Seriously.

Photography is in my blood.  I eat, breathe and sleep with my camera, to the extent that it makes my husband a little jealous, I think.  I’ve loved the Haunted Mansion since my first ride at the age of 5 and I love that my husband and I have incorporated the ride into our lives through creative decor and collecting.  If I have an opportunity to combine my passion of the Haunted Mansion with my eye for photography, it doesn’t get much better than that for me.  Like chocolate and peanut butter.  Like Siegfried and Roy.  Each one with its own unique flavor, but brought together…something magical happens! 

Earlier this week I had a chance to meet a fellow doombug and Haunted Mansion fan, known on the forums as Darker Image, but she will answer to Marie, I suppose. She was in my neck of the woods for the Shag Cocktail Reception held at the Disneyland Resort and graciously spared a couple of hours to let me and Sam photograph her in her custom Haunted Mansion Maid costume. 

Let’s meet Marie, aka DarkerImage:

Growing up in California was extraordinary in so many ways, one of which was a yearly pilgrimage to Disneyland. Whether it with my family, performing group, or close friends I was always fortunate enough to get to the park almost annually. I remember back in my high school years that I’d know my Disney timer was going off as I would wake from a night’s rest with “Yo Ho” inadvertently playing in my mind. My love of the park never has waned and through all of life’s trials, Disneyland has continued to be a place of enjoyment, magic, and serendipity.

Disneyland + Crafting = LOADS of fun!!!

Crafting has always been in my life in one form or another. To make a long story short, the few decades I’ve been around I’ve constantly been “making things” and experimenting with all different types of mediums. There is beauty in every single one of them but for now, I’m sewing and making pendants for the most part while toying with some other ideas. Lately I’ve been incorporating Disneyland and the Mansion more notably into my pieces along with anything else I’ve come up with while pounding the street; which I do often. If you see a runner out there who looks as if she’s deep in thought while well into her 10th mile of a route, that’s probably me pondering “I wonder how I could do……” The gears are always turning and I love a challenge! Although my husband does worry that someday I may become too engrossed in my contemplations and forget to come home! :-}

What is your favorite Haunted Mansion creation?

I must admit, I’m a wee bit “Mr. Toad”ish with my Mansion creations. Every time I’m struck with a new idea, it’s all encompassing and my greatest current love. My muse is a slave driver but she’s just so much fun! That being said, if I had to choose one, it would be the HM maid costume I made last year for Halloween.

Marie was made for the camera! Isn’t she fabulous!

What was the inspiration behind that creation?

I suppose the inspiration for this came from my love of the Mansion and my adoration for a challenge. For years I had joked about attempting to make myself a “maid”, but had listened to the many voices around me alluding to it being too difficult, time consuming, or just flat out expensive! And what if I failed!?! Then there came that one morning when I was tired of living with “What if?…” So I broke out my sewing machine (that is older than the Mansion itself), retaught myself how to run and take care of it, and then hit the Internet for research. I even did some R&D in the park, looking at maid costumes and I have to add that all who I encountered were extremely gracious with my questions and even let me take pictures. Then it was off to fabric stores for patterns and material. Little did I know the adventure I was in for! All of the patterns needed to be altered in some way to change sleeve length, skirt fullness, closures, whatever! Ug and then the lace hunting… But I digress; the point is that once was all said and done I was so excited and happy! In retrospect, if I had to do it over again there are some changes I would make, but I still love it. Halloween wasn’t enough time in this get up so folks might see it somewhere this September… Come on up and say “Hi!”

Why the Haunted Mansion?  Is there a special memory or incident that sparked your affection for the ride?

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the darker side of things; from things that make people laugh nervously to stuff they run from. Even back in grammar school, when I heard screams (usually due to bugs, lizards, whatnot) and everyone else scooted away, I’d be the one to go towards. There was just something that made me want to learn about what people were afraid of. Got pretty good at insect catching too! Lol. My id is pretty frightening I suppose. So anyway, when I visited Disneyland I really liked Pirates of the Caribbean and fell in love with the Mansion, both on the more “sinister” side of Disney.
 

