Disney to make film on Haunted Mansion attraction

Hoping to take a page from its wildly successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, Walt Disney Co said on Thursday it was developing a  film based on its popular Haunted Mansion theme park attraction. 

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro will write and produce the film based on the landmark Disney ride that features a plantation-style mansion with ghosts, creepy creatures, secret passages and all the related sounds.  

Disney said each year millions of people visit the Haunted Mansion, which opened in 1969 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Versions of the Haunted Mansion have been built at Disney theme parks in Orlando, Tokyo and Paris.

The "Pirates" franchise, also based on a theme park attraction, has grossed over $2.6 billion globally and a fourth "Pirates" film, starring Johnny Depp, is being filmed and is scheduled to be released in 2011.

No release date has been set for the "Haunted Mansion" movie.