When I was a kid back in the 60s I made one of these and created the illusion of my brother's severed head answering questions and telling folks their futures. It drew sizable crowds that Halloween
The added benefit to being able to use a smartphone or iPad mini is that you can use Zoom or similar app to have your spook interact with whoever sees the prop
One of my favorite applications of this is (or was) at la brea tar pits where they used it to fade between an actual skeleton and a model of the original animal.
There was a peppers ghost effect I saw years ago on a halloween page. They had a full sized animitronic ghost playing a piano in a crypt. Using an old player piano, and had motion controlled the ghost to make it mimic the song it was playing. It was really one of the best uses of this effect I've seen besides the haunted mansion. They of course used a large pane of glass for it.
Had an idea similar to this but my mind was set/stuck on using a projector. This broke my head free! Shoot, you could even use an old cellphone! Thank you!
First I purchased a cheap poster frame with plastic glass. That thin plastic glass is what I used. This actually cut easily with quality heavy duty scissors. There's a bit of flex to it and since my glass container was like a ball with a smaller neck I had to bend it to get it inside. It was tricky but I dabbed a bit of hot glue along the plastic sheets edges to get it to stick in the right location.
I can definitely see the charm in this! As proof of concept, it's pretty amazing! That's a difficult effect to pull off with the reflective and curved inner surface of the bell jar. I'd be tempted to try it with a square acrylic box designed to look like a trophy case maybe. Large enough to have a floating ghost head!😱 Nicely done Sir!
Very cool and something I've been working on myself. The problem with pepper's ghost effects using a bottom-mounted screens is that the viewer can easily see it when looking down if the object/effect is below eye level. A better way would be to mount it above - for example in a dolls house you could mount the screen to the ceiling and no one would see it unless they bend down and look under. It's important to also hide the edges of the reflective glass. Very hard to do in a bell jar but in the dolls house example you could easily hide the edges with a patterned wallpaper :)
Another way to do it is to crumple up a piece of foil, smooth it out, lay it on your foam and then use an iron on a low setting applied directly to the foil. The harder you press the more deeply the creases and points will transfer. Just be careful when you peel the foil off - if the foam softens too much or starts to melt the foil will stick. Alternatively you can heat the foam with a heat gun and press the crumpled ball onto the foam. Cosplayers use this technique a lot for adding texture to their pieces.
This is a great video, I've been trying how to figure this effect out, this really helps me!! You've got me as a subscriber now!! I'm looking forward to seeing all your past videos and looking forward to new ones!!
I'd love for you to revisit this one when you finally make your "Pepper 's Ghost 2.0." I always enjoy it when you've sat with a prop for a while and have figured out ways to improve your illusions. Not that this is a bad prop, mind you, but the creator juices are always flowing.😁
You could flame polish the edges of the 45 degree plastic to make the cut edges disappear if you wanted to. Great Project. Thank you for sharing with us.
I cut mine on a laser cutter, but you can draw out your shape, cut near your line with a jigsaw using a fine tooth blade and then sand it until you’re satisfied with the shape.
It's hard to tell from a 2D video, but doesn't the image appear behind the jar? The distance from the angled transparent screen to the source is also replicated.
Madam Leota could be done using this technique or the singing ghost busts that would be something I would like to learn to make. But I still am trying to figure out a good way to make a smaller scale stretching room portrait prop.
Does the book provide any effect (like blocking light) other than the illusion? i.e I'm only interested in the ghost effect itself to make a 3D projection.
Nice way to incorporate a small pepper's ghost effect! I might steal this lol! I have an idea for a video I don't think you've done yet ( If you have, sorry I must've missed it) but I've seen cosplayers making mini-fog machines out of vape pens/ e-cigarettes I think it would be a fun challenge and could have some applications in your cemetery. Love the videos!
Hi there, could you please share the video you used on your phone (or one like it) as the basis for the projection (the blue fire ball graphic) Thank you
That was very cool, you did a nice job, I was really fooled. (Just a tiny bit disappointing, because I was hoping I could recreate your effect, but it wasn't at all what it appeared to be, which is what you were trying to do! Too bad I can't use it.) I overall think it is fantastic!Thank you for sharing, I am certain others will have a blast with this build!
