My personal backstory to the Haunted Mansion:
There once was a wealthy sea captain named Ishmael Gracey. Gracey had fallen in love with a young woman named Constance Hatchaway. As a wedding gift, Gracey built her a mansion overlooking the Rivers of America. Soon after the wedding, the couple had a son named George. Unknown to Gracey was that Constance was a black widow. She had killed her previous wealthy spouses, gathered his property, and disappeared, never to be seem again. One night, Constance killed Ishmael with a hatchet and framed his three butlers for the crime. The butlers faced a cruel and unusual execution as they were thrown into quicksand. Constance collected all of Ishmeal's property, handed the mansion and George to her sister, Victoria, and fled the area.
George grew up into an adult and gained inheritance of the mansion, at his long-lost mother's request. One day, a sorceress named Leota came to the mansion. She asked that she be allowed to move into the mansion. In exchange, she would use her powers to bestow great fortune to Master George and his abode. George did not believe in Leota's abilities, but was enchanted by her beauty and allowed her to stay. George was somewhat of a pushover, so mansion was now overflowing with perennial guests (mostly family members), some staying longer than others. After a few months, Lepta had claimed a small room in the upper floor of the home as her sanctuary to perform sorcery. Unfortunately, the boisterous houseguests often interrupted Leota's sessions. Aunt Victoria once threw a very large birthday party in the grand ballroom that pushed Leota over the edge. The witch cursed Victoria to run out of breath blowing out birthday candles and die. She then bewitched the dancers to dance until they grew tired and died. George was devastated by the deaths at the party, but no one suspected Leota, except George's fiancee, Lily.
Leota feared that George would through her out if Lily told him about her suspicions. So, the crafty sorceress asked Lily to perfrom one of her amazing tight rope acts over the river. Lily, who was quite full of herself, quickly agreed. Once Lily was halfway across, Leota snapped the tight rope and Lily fell into the mouth of an alligator.
George was again devasted, but never suspected Leota. George had believed Leota to be a trusted friend, and she gave him comfort while he mourned. Leota created an evil plan to steal George's wealth, in a plan similar to Constance's. The one obstacle in Leota's plan was Emily, a poor girl that caught George's eye. George and Emily planned to be married at once. Leota had not given up. She put Emily in a trance and guided her to the Rivers of America. Leota forced Emily to drown herself and the curse had shrunken Emily's body into a tiny doll.
George was grief-stricken by the death that had flooded his life. Leota planned to try to get George to marry her, but she had not planned for George to hang himself in the portrait gallery. Leota had realized that she would never gain access to George's enormous fortune and summoned the spirits of the dead to curse the mansion and anyone who dared to enter. The spirits, however, turned on Leota and trapped her in a crystal ball for all eternity while they used the mansion as some sort of a retirement home.
The house still sits on the hill along the river, awaiting some curious travelers to take refuge there. The ghosts are dying to meet them.