Monday, December 21, 2009

Hatbox Ghost embroidery

If you're as big of a fan of Disney's Haunted Mansion as I am, then you're probably already familiar with the Hatbox Ghost. If not, you can read the entire backstory here on wikipedia. In a nutshell: it was an animatronic figure that was developed for the Haunted Mansion but never used. This grim grinning ghost holds a spooky hatbox in his left hand and as riders pass by, his head disappears from his body and into the box. Very cool! Bonus for us Disney geeks: the Hatbox Ghost is supposed to make a grand appearance in 2010! Back to the mansion attic where he belongs!

Mr. Hatbox Ghost (or HBG, as he's sometimes known) is a fan favorite (as witnessed by the auction of a replica figure crafted by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily - seen below - at the D23 convention where it sold for nearly $10,000!) and he has been lurking for decades and been brought back to life via Twitter!




I love HBG's snarky sense of humor (and indignation!) and have struck up something of a friendship - if you can call electronic exchanges with a corpse a friendship - and so on my vacation, I decided to whip up an embroidery piece of dear old Hattie.


embroidering poolside
Me, stitching by the pool

He stands about 2.5" tall and is embroidered in satin stitch. The white features (face, hands, hatbox) are glow-in-the-dark thread to give him an otherworldly glow.

Once I got home, I sent it off to the Hatbox Ghost himself, care of his dusty old attic.

Hatbox Ghost Embroidery

I haven't decided if I'll make more of these or not, but if I do, they'll be listed in my etsy shop for all you Mansion Fans to find!



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Interested in owning a piece like this?
Check out my Etsy shop
or email me for a custom order!
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1 comment:

The Hatbox Ghost said...

I'm sure there will be many a foolish mortal who will want one or more of your SPOOKTACULAR crewel portraits of yours ghouly and roadside friends. How can they possibly resist?

In the meantime, I am honored to POSSESS the prototype -- which I have prominently displayed for whenever company appears. Around here, the spirited seem to crawl right out of the woodwork.

Thank you again for your kindness, and your impeccable taste in artistic subjects.

Sinscarely,

H. B.

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