Was the Haunted Hotel really haunted?

[Dionysos]

...Remember this place?​

Before we start, we need to remind ourselves that the Gold Saucer is a weird place. It is shaped like a giant beanstalk and is built on top of Old Corel (which is now a creepy prison town which gives off Western vibes). Even if we forget about all of that, we can never forget that the park forces its visitors to jump into little tubes and slide their way into each zone.

The owner, Dio, is an unhinged lunatic.

(Send your thanks to Dio for the Gold Saucer's madness)​

Now that we have placed the Gold Saucer in this context, let us consider the Haunted Hotel.

Functionally it serves the player as an inn to spend the night and recover HP/MP, and (as with many inns in FFVII) a number of conversations between party members occur there.

But we most likely remember the hotel for the cute little ghosts playing chess in the lobby, or for the sinister devil face near the stairs, or for the Egyptian mummy in the backroom which every now and then gasps for breath… And let us not forget Mr. Hangman (who has truly earned his name), an employee of the hotel, who greets you and offers his service to the party.

This hotel is a little bit strange. We like ‘haunted’ attractions in theme parks in our real world (ghost trains, haunted house walkthrough scare experiences, etc).

I wonder, are the characters that we see in the haunted hotel real ghosts and monsters? Or are they a rather elaborate combination of actors, mannequins, and special effects such as those that we sometimes have in horror attractions in the real world?

Is Mr. Hangman a ‘real’ re-animated hanged corpse, or is he an actor pulling off an elaborate prank?

Ghosts and monsters do exist in the FFVII universe to an extent. We see (and fight) ghosts of the Gi Tribe, and the Nibelheim Manor House (aka the Shinra Mansion) is filled with ghosts, demons, and undead creatures.

Had Dio been mad enough to go out and employ the undead to work in the Gold Saucer? He comes across as an egomaniac with a lot of grand ideas (combined with the wealth to carry them through to completion). Would he go that far?

Discuss!

 

[The Witch]

Before we start, we need to remind ourselves that the Gold Saucer is a weird place. It is shaped like a giant beanstalk

How have I never noticed this before It's either a beanstalk or a mushroom tree hybrid

Here's some sketches to see everything more clearly:

(The bedroom is an entire callback to the satanic film Matropolis)

Now that you mention it... I'm not sure. I always thought they were just pranks/items that the INN owners made to look like it was haunted. But you're right. The ghosts and the vampire behind the counter could be real since we see the same monsters in the Shinra mansion. You have me shook with this

 

[Shaissa]

We all know it is haunted for this reason alone

But in all seriousness, I never thought the place was haunted, in fact I just thought they were all people dressed up or just decorations. I mean I guess he does have a monster arena and a place that sends people to prison, but even with that I don't think this place is haunted, just another weird theme place in the Golden saucer world.

 

[Dionysos]

How have I never noticed this before It's either a beanstalk or a mushroom tree hybrid

Here's some sketches to see everything more clearly:

(The bedroom is an entire callback to the satanic film Matropolis)

Now that you mention it... I'm not sure. I always thought they were just pranks/items that the INN owners made to look like it was haunted. But you're right. The ghosts and the vampire behind the counter could be real since we see the same monsters in the Shinra mansion. You have me shook with this

But in all seriousness, I never thought the place was haunted, in fact I just thought they were all people dressed up or just decorations. I mean I guess he does have a monster arena and a place that sends people to prison, but even with that I don't think this place is haunted, just another weird theme place in the Golden saucer world.

I had always thought this too. I just automatically suspended my disbelief and assumed that the haunted hotel was just a joke.

Now, the more I think about it the more I wonder if we should take it more seriously. Joke or not, it is there in the game just like the bee-themed prostitutes at the Honeybee Inn. They're silly, but they exist.

The ghosts and mummy might be special effects, etc. But Mr. Hangman? Is he an actor? If so, does he survive hanging himself by wearing a special knot?

Or is he really undead?

It's an interpretation I've never had before, and I'm finding it interesting to roll with it for a while to see if it is plausible.

 

[Miko]

I hate themes like this, I'm not a big fan of Halloween or anything spooky.

Anyway, 100% not haunted... initially. We know Dio is a collector! I bet 100% of the decor in the Haunted Hotel is all authentic & real, and perhaps a bit haunted. I bet the ghosts in the lower right corner by the desk are perhaps real and an accidental addition to the spooky decor! Not sure about Mr. Hangman though, perhaps just good costume work. Dio has no doubt the funds to make it seem very grotesque and real

 

[Dionysos]

I hate themes like this, I'm not a big fan of Halloween or anything spooky.

You'd better keep that secret from your pet spider!

Anyway, 100% not haunted... initially. We know Dio is a collector! I bet 100% of the decor in the Haunted Hotel is all authentic & real, and perhaps a bit haunted. I bet the ghosts in the lower right corner by the desk are perhaps real and an accidental addition to the spooky decor!

It remains possible that the chess playing ghosts are special effects. Maybe everything in the hotel is an illusion, but the fun is that is can sometimes be difficult to tell. Especially considering that ghost monsters do appear to be canon in that universe's lore. This is something they have made even more prominent in the FFVII Remake (when you consider the Train Graveyard ghost sidestory).

Not sure about Mr. Hangman though, perhaps just good costume work. Dio has no doubt the funds to make it seem very grotesque and real

This is making me think about this character again.

Let’s consider Linnaete ’s idea that Midgar can be compared with Disney’s original concept for EPCOT as some sort of utopian future-city (Timber Maniacs issue 2 page 26-30). Add to that my own idea that President Shinra is sometimes a darker version of Walt Disney in being a visionary figure seeking a great, big beautiful tomorrow (albeit corrupt and not as interested in the cartoons) and how the FFVII Remake’s Midgar continues to suit Liv’s idea but even extends it to incorporate the theme-park version of EPCOT which actually exists in Florida today. By this I’m talking about how in Chapter 16 the Shinra HQ's Shinra Museum in the HQ and the Cosmos Theatre's educational video about the Ancients provides the same sort of feel as the EPCOT attraction experience: education about the past and an optimistic, visionary glance at the possibilities of the future. Having been very lucky to have visited EPCOT as a child, I definitely enjoyed experiencing serious EPCOT vibes whilst playing this.

The long and short of this temporary digression? Disney can be traced in FFVII and I believe that we might want to extend this comparison to the Gold Saucer (which I also do briefly in the latter half of this post).

I think the angle that the Gold Saucer’s Ghost Square Hotel is similar to Disneyland/World’s Haunted Mansion attraction would be an interesting take. Maybe Mr. Hangman compares with the ‘Ghost Host’ narrator of the ride (who at first appears as simply a voice, but is soon seen to have hanged himself during the walkthrough introduction before visitors access their doom-buggy vehicles).

As well as being characters who have both been hanged, both the Ghost Host and Mr. Hangman are characters who greet the guests near the entrance / lobby and both are designed to scare the guests to some degree.

Furthermore, the premise of Disneyland / Disney World's Haunted Mansion ride is that the mansion has become a sort of retirement home for ghosts to hang out after death and socialise, with mortals invited with the intention of them joining them). This is pretty similar to the Ghost Hotel at the Gold Saucer. The chess playing ghosts might represent ghosts who have decided to hang out in this designated area and relax and have fun. The guests are allowed to come in to stay with the dead and everyone acts creepy as if they want them to join them forever.

At least that is the performance. If it is a performance... Curious!