@@VanOaksProps The answer is yes but it isn't cheap. Anti-reflective coatings exist but they have to be put on to an exact thickness. The reflection at the surface of glass is normally about 4% of the light at each transition of materials for air to glass. The amount depends on the "optical impedance" also thought of as the speed of light in the material and the angle the light hits the surface at. To make a glass less obvious light the scene with diffuse light but avoid any light source that would bounce off a mirrored surface to the viewer's eyes.
It's made by Surebonder. It has the same properties as clear. I just had it on hand because they've sponsored workshops that I've hosted and I had extra.
Correct on the plastidip. The wax paint is made by Plaid/DecoArt. No issues with the foam. It’s how a lot of cosplayers coat their foam pieces. Thank you and thanks for watching.
Yes ok, but do you know how many years I have to search all "Halloween", all "scary" or "horror" tagged music to find it there. Do you have a name or number please. 🙏🙏🙏
❤❤PLEASE READ❤❤ I did the same thing but I used a circular globe. And my projection had The Haunted Mansion Madame Leota. The globe was about 2 ft round. I actually use a very large Plexi glass globe from a street light. I sat it on a cast iron circle with Queen Anne legs. It was really cool. TH-cam actually has a continuous link of her talking like at the Haunted Mansion turned out great.
At the beginning I wondered why you weren’t using your palm on your left hand to hold down things but then further on the video I realized that is just how your left hand is 😮
Could you pour resin into the "jar" while it was at a 45 degree angle and the effect still work? that way you also wouldn't have the edges of the reflector visible and maybe get rid of the secondary reflection or am I just talking out of my a$$?
Hi, thanks for your fascinating video. 🤩 I recorded a video for the Piramid Peppers ghost illusion, Can you help me find the jar's correct angles for making my own fantasy world in the jar?
Sorry I missed the premiere... I like the haunted mansion... and for a first attempt, it's a Pepper's Ghost! nothing to sneeze at! LOL (get it pepper... sneeze? LOL) Oh okay... probably not _that_ funny.
I did an effect, not sure how well it came out in a haunt with a scare actor. I did a Pepper's Ghost to overlay the actor in the a booth and did a cross-dissolve... back then I used two incandescent lamps and a dual ended pot to control the brightness. Turn the control and the light illuminating the face would dim down and the light illuminating the scary mask would be light up... The effect is that the face would dissolve into the skelly mask face and then I had a dimmer that would fade it out. It was interesting to try the effect, I just gave it to the kids helping me out to get it to work and I didn't supervise them too much... which is why it wasn't done to my level of perfection, but as a trial prop idea, not bad!
So I used to live in Tulsa, which has a megachurch called GUTS Church, and every year they put on a Hell House in October. I went one year. In the last room was a bunch of demons having a rave while the PA system played the, "You need Jesus," message, and there was a hallway connecting to the room. It lit up, and at the end was a man in a suit. Lights off, lights on, the man is closer to the room. Lights off, lights on, and the man is just at the entrance, and then he morphed into Satan, and I freaked out. "OH, MY GOSH! YOU'RE DOING PEPPER'S GHOST! THAT WAS FANTASTIC!" At which point, everyone in my group (I didn't know them), and all the demons stop what they're doing and look at me. A couple security guards then came over to me and asked me to leave, which I did. And that's how I got kicked out of a Megachurch's Haunted House attraction.
Awesome video! I might have to try this for next Halloween. New sub. (pet peeve: please don't do the wiggle. Why do people wiggle? I understand it's the thing that you're showing me you don't need to wiggle to sell me on the thing that it is.) But no seriously great build!
When I was a kid back in the 60s I made one of these and created the illusion of my brother's severed head answering questions and telling folks their futures. It drew sizable crowds that Halloween
where's the photos? any more details you could share on how you did it and what you used at the time? sounds awesome!
What did you use for a screen?
😂😂😂😂@@ACAB.forcutie
@@jaydenwilson9522 ?
The added benefit to being able to use a smartphone or iPad mini is that you can use Zoom or similar app to have your spook interact with whoever sees the prop
One of my favorite applications of this is (or was) at la brea tar pits where they used it to fade between an actual skeleton and a model of the original animal.
There was a peppers ghost effect I saw years ago on a halloween page. They had a full sized animitronic ghost playing a piano in a crypt. Using an old player piano, and had motion controlled the ghost to make it mimic the song it was playing. It was really one of the best uses of this effect I've seen besides the haunted mansion. They of course used a large pane of glass for it.
