December 2, 1929 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film The Haunted House is Released to Theaters
“I c-c-can’t play!”
On December 2, 1929, the Mickey Mouse short film The Haunted House was released to theaters. Many of the skeletons’ dance moves are similar to those of the Silly Symphony The Skeleton Dance. The short was directed by and stars Walt Disney.
It’s a dark and stormy night, and Mickey is trying to get home, with his umbrella flying away in the wind. He spies a house nearby and decides to see if he can wait out the storm there. As he opens the back door, the door and back hallway completely fall apart, revealing another door that opens for him. He screams in fear, but ends up inside, with the door magically locking him in. Bats and spiders fly and crawl about, further frightening an already scared Mickey.
After the lights go out, Mickey lights a match to see the hallway, unaware of his shadow playing tricks
The lights go out. Mickey lights a match, only to be scared by his own shadow. He comes face to face with a Grim Reaper and a herd of skeletons, who sit him down at the piano and force him to play. Mickey carefully begins to play, with the Grim Reaper guiding his hands to perform the melody. The whole crew begins to dance to the music, with some of the other skeletons joining with their own “musical instruments.” When Mickey finishes the song he tries to leave, but the skeletons see him and come after him. Mickey finally jumps out a window and flees the house back into the storm.
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