Director Guillermo del Toro on the set of Hellboy

With a living room created exactly in the Disneyland Haunted Mansion image, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has been more than just a fan of the dark ride experience. Well, del Toro has agreed to create the film version (and Disney remake) of the ride of the same name.  “It’s going to be a thrill ride for the whole family but it’s definitely going to be scary,” del Toro told The Hollywood Reporter today.  Seven years earlier Disney made a comedy also titled The Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy, but the new frightening version will be created by the sensory button-pushing director of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth.

del Toro was three when first experiencing the Disney ride and through the years it’s become something of a mental cure for him. “When I’m depressed or when I have a problem, I ride the Haunted Mansion ride to clear my head,” he confided.  Del Toro will co-write and produce the movie but will only direct if his busy schedule is cleared.  It was because of overflowing obligations that Del Toro had to leave The Hobbit project earlier as delays mounted.   del Toro will stay with this Haunted Mansion project no matter the time, anticipating a long pre-production.  Both script and the visual pyrotechnics will be given the care needed for a film worthy of a Haunted House Disneyphile like Guillermo del Toro.