What’s the general consensus around the mansion staff?

I’ve thought long and hard about how I interpret several things in the haunted mansion lore, but one of the things I haven’t quite been able to decide is whether the maids and butlers in the mansion are dead, alive, or something in between. Mainly because I’m not sure which one would make more sense. Like obviously the mansion had working staff in it while the owners were alive, so the staff we see there could just be the spirits of those maids and butlers who worked for Master Gracey, but if the mansion is readily open for tours for us, foolish mortals, then it would make sense for the staff to be alive (especially because ghosts aren’t supposed to materialize until after the seance

So what’s your personal interpretation? I’d like to know what the general consensus is, if there is one.