Boy do I love this. There's something about it in a dome that makes it even more deceptive than a traditional box. Nicely done and thanks for sharing!
But he never went into what he used for the image in the bottom of the 📚😢
Had an idea similar to this but my mind was set/stuck on using a projector. This broke my head free! Shoot, you could even use an old cellphone! Thank you!
Yes! I love this. I did this using a glass ball vase from the craft store, a thin clear plastic sheet cut to fit and placed over a LCD TV. GREAT PROP!
How did you cut the plastic sheet?
First I purchased a cheap poster frame with plastic glass. That thin plastic glass is what I used. This actually cut easily with quality heavy duty scissors. There's a bit of flex to it and since my glass container was like a ball with a smaller neck I had to bend it to get it inside. It was tricky but I dabbed a bit of hot glue along the plastic sheets edges to get it to stick in the right location.
I can definitely see the charm in this! As proof of concept, it's pretty amazing! That's a difficult effect to pull off with the reflective and curved inner surface of the bell jar. I'd be tempted to try it with a square acrylic box designed to look like a trophy case maybe. Large enough to have a floating ghost head!😱 Nicely done Sir!
Yeah. The round shape adds an extra challenge. Thanks a ton!
OOOhhhh... floating ghost head is such a great idea too!
Ooh! New project to join my ever-expanding list of things I want to make.
Thanks, Derek.
Nicely done! Nothing like a little Pepper’s Ghost action!
I love smoke and mirrors videos! Reminds me of my childhood. Great Job Derek!
Very cool and something I've been working on myself. The problem with pepper's ghost effects using a bottom-mounted screens is that the viewer can easily see it when looking down if the object/effect is below eye level. A better way would be to mount it above - for example in a dolls house you could mount the screen to the ceiling and no one would see it unless they bend down and look under. It's important to also hide the edges of the reflective glass. Very hard to do in a bell jar but in the dolls house example you could easily hide the edges with a patterned wallpaper :)
I absolutely love watching your DIY videos.
I love it! I made Madam Leota's head out of a fishbowl and pepper's ghosted her with my kindle a few years ago. It worked great!
That's a great idea!
Very interesting... the attention you gave to the book was great...
Fantastic demo! Thanks so much for your informative and entertaining videos!
Wow fantastic prop 💀🪦
It looks AWSOME! Thanks for sharing this idea. I will definitely make one for next Halloween 🙂
Great project! I will be definitely be making this.
Love this so much! Nice idea with the heated tinfoil to add texture. I'll have to try that.
Another way to do it is to crumple up a piece of foil, smooth it out, lay it on your foam and then use an iron on a low setting applied directly to the foil. The harder you press the more deeply the creases and points will transfer. Just be careful when you peel the foil off - if the foam softens too much or starts to melt the foil will stick. Alternatively you can heat the foam with a heat gun and press the crumpled ball onto the foam. Cosplayers use this technique a lot for adding texture to their pieces.
This is a great video, I've been trying how to figure this effect out, this really helps me!! You've got me as a subscriber now!! I'm looking forward to seeing all your past videos and looking forward to new ones!!
Welcome and thank you!
As always, great video, Derek!
that is a seriously great idea with a LOT of fun potential. Great work, Sir.
Thanks so much!
I'd love for you to revisit this one when you finally make your "Pepper 's Ghost 2.0." I always enjoy it when you've sat with a prop for a while and have figured out ways to improve your illusions. Not that this is a bad prop, mind you, but the creator juices are always flowing.😁
Indeed they are!
You could flame polish the edges of the 45 degree plastic to make the cut edges disappear if you wanted to. Great Project. Thank you for sharing with us.
Oh! I hadn't even thought of that. Brilliant idea. Thank you for the suggestion.
fantastic, and the book looks awesome.
Thank you!
Every time I have risen through the Haunted House Ride wondering how they do this. It looked so easy. Thanks for breaking this down for me and others.
how did you get such a clean cut with the acrylic and shape it so perfectly? struggling a lot with that part !
I cut mine on a laser cutter, but you can draw out your shape, cut near your line with a jigsaw using a fine tooth blade and then sand it until you’re satisfied with the shape.
Incredible and you have a new subscriber man. Amazing stuff.
Welcome aboard!
