was tended to by the emergency personnel staff before being taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, she did not survive, and passed away. At the very least, there are no current reports of negligence, just a terrible happenstance.
This is the second recent death at a theme park recently, though with very different circumstances between them. A rider on the Stardust Racers ride at Universal’s Epic Universe Park died from blunt impact injuries suffered while on the ride. No further information has been provided regarding how the trauma occurred, but an investigation has considered the ride safe and it reopened several days after the tragic accident. Meanwhile, anyone who’s ridden through the Haunted Mansion knows it’s one of the safest rides you could possibly go on. It’s about atmosphere and spooky fun as opposed to high-speed thrills.
It’s a sadly morbid turn of events. People have reportedly been scared into heart attacks while being entertained before; there are legends abound with this happening at showings of “The Exorcist” upon its initial release. But the Haunted Mansion is hardly exorcist levels of terrifying. In fact, this is probably the scariest thing that’s ever happened on the ride. And if we all have to go at some point, having the notoriety to die on the Haunted Mansion is at least one hell of a way to leave this world.
