The Haunted House (1929 film)

The Haunted House, or simply Haunted House, is a 1929 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Celebrity Productions. The film follows Mickey Mouse trapped in a haunted house and forced to play music. It was directed by Walt Disney who also provided the voice of Mickey; Ub Iwerks was the primary animator and Carl Stalling wrote the original music.

The Haunted House borrowed animation from Disney's first Silly Symphony, The Skeleton Dance, which was released earlier in 1929. The Haunted House was Mickey's first cartoon with a horror theme and led the way to later films such as The Gorilla Mystery (1930), The Mad Doctor (1933), Lonesome Ghosts (1937), and Runaway Brain (1995).

Plot
On a dark and stormy night, Mickey Mouse takes shelter in a house that he is passing and soon discovers that it is haunted. After Mickey enters the house, the door locks itself, before Mickey is startled by a large spider and several bats, while hiding. Mickey then hears the sound of ghosts and flees into a hallway before the lights go out. As Mickey shouts 'Mammy!' three times in the dark, just like Al Jolson, he lights a match and looks around. Eventually a cloaked figure, which Mickey's shadow turns into scares Mickey, who screams, and flees in terror, with the shadow roaring at him. The cloaked figure corners Mickey into a room and compels him to play an organ while he and several other skeletons dance along to the music. When the music stops, Mickey tries to run away and leave the house, but finds several dead ends. He finally falls out of a window and into a full rain barrel and runs away.

Releases

 * 1929 – Theatrical release
 * 1983 – Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: "Scary Tales" (VHS)
 * c. 1992 – Mickey's Mouse Tracks: Episode 25
 * 1998 – The Ink & Paint Club: "Oooh! Scary!"
 * 2004 – Mickey Mouse in Black and White, Volume Two (DVD)