Type keyword(s) to search

News

Haunted mansion death: Why Disneyland guest’s cause of death won’t be revealed

An elderly woman died at the Disneyland Park after she became unresponsive after riding the Haunted mansion.
posted by Sourodeep Dey
Friday 10/10/2025 at 3:24AM EDT
  • Disneyland's Haunted Mansion seen from Tarzan's Treehouse in Anaheim, California, on Thursday, Dec 14, 2017. The Haunted Mansion. It was originally conceived to look spooky and dilapidated on the outside, but Walt Disney didn't want anything shabby in his park, so that plan was discarded. Designers first thought they would build a walk-through attraction, but later added the "doom buggies" to the design to improve traffic flow. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
    Disneyland's Haunted Mansion seen from Tarzan's Treehouse in Anaheim, California, on Thursday, Dec 14, 2017. The Haunted Mansion. It was originally conceived to look spooky and dilapidated on the outside, but Walt Disney didn't want anything shabby in his park, so that plan was discarded. Designers first thought they would build a walk-through attraction, but later added the "doom buggies" to the design to improve traffic flow. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

    There will be no autopsy conducted in the case of the woman who died after getting off the Haunted Mansion ride in Disneyland. On Monday, October 6, the woman, who was in her 60s, went on the Haunted Mansion ride but died after suffering a medical episode, noted The Los Angeles Times.

    The cause of the woman's death will not be determined. An autopsy will not be conducted because the custody of her body was not taken by the Orange County Sheriff's Coroner's office, according to Matt Sutter, the Anaheim Police Department’s public information officer, who shared the news with People magazine on Friday, October 9.

    According to Sutter, the action probably means that the woman’s death certificate was already verified and signed by a doctor and her family went on to take custody of her body, notes the news outlet.

     

     

    The woman, who became unresponsive after being on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital

    According to NBC News, Anaheim Fire and Rescue in California were summoned to Disneyland at 6:30 p.m. after reports surfaced that a woman in her 60s had stopped responding to treatment. At the time, the woman was being given CPR by security personnel at Disneyland.

    Matt Sutter shared in a statement (per People magazine),

    "Anaheim Fire & Rescue responded to the park around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 6. Upon arrival, they found 'an unresponsive woman in her 60s who had just finished riding the Haunted Mansion attraction. Disneyland security personnel provided CPR until paramedics arrived.'"

    However, after being taken to a local hospital, she was pronounced dead.

    The news of the woman’s death at Disneyland was first broken by an influencer, as per The Los Angeles Times. He wrote on Instagram,

    “Sadly a guest had a heart attack on Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland last night. She was unresponsive when it was her turn to unload and declared DOA once she reached the hospital. Sending condolences to her family and loved ones.”

     

    According to People magazine, Anaheim’s Police Department stated that the incident appeared to be related to a medical issue. Sutter told the news outlet,

    “[The incident] appears to be an unfortunate medical episode.”

    It should be noted that authorities did not confirm whether the medical episode that the woman suffered was a heart attack.

    While confirming that there was no reason to be alarmed about the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland itself, Suuter added that there was “no indication of any operating issues with the attraction, which reopened soon after.”

    According to Disneyland’s website, the Haunted Mansion attraction at the park is ‘gentle,’ but it advises that young children must be supervised at all times. Additionally, it notes that children might become “frightened by the special effects.”

    Additionally, the slow-moving ride depicts slightly fearsome scenes, although the website assures guests that “there is no gore.”

    The ride features a ghostly guide who leads guests through a haunted estate, complete with multiple ghosts and specters. Among the frightening offerings at the ride are features such as a “rattling casket,” a “séance room,” “phantom pranksters” and “waltzing apparitions.”

    According to The Los Angeles Times, Dennis Speigel, who founded a leisure and attractions consultancy agency, stated that the Haunted Mansion ride is extremely safe for guests.

    TOPICS: Haunted Mansion, Disneyland