Eerie Events at Disney
By M.P. Pellicer | Noir Notebook
Over the years, a handful of genuine tragedies involving visitors and employees have fueled rumors of “real ghosts” haunting Disney’s gates. While many of these tales are mere urban legends, a few stories remain unsettling enough to make even the most cynical guest glance over their shoulder.
Among the most persistent is the legend of George, the spirit said to haunt Pirates of the Caribbean. According to seasoned cast members, George was a construction worker killed during the ride’s creation—victimized by either a high-voltage electrocution or a falling structural beam.
The mystery deepens behind the scenes. Employees frequently report a shimmering figure roaming the attraction on security monitors; yet, when they rush to the location, the corridor is empty. To keep the peace, staff members ritualistically wish George “good morning” and “good night.” They claim that whenever he feels disrespected, his mischievous streak takes over, triggering mysterious ride malfunctions and sudden shutdowns.
The chilling reality? Records show that nobody actually died during the construction of the attraction. However, this creates a deeper mystery: if George never existed, then whose figure are the cameras capturing? Some suggest “George” is a ghostly amalgamation—a collective haunting formed by the various workers who truly have lost their lives across the park’s long history.
It’s a Small World is one of the most beloved attractions among tourists—but some say the ride has admirers who never actually leave.
According to long-circulating stories among former employees, a few of those who once worked there may still return… even after death.
The dolls are rumored to come alive at night. If that isn’t unsettling enough, visitors and staff have also reported strange, icy cold spots drifting through the boats—areas with no obvious explanation.
Some believe the attraction carries a darker history.
For those who study the unexplained, moments like these only deepen the mystery surrounding the ride.
After dark, Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer’s Island has an unofficial rat roundup in the form of feral cats. But that’s not the only thing seen scurrying around.
Employees claim to see children running around long after the park closes, but when they go looking for them, none are found.
On June 24, 1973, the Independent reported the following:
“The body of an 18-year-old New York tourist was recovered Saturday from a river in Disneyland’s Frontierland area, eight hours after he apparently drowned trying to swim the watercourse with his younger brother, police reported.
Anaheim Police identified the victim as Bogden de Laurot, of Brooklyn. His body was located after a night-long search by Disneyland security officers, Anaheim police, and firemen, officers said.
The body was found in the rapids section of the ‘Rivers of America,’ the watercourse encircling Tom Sawyer’s Island, according to park officials.
Anaheim investigators reported that about 9:40 p.m. Friday, de Laurot and his 10-year-old brother Dorian attempted to swim from the island to the Frontierland mainland.
The youngest boy was spotted by park security officers and pulled from the river, police said, but the elder de Laurot disappeared.”
The following year, Deborah Stone, an 18-year-old employee, slipped between a revolving wall and a stationary platform at the America Sings attraction during a 45-second intermission.
Witnesses reported that her screams were initially mistaken for part of the show, and she was discovered after the platform stopped.
She was ground to a pulp, and since the ride was brand new, it wasn’t clear if it was a case of inadequate training or operator error. The ride was closed for two days only, during which time warning lights and breakaway walls were installed.
America Sings eventually closed for good on April 10, 1988.
In 1983, 18-year-old Phillip Straughan climbed into a restricted area in Disneyland’s Frontierland. He, along with another teenager, took a small raft with an outboard motor into the pond near Tom Sawyer Island. Heading back to shore, they hit a rock, and both got thrown into the water. The other boy made it to shore and notified security. Phillip’s body was found in an area with only 3 feet of water.
What could be more haunted than Disney’s Haunted Mansion? Rumors are that some family members, perhaps in a bid to fulfill last wishes or who knows why, have tried to spread the ashes of deceased family members. This has supposedly been attempted around the world in different parks.
The Haunted Mansion’s design was inspired by a real home, the Shipley-Lydecker House in Baltimore, Maryland. Built in 1803 by Charles Shipley, it was located at 2550 McHenry Street until 1967, when it was demolished.
Ken Anderson discovered a 1937 photograph of the mansion in the 1950 book Decorative Art of Victoria’s Era, which he used to design the attraction’s exterior.
Rumors are that Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s A Small World, and The Haunted Mansion are haunted by a child. He’s usually sighted by the ride operator when the ride is closed. Employees claim to have heard laughter when there is nobody else around. These were the child’s favorites, and the mother decided to scatter his ashes at Disneyland, but the park refused her request, and she went ahead and decided to do it anyway. This is possibly the source of this sighting.