Absolutely amazing 👏
Is the kind of transparency film your talking about the acetate sheets that were used for overhead projectors in highschool?
Correct
It's hard to tell from a 2D video, but doesn't the image appear behind the jar? The distance from the angled transparent screen to the source is also replicated.
It looks like it’s inside because the reflection is inside the jar.
That came out great! Going to have to try to see how it looks in person. I'm sure the effect looks magical
You've just unravelled a mystery I first saw in 1973. You're so clever!
Good job Derek!
Madam Leota could be done using this technique or the singing ghost busts that would be something I would like to learn to make. But I still am trying to figure out a good way to make a smaller scale stretching room portrait prop.
Madam Leota needs a form of her face or it won’t be nearly as convincing as Disney
Super cool man!! 👍🏻👍🏻
What a fun little project!
Does the book provide any effect (like blocking light) other than the illusion? i.e I'm only interested in the ghost effect itself to make a 3D projection.
It’s just something to hide the screen.
@@VanOaksProps So all you really need is the shell, the acrylic, and an Ipad?
@@tedsheridan8725 you technically don’t even need the shell. You just have to hide the angled glass/acrylic, and the sky is the limit for doing that.
Dude, that is awesome!!!
You sound like Casey Kasem. That's awesome. Great project, btw.
Nice way to incorporate a small pepper's ghost effect! I might steal this lol! I have an idea for a video I don't think you've done yet ( If you have, sorry I must've missed it) but I've seen cosplayers making mini-fog machines out of vape pens/ e-cigarettes I think it would be a fun challenge and could have some applications in your cemetery. Love the videos!
Go for it!
Looks great. Nice work!
Hi are you going to get in more of the camouflage hat that you have on? And thanks for the videos
I don’t actually sell any of the hats, but I do sell iron on patches that can go on any hat. Check my shop here: Vanoaksprops.Etsy.com
That's really cool!
Hi there, could you please share the video you used on your phone (or one like it) as the basis for the projection (the blue fire ball graphic) Thank you
I don't recall where exactly I found it, but I'm sure It was something I found on a stock video site using the search term "glowing orb"
Another great prop ! Could you spray the base of the bell jar with that black rubberized spray so it would be a more "matte" black ?!
Thanks! You could, although I’d just go with matte black spray paint so that it wouldn’t affect the way the jar fits together.
@@VanOaksProps excellent point !
Wow, very nice first try!
That was very cool, you did a nice job, I was really fooled. (Just a tiny bit disappointing, because I was hoping I could recreate your effect, but it wasn't at all what it appeared to be, which is what you were trying to do! Too bad I can't use it.) I overall think it is fantastic!Thank you for sharing, I am certain others will have a blast with this build!
Not sure I understand. If there's anything I can do to help you make your idea come to life let me know
As always, great job!
I would like to see more about making the illusion work well and less about how to make a box look like a book.
It’s a finicky illusion and this was more of an exploration of the effect.
It didn’t even look remotely close too looking like a real book too 😭😭
Very ingenious idea!
Thanks!
How can something be so simple but so clever?
Perhaps fire polish 45° insert plastic edges. May not show up as much.
Very cool project!
is it possible to make the inside of the dome non reflective?
Tough to say. My instinct says no, since "glass" is clear and you should be able to see through it, but I've been wrong before. LOL
@@VanOaksProps The answer is yes but it isn't cheap. Anti-reflective coatings exist but they have to be put on to an exact thickness. The reflection at the surface of glass is normally about 4% of the light at each transition of materials for air to glass. The amount depends on the "optical impedance" also thought of as the speed of light in the material and the angle the light hits the surface at. To make a glass less obvious light the scene with diffuse light but avoid any light source that would bounce off a mirrored surface to the viewer's eyes.
Very cool. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Very cool!
What type of hot glue is white? Everyone’s overuse have been clear. Please advise me.
It's made by Surebonder. It has the same properties as clear. I just had it on hand because they've sponsored workshops that I've hosted and I had extra.
What was the video you used? Repeating gif? TH-cam vid?
TH-cam video. I just searched “floating orb”
Fascinating!! Just discovered your channel....fun stuff!!
Welcome!
Rubberized spray? Wax paint? I'm guessing Plasti-dip? Any issues with the foam melting using this? Thanks for another great idea and video!
