Thanks to Harry, I received an email from Guillermo Del Toro yesterday letting me know that he is a big fan of Doombuggies.com! I’ve invited him to come and share his some of his collection here on Haunted Mansion Collectibles! Please leave some love here in the comments so he knows how much we would enjoy a sneak peek into his collection!!

Sam and I are really looking forward to this event.  Ernie has graciously extended this invitation to my readers and if you’re in the area, give him a call to RSVP and come on by.

While looking at the various kids’ exhibits, we came across a pin collection that had the Haunted Mansion as one of the showpieces of the exhibit. Congratulations to 7 year old Reilly for winning 1st place in his age division and thanks for sharing your really awesome pin collection!!

I apologize for my subpar iphone picture quality…

So while I was going thru my hard drive today, I came across pictures of our Haunted Mansion room and let’s just say, wow..did I have some decorating issues way back when!

This is the oldest pictures I can find at the moment… If I find others, I’ll be sure to dispose of them share them right away! 

Most of the collectibles in this picture were seasonal, and we would bring them out every year for Halloween.  I believe this is the first year we decided to leave it all out all year ’round.  We started buying large prints from Print on Demand at the Disney Gallery, because we decided that we loved the art from the Mansion, and wanted to surround ourselves with pieces that made us happy!

Here’s the wall opposite of the orange couch, which I liked to call the beast, because of its size…What was I thinking when I chose this wall color?!

I also had no idea how to arrange this room, which was quite large yet awkward to fill because of all the openings to other rooms. I was watching way too much HGTV at the time and decided to move the beast away from the wall and into the middle of the room, basically dissecting the room into two. And I’m completely aware of the hideous window treatments…

…which is why I changed them in 2005. Better, but the room still needs work. But, hey, I had to deal with hand me down furniture and no budget for decorating, because it was all going to collectibles! At least the stretching portraits are all together now, not scattered around the room as before.

Then I turned the beast to face the fireplace (which is behind the Christmas tree), because HGTV told me to and it stayed here for quite a while…

…but I HATED the set up and the weird spaces it created (which possibly explains the lack of pictures from 2006)… so I turned the beast, yet again, and moved it back… but still not against the wall. This opened the room but made it difficult to have a conversation area. At this point, I was an HGTV addict and had to go into rehab. While I was there, the yellow wall was painted to match the rest of the room, and I was cured.

Finally, in 2008, my husband moved the beast one last time (I was forbidden due to health complications from moving the darn thing so many times before) to a more suitable location, where we can have a comfortable conversation area, but not be lost in the huge room. I was really liking this room in 2008. I wish I had taken a better picture of it…

I promised my husband I would never make him move the couch again, and when we moved from this house, we didn’t bring the couch! I regret it now, because I really loved that couch, and I realize now that it would have fit beautifully in our new ‘haunted’ library, which I’ve changed about 4 times since we moved here 9 months ago… *sigh*

The first time I visited Guy, I was overwhelmed by the amount of collections in his apartment.  Guy not only collects Haunted Mansion memorabilia, but he has also acquired an extensive Psycho movie prop collection, Don Post Mask collection, Universal Studios Monster Mask collection, Pirates of the Caribbean collection, general creepy and spooky items, including a functioning guillotine, which he is all too eager to demonstrate if you bring along a cantaloup or a bill collector (just offering suggestions) and a newly added Tiki Room collection. Guy has dedicated all the individual spaces in his home to a certain theme, but the Haunted Mansion inhabits the undead quarters, or what we mortals like to a call the un-living room.  

You might remember this piece.  I drooled all over it when I was taking these pictures. Yes, folks, that is an authentic Phineas head from the Haunted Mansion attraction. Careful not to drool all over your computer, now.

After I carefully wiped up Phineas’ noggin, I nearly fainted when I saw this new piece from the O-pin house event. If you know me, you know I don’t collect pins. If you don’t know me, I now collect pins only from this O-pin House event, starting with this piece, right here. Yep.. next time you go to Disneyland, pick this piece up for me.
Please. Oh. Please.

And the carpet bag… oh, don’t get me started on the carpet bag. I forgot to take a decent picture of it because I was too busy trying to fit it into my camera bag. Shhhhh, don’t tell Guy!

Its the black purse on the left hand side of this pic… *sigh*

But I seemed to have digressed to that ugly collector’s place of begging…. and pleading… wishing and crying…and trying to figure out how to sell my first born for a Disney pass, so I’ll leave you with this gallery of photos from Guy’s collection.

click on a thumbnail to see the picture in its awesomeness!

 

And if you’re ever lucky enough to meet Guy (he’s really a great… guy *ahem*) and have the pleasure of touring of his apartment, be sure to ask to see what’s inside the casket. Oh, did I fail to mention that he has a authentic casket behind his couch? How foolish of me! Some collectibles are best kept in dark places, such a cellar, or in this case, a casket, and no picture could really do her, uh, I mean….it, justice…but I don’t want to leave you hanging, so here’s a clue. Let’s just say a boy’s best friend is his Mother….

And on a final and somewhat embarrassing note… I have received several emails from the winners of the contest I held a few months(!!) ago. I have not forsaken you, I promise! And your prizes are not lost in the limbo land of the United States Postal Service.. They are sitting here, next to my desk, constantly reminding me how I’ve let my most faithful readers down, and for that, I am eternally sorry. Truth be told, our family lost 3 grandparents in the span of 3 months, and I’ve been dealing with their affairs and such. It seems when ever I attempted to get these mickey ears shipped off, something would go wrong. Maybe the ears are cursed… kidding! My goal is to wrap up a lot of my loose ends in the next two weeks, so my kids and I can begin to enjoy what’s left of our summer vacation.. so hang in there, winners! I promise you, even my reader in Canada, will receive them before the end of July! I know waiting sucks, but patience builds character, right?

Yeah, I’ll keep telling myself that….