This is a rare case of a ghost who is said to move from attraction to attraction. According to a blog entry on San Diego Haunted, the boy’s been nicknamed “Timmy”, and employees are aware that people scatter ashes all the time, and the custodian comes and vacuums them up.
In 2018, the Wall Street Journal confirmed that employees at Walt Disney Co. have a code word, “HEPA cleanup,” to signify that a special vacuum filter is needed for the removal of human cremated ashes.
There are other places in the park where cremated human remains are scattered. Pirates of the Caribbean, flowerbeds outside attractions, or perhaps the deceased’s favorite spot.
Still, the favorite is The Haunted Mansion since it’s believed the spirit belonging to the cremated ashes joins other ghosts at the theme park forever.
When rides are temporarily closed due to “technical difficulties,” chances are that HEPA cleanup has been radioed in.
Disney will kick you out of the park and potentially ban you for life if they find anyone doing this.
What many people don’t know is that there is an urban legend of a pet cemetery located on the northwest side of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, supposedly part of the original attraction. It’s at the side entrance normally used for disability access and VIP tours. Do you think people have only dropped off ashes belonging to humans? What better place to leave Spot than a whimsical animal cemetery?
In 2007, the LA Times reported that workers at Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean saw a woman sprinkle some substance into the waters as it made its way through the attraction. The ride was closed, and the police were called.
A witness described it as baby powder, and police didn’t take a report because the woman had disappeared, and whatever was dumped had disappeared into the swirling waters that push the boats along.
However, within hours of the incident, bloggers said they began receiving emails from Disney employees claiming that the unknown substance was “human ashes” and that it was a recurring problem at the park.
Officials denied any knowledge regarding this type of practice, and much less that it was a problem. Anyone who approaches the park seeking permission to scatter ashes on the premises is denied permission.
Disney is not the only place human ashes are scattered as the deceased’s favorite spot. Inspectors with the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau receive calls from golf courses and other outdoor areas where people are seen spreading ashes without permission from management.
David Koenig, an ex-Disney employee, wrote the book Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland. In it, he recounts where an unnamed employee saw a group of visitors at the Haunted Mansion who asked for a little extra time to hold a memorial service for a 7-year-old child who had died. Later, another ride operator saw one of them throwing a powdery substance while riding the Doom Buggy. The ride was shut down, and a “gray, like ash” was found.
In January 1984, Dolly Regina Young, 48, was seated alone in the rear seat of the bobsled that is part of the Matterhorn ride. Those seated in the front could not see what happened or how she was thrown from the bobsled. She was decapitated by an oncoming vehicle due to being unbuckled.
She had the belt on when the ride began, but it was open when police detectives were called to the scene where this woman fell off the ride.
Her body was recovered from underneath the sled that hit her.
In 2003, Marcelo Torres, 22, was one of 11 people riding Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction. As the car decorated like a small red engine sped uphill into a tunnel, the cars separated and the locomotive derailed. Some of the passengers were able to climb out, but others were hurt and trapped. Marcelo Torres was dead. He was in the first car behind the locomotive, and his body had to be extricated by paramedics.
There is a story that the ghost of a man is seen sitting on a bench along the path of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Employees try to avoid the area at night.
In 1975, a 16-year-old girl drowned in the Seven Seas Lagoon. She was staying at Fort Wilderness campground. She drowned in 6 feet of water in the swimming area by the Polynesian Hotel.
On March 7, 1981, 18-year-old Melanchthon “Mel” Yorba was fatally stabbed when he attended a private party given by the Rohr Corporation, a defense contractor. The incident occurred near the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Submarine Voyage.
After a scuffle, O’Driscoll stabbed Yorba in the heart with an 8.5-inch hunting knife. O’Driscoll fled and paused at the Sleeping Beauty Castle to toss the knife into the moat.
Yorba bled for up to 20 minutes before Disneyland staff placed him in a non-medical van and transported him to a hospital, missing two trauma centers en route. He arrived in cardiac arrest and died shortly after.
After the incident, Disney’s policy of not allowing paramedics in the park was discontinued.
O’Driscoll was convicted in 1983 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He claimed it was accidental and that Yorba fell against the knife.
In 1986, a jury found Disney negligent by contributing to Yorba’s death. His family was awarded $600,000 in damages, and not the $60 million they originally sued for.
This incident shattered the myth that “no one dies at Disneyland.