Correct on the plastidip. The wax paint is made by Plaid/DecoArt. No issues with the foam. It’s how a lot of cosplayers coat their foam pieces. Thank you and thanks for watching.
@@VanOaksProps Thanks!
What is the issue, with your left hand?
I have radial dysplasia.
Very cool
can v use somthing cheap instead of a cell phone plz reply
You can, yes.
Love it!
Amazing 👍🏻👍🏽👍
Would you please link or name the song. Can't find it on epidemic
It's not on epidemic. Check audiojungle.net.
Yes ok, but do you know how many years I have to search all "Halloween", all "scary" or "horror" tagged music to find it there. Do you have a name or number please. 🙏🙏🙏
audiojungle.net/item/spooky/13325785
So good. Thank you so so much. 🖐️
Impressive!
What app did you use?
For what?
❤❤PLEASE READ❤❤
I did the same thing but I used a circular globe. And my projection had The Haunted Mansion Madame Leota. The globe was about 2 ft round. I actually use a very large Plexi glass globe from a street light. I sat it on a cast iron circle with Queen Anne legs. It was really cool. TH-cam actually has a continuous link of her talking like at the Haunted Mansion turned out great.
At the beginning I wondered why you weren’t using your palm on your left hand to hold down things but then further on the video I realized that is just how your left hand is 😮
Yep! Making due with the tools I've got. haha
Awesome
How cool!!
Thanks!
Amazing!!
Thanks!!
Cool.
Huh. Never seen white elmers looking hot glue. What is that exactly?
Just white colored hot glue.
Pepper's Ghost will never not be alluring.
👀
Bravo!
You will never fool a Good Medium :)
Wholesome
Rockstar!
very successful!!
Between you and Wicked Makers, my next 3 years of projects are pilling up.
Way cool 😎
Ty
*SHINY!* 🫶😻
So fun!!!!
Cool
Could you pour resin into the "jar" while it was at a 45 degree angle and the effect still work? that way you also wouldn't have the edges of the reflector visible and maybe get rid of the secondary reflection or am I just talking out of my a$$?
It might be a challenge to contain the resin
Ok yes I need more
Watching in north Texas
Coat interior base with a satin/flat black plastidip coat.
Great idea
Hi, thanks for your fascinating video. 🤩 I recorded a video for the Piramid Peppers ghost illusion, Can you help me find the jar's correct angles for making my own fantasy world in the jar?
It’s typically 45 degrees.
Sorry I missed the premiere... I like the haunted mansion... and for a first attempt, it's a Pepper's Ghost! nothing to sneeze at! LOL (get it pepper... sneeze? LOL) Oh okay... probably not _that_ funny.
I did an effect, not sure how well it came out in a haunt with a scare actor. I did a Pepper's Ghost to overlay the actor in the a booth and did a cross-dissolve... back then I used two incandescent lamps and a dual ended pot to control the brightness. Turn the control and the light illuminating the face would dim down and the light illuminating the scary mask would be light up... The effect is that the face would dissolve into the skelly mask face and then I had a dimmer that would fade it out. It was interesting to try the effect, I just gave it to the kids helping me out to get it to work and I didn't supervise them too much... which is why it wasn't done to my level of perfection, but as a trial prop idea, not bad!
i learned about peppers ghost from the Magic School Bus.
💙
So I used to live in Tulsa, which has a megachurch called GUTS Church, and every year they put on a Hell House in October. I went one year. In the last room was a bunch of demons having a rave while the PA system played the, "You need Jesus," message, and there was a hallway connecting to the room. It lit up, and at the end was a man in a suit. Lights off, lights on, the man is closer to the room. Lights off, lights on, and the man is just at the entrance, and then he morphed into Satan, and I freaked out. "OH, MY GOSH! YOU'RE DOING PEPPER'S GHOST! THAT WAS FANTASTIC!" At which point, everyone in my group (I didn't know them), and all the demons stop what they're doing and look at me. A couple security guards then came over to me and asked me to leave, which I did.
And that's how I got kicked out of a Megachurch's Haunted House attraction.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
Yup what last guy say
Awesome video! I might have to try this for next Halloween. New sub. (pet peeve: please don't do the wiggle. Why do people wiggle? I understand it's the thing that you're showing me you don't need to wiggle to sell me on the thing that it is.) But no seriously great build!
What wiggle?
What wiggle?