The Disney urban legend about human ashes is true, and they’re everywhere

We often find ourselves repeating urban legends around this time of year, if only to get into the Halloween spirit.

Some of the most terrifying urban myths are just myths, but others have almost become reality – with one man facing trial for sticking toothpicks inside bus seats just last year.

You might have heard the one about folks scattering ashes at Disneyland and decided to dismiss it as nonsense – after all, these things are almost never actually true.

However, if you took that line, you may have spoken too soon. Not only is it real, but it’s far more prominent than you could ever imagine.

You may also like

Is Tim Allen trying to tell us all that Buzz dies in Toy Story 4? And how is that even possible for a toy?

Forums and blogs have been awash with the rumour that Disney fans have been asking families and loved ones to scatter their ashes at the resorts, and now it has been confirmed – straight from the mouse’s mouth.

Indeed, The Wall Street Journal reports the practice is so common that the staff have code words designed specifically for this situation.

If you’ve been at a Disney theme park and heard or seen the phrase ‘HEPA cleanup’, now you know it means someone needs to clean up a load of human ashes. Yup, sorry you had to find out this way.

Ashes have been spread on a number of rides, including the particularly spooky Haunted Mansion ride, prompting one employee to tell the paper “The Haunted Mansion probably has so much human ashes in it that it’s not even funny”.

It is a little bit funny, though, isn’t it? Just maybe not if you’re the poor bozo who has to clean the stuff up on a regular basis.

A spokesperson warned anyone caught attempting to smuggle their dead relatives’ remains onto the Pirates of the Caribbean ride will be escorted out of the park for their “strictly prohibited and unlawful” activity.

The same goes for the other rides too, just in case you thought we were being weirdly specific there.

However, the smarter folks out there have been able to sneak the stuff in – often in makeup compacts, apparently – and fulfil the wishes of the dead.

At least we hope this is being done with the consent of the folks whose remains will eventually get sucked up into a hoover potentially just a few metres from a worker in a goofy costume. If not? Well, that’s just a bit weird isn’t it?

(Images: Disney/Getty)