The Caretaker also known by Silas Crump is one of the only living resident of the Haunted Mansion working as the caretaker of the Mansion and the graveyard found on it's grounds. He appears at the gates of the cemetery along with his dog.
Attraction
Trembling in terror, the caretaker holds a lantern in one hand and a shovel in the other hand. His dog cowers at his feet, whimpering in fear as part of cowering with his owner. The caretaker wears a brown jacket, a green scarf, and a hat.
He and his dog are the some of the only "living" characters in the attraction.
At Liberty Square's Haunted Mansion there is a crate addressed to him which reveals his name is Silas Crump.
In both Holiday versions of the attraction, the Caretaker and his dog are replaced with animatronics of Jack Skellington, as "Sandy Claws" and his ghost dog, Zero.
The Caretaker does not appear in Phantom Manor, but is somewhat replaced by the Phantom and a demon dog.
Other Appearances
Horace takes tea with his not-so-departed wife.
Slave Labor Comics
In the SLG comics, he is known as Horace Fusslebottom, working as a groundskeeper for the cemetery behind Gracey Manor. Both he and his dog have a cowardly streak, but Horace has a good reason for staying: as revealed in "The Groundskeeper's Secret" by the Singing Busts (in song, of course), Horace traverses the graveyard nightly so he can take his dinner breaks and drink tea with the ghost of his wife, who is buried there.
In a possible continuity error, he is referred to as "Dick" in "The Final Interview;" this is likely in reference to Dick O'Dell, a fan-name for the character from the castmember-created Ghost Gallery.
Disney Kingdoms
He briefly appears in the Disney Kingdoms Haunted Mansion storyline where he meets the protagonist Danny and is almost immediately scared off by the Mansion's ghost.
Film
The Caretaker and his dog as ghosts in the 2003 movie
The Caretaker and his dog make an appearance in the 2003 film adoption as ghosts versions of themselves and can be seen populating the cemetery along with many other ghosts. An early version of the script had him as a supporting character with Don Knotts playing the part. However, Knotts dropped out before filming and the character was cut but retained as a cameo.
Video game
The Caretaker also appears in the 2003 video game but his dog is omitted. The character appears as a disgruntled ghost in the Winter Garden who keeps complaining that no one is around to pay for his work. The game's player character and main protagonist, Zeke Halloway, is partially inspired by the Caretaker.
Trivia
- He and his dog are the only living inhabitants of the Haunted Mansion
- The name Silas Crump is a reference to imagineer Rolly Crump who worked on the Mansion and the Museum of the Weird.
- On a few occasions he appeared for Meet'n'Greets where he refers to his dog as "Bones".
- In the Liberty Square Mansion he and is dog are referenced in the front queue by the Emergency Exit where the footprints of both he and his dog are engraved in the pavement right by a gate leading to the staircase which goes around the mansion where a small metal dog door is found in the exit gate.
- In the New Orleans Square and Liberty Square Haunted Mansion the caretaker is portrayed as a shaven older man with long white hair but in the Tokyo Mansion he is much younger having brown hair along with sideburns and a beard.