On March 7, 1987, a second homicide occurred at Disneyland. In the parking lot, there was a confrontation between rival gang members that escalated from a brawl. After the park closed, Samoan and Tongan gang members faced off and culminated when Keleti Naea, 18, shot a 15-year-old. Naea was convicted of second-degree murder, but the conviction was overturned.
That same year, a 27-year-old Disney employee was killed when his ultra-light aircraft nose-dived into an open field south of Epcot. The parachute on the plane didn’t open. He was practicing for a show at Epcot Center.
In 1989, a 33-year-old woman was killed when she collided with a ferry at the Seven Seas Lagoon. She drove in front of the boat, while trying to videotape family members water skiing in the lagoon.
In 1992, a 24-year-old off-duty employee was startled by a swarm of wasps and fell 110 feet to his death from the Contemporary Hotel’s observation deck.
In 1999, a 65-year-old Disney World custodian plunged 40 feet to his death after clinging to the outside of a rising 4-person gondola that had swept him from a platform. The ride was turned on when the park opened.
In 2004, a 38-year-old costumed Disney World employee was run over and killed by a parade float at the Magic Kingdom. The accident occurred near the Splash Mountain ride. The woman had worked as the Pluto character since 1995.
In 2007, a 60-year-old woman who was a ride attendant on the Primeval Whirl at Disney’s Animal Kingdom stepped onto a prohibited area on the platform and was hit by a moving car.
In 2008, an electrical power technician who worked for Disney World died from injuries sustained while he worked at a substation near the Disney Swan and Dolphin Resort.
In July 2009, a 21-year-old part-time employee died when another monorail backed into his on Disney’s Epcot line.
On August 10, 2009, a 47-year-old Disney employee died from complications after a bad on-stage fall at the Magic Kingdom, while performing a mock sword fight during Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial.
A week later, a Disney stunt performer, age 30, died following an accident at Hollywood Studios, where he received a fatal head injury. It occurred during a rehearsal for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.
In 2010, a 53-year-old cleaner employed by a subcontractor died at Disneyland Paris after being trapped under a boat when the ride unexpectedly restarted during cleaning. He was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital
In 2014, a 22-year-old woman with a pre-existing medical condition lost consciousness shortly after riding the attraction and later died from natural causes, according to the Orange County medical examiner.
On June 14, 2016, Lane Graves, a 2-year-old boy from Nebraska, was fatally bitten and dragged into the water by an alligator at the Seven Seas Lagoon. His parents witnessed the incident, and his body was found the next day. His father, Matthew, claimed there was a second alligator that attacked him while he fought for his son.
The question was how many alligators were in the lake, and were Disney officials aware of them, especially after rumors swirled that they had removed alligators prior to the tragedy.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), more than 220 alligators were removed between May 2006 and August 2015. In the year before the child was taken, 40 were removed, and in the following years, 83 were captured.
A few days before Lane was killed, six alligators were hauled out, most of them measuring over six feet. Then, a few days later, five more were found.
It was reported on November 20, 2025 that in less than a month, a fifth person died at Disney World.
This last person was pronounced at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort on November 8, which boasts villas, some costing $2,300 a night.
It started on October 14 when “Disney superfan” Summer Equitz, 31, was found dead at the Contemporary Resort. This was several hours after she disappeared from her home in Illinois. Authorities confirmed the cause of death as multiple blunt impact injuries, and the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a suicide. Witnesses reported hearing a loud noise before seeing her body on the ground from a 12th-floor balcony. A blue tote bag was found on the 12th floor near the rail, and staff on the 15th floor witnessed the fall.
Equitz once worked as a character performer and entertainment host at Disneyland Anaheim between 2012 and 2015. Her honeymoon with husband Nicholas Danlovich was celebrated at Walt Disney World in 2024. Two months later, she announced her pregnancy and a sonogram at the park. She did not share further updates about her pregnancy or marriage after that post.
Two weeks later, a man in his 60s died from a pre-existing medical condition at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground.
On October 23, Matthew Alec Cohn, 28, from Los Angeles, committed suicide by leaping from the 12th floor of the Contemporary Resort.
Disney’s Pop Century Resort, connected to Epcot, was the scene of another death when a woman in her 40s was found unresponsive on November 2, 2025. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
So, whether it’s employees, park workers, or those whose ashes have been scattered in the place where perhaps they were the happiest, no doubt there is a cast of many who could cause a cold shiver up your spine even if you’re sitting on a park bench in the middle of a summer day.
