Monsters & Mayhem

Right before Halloween, a video was released on YouTube about a Disney proposal gone wrong in the Haunted Mansion. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can see it here at Missing in the Mansion.

I was asked to be apart of this project to help create the Hatbox Ghost. I excitedly accepted and got busy right away trying to figure out how to bring this character to life. 

For those who don’t know, the Hatbox Ghost used to be an animatronic in the Haunted Mansion. But it was removed shortly after being installed because the effect didn’t work the way they wanted. 

The Original Hatbox Ghost : image source

The Finished Hatbox Ghost in the short

For this makeup, I needed to alter the bone structure of the actor. I ended up getting a zombie prosthetic brow piece and we did a test to see if that would even look right. 

Applying the piece with a partially applied blad cap 

Makeup partially applied w/ contacts in. We used white contacts so there was only his pupil. 

For the test we just wanted to get a feel for the piece and colors to make sure that they would work. So please excuse the edges and paint job…..

Then filming day came. We were working on a green screen and I had a few hours to get the makeup done. 

Jason before we got started

Positioning the piece 

Gluing away

All glued and ready for painting

For the painting, I did a mix of airbrushing and using brushes (Ve’s Favorite Brushes). The main products I used were the Temptu Dura White and FaceMaker’s Here-After Palette. 

Airbrushing the white base (Temptu Dura White)

Paint job partially done

Making sure the piece doesn’t come up….or just messing around….

After I finished with the painting and contacts, it was time for the hair. We tossed out the bald cap and used a synthetic wig. However, it needed some altering. 

A little too pretty for a ghost

Chop! Chop!

70% of it ended on the ground. 

After cutting, it still looked too clean. So I applied some hair putty and Ben Nye dirt to help take down the shine. 

Finished hair with the hat

The final touches were the hands and teeth. To do the boney hands, I used Skin Illustrator Alcohol Paints and painted white for the bones and black in the other spaces. The teeth were painted black with tooth color in the spaces in-between each tooth. Gave a more jagged and decayed look to the teeth. Also, the nose was blacked out and digitally removed later. 

Finishing touches on set

Bam! Done. 

To make this character come to life, it was really a huge collaborative effort. From the costume to the acting under the makeup, the Hatbox Ghost came alive. 

Bonus! I also did the makeup for the little boy Joshua. He was so adorable in my chair. I used all cream makeup for his dead look.

I guess my brushes tickle :)

I hope that you all enjoyed the short! I had a blast being a part of it. 

Don’t forget to check out Missing in the Mansion for more behind the scenes and information about everyone else involved. 

Also, check out Inside the Magic for even more behind the scenes and interviews!

Finding blood on your foot and not sure if it is real or you stepped in your fx blood while at home.
~problems of a fx makeup artist