Not Quite Boot-Strap Bill...

In the approach to Halloween, where better to be than the Boot Hill Cemetery at the Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris?

The Graveyard is one of my favourite places in Frontierland, and the resort itself. It's so full of detail and descriptions, that it really puts you in the right frame of mind for the Manor. Tying up to the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad across the river, the entrance to the Cemetery shows the following motif:

No. 39

THESE MINERS WERE TOLD

ABOUT DIGGING TOO FAST

THEY LOST ALL THEIR GOLD

IN A DYNAMITE BLAST

And if you look carefully, you can still see some sticks of dynamite that have been left behind amongst the rocks.

Of course, don't get too comfortable with the area - we are in a Cemetery attached to the Phantom Manor. Things are bound to get spooky sooner or later...

If you enter into the Boot Hill area, you will be met with a large mausoleum for Martha Ravenswood and Henry Ravenswood. The plaque below stating:

QUARRLED AND FOUGHT

AS MAN AND WIFE

NOW SILENT TOGETHER

BEYOND THIS LIFE

Those of you Disney geeks will recognise those names as being integral characters in the Phantom Manor legend. Henry struck gold in the town and bought himself a large Victorian Mansion - Phantom Manor - but both he and his wife were killed in a devastating earthquake that shook the town of Thunder Mesa. They had a daughter, Melanie, who's story is also a very interesting one - but I'll leave that for another day.



So, it is here that Henry and Martha have been buried. That means they're dead, right? Well you would think so - but at night you can hear some very strange noises indeed coming from inside the graves. It couldn't be someone knocking, could it?