Since then I’ve had numerous fantastic memories involving the attraction. My favorite is when I was at the last HMH Event and they had a bandstand set up right next to the Mansion’s front gate. That evening there were characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas all around and one happened to be the werewolf. Near the end of the evening’s festivities, the band struck up Old Time Rock and Roll and he started doing the hustle. I thought, “Why not?” and got up with him. Well it started with about 5 of us dancing with him but unobserved by me, everyone else dropped out and a pretty large loose circle of bystanders gathered shortly after. When the song ended, I turned to see that we had been dancing alone! The kicker was that my mother got it all on video!!! Often times now as I walk through the gate and over those very same cobblestones I think to myself, “Hey, you danced on these, with a werewolf, during a Disney Event!” It’s great. :-}

Thanks to the manager of the Jazz Kitchen who allowed us to use the balcony, even if it was only for a minute.  It was at this point that Downtown Disney Security shut us down!

Do you have a favorite character, and why…                                                                                                

When it comes to favorite characters, I’m not so sure. I loved April December and miss her terribly! Watching her go through her lifetime in a matter of seconds was very cool. She looked like she had some real fun in her mid years! The older lady in the stretchroom portrait (I believe now is considered Constance in her twilight years) is a great figure too! That little Mona Lisa smile she has while lightly griping the axe almost in an embrace sitting atop her slain husband’s gravestone is just fabulous! Truth be told though, the ghostly depictions have their very own charm and the mix of dark and humor is priceless! In addition, I consider the maids and butlers wonderful characters of the Mansion and love their part in the attraction! The cast members who really give their all by throwing themselves into the roll are to be commended. I know their jobs can be tough at times as some “guests” have little or no respect for them but they keep on their “scary” face and make a visit that much more enjoyable!

In case you missed the post earlier in the week, Sam and I were asked to leave Downtown Disney for taking these pictures.  We were told that Marie looked too much like a Cast Member.  How’s that for a compliment?!

Marie is a gifted seamstress, having made this costume from scratch and teaching herself the pattern and design as she went along.  But her talents don’t stop there.  She also brought along her custom designed totes and bags.

Marie, I think I’ve said it 999 times already, but I had so much fun hanging with you, taking these pics, and getting kicked out of DD together. What a memory, huh?
You can find more about Marie, aka Darker Image and her ingenious creations by visiting her Etsy shop.  Some of her purses with that fabulous Haunted Mansion fabric are extremely limited, and once that fabric is gone, its GONE!  

Because of Marie’s fabulousness, we have another give-away today!  I love these so much, I ordered one a few months back to give to a friend. Now you have a chance to give one to all of your friends, or keep them for yourself.  That’s ok.  No one’s gonna knock you for being selfish.  It’s understandable because these pendants are just so darn cute!

Didn’t have a macro lens to use, so here are the pendants:

April/December (in her April stage)

Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion

Demon Eyes Wallpaper

Haunted Mansion Gate Plaque

Foyer Wallpaper

WDW’s Haunted Mansion

Each one of these pendants is created on a scrabble tile, each measuring approximately 3/4 of an inch.  Aren’t they precious?  Marie has a wide assortment of these lil’ pendants on her Etsy site, so be sure to check out her site, but not before you answer the following question to enter in this Fanmade Friday’s give-away!

So here’s what I want to know.  If you could have any job at Disney, would you work for them and in what way? Would you want to be an Imagineer? Haunted Mansion Maid or Butler?The person who decides what collectibles are being released or would you be the Event Services Coordinator?  

I plan on spending my retirement years with Disney working as an old, decrepit maid of the mansion, but when I was younger, I wanted to be a parade performer!  I just loved those chorus line kicks!

So that’s it.. there’s no right or wrong answer.  Just leave your response in the comment section below. The winner of all 6 pendants will be randomly selected next Wednesday, August 19th.  A huge thank you to Marie for donating these pendants and for spending her morning with me while I got her in all kinds of hot water with Disney Security!  

The Fine Print

One entry per boil or ghoul, please…no matter how spirited you are.

No entries after the witching hour (12:01am, pacific time) Wednesday, August 19th.

Next Friday will be Fanmade Friday | Darker Image part 2.   There was just too much to share in one post!  

Hurry Baaack!