Pepper’s Ghost
Pepper’s Ghost effect involves creating the illusion of a
ghost through optical trickery and was first used during the
middle of the 1800s. Pepper’s Ghost effect succeeds the
Phantasmagoria ghost show which originated in France during
the French Revolution and used rear projection which could
be repositioned to make images move on walls, on
semi-transparent screens, and inside of smoke, to produce
the effect of an apparition.
Pepper’s Ghost effect,
created by Henri Pepper, was the predecessor of cinema and
was used to create an illusion of a ghost in front of a live
public audience during a theatrical production. At the end
of the 19th century Henri Pepper used this illusion in many
theatrical performances and it was often associated with
photographs which produced illusions of transparent ghosts.
Although this was not due to Pepper’s Ghost effect and
instead was the result of the long exposure required of
photographs from this period, many still related it to
Pepper’s Ghost effect that they experienced in theatrical
performances.
How Pepper’s Ghost Effect Works
The illusion
of a ghost is created by an actor who remains out of sight
from the audience in a room that is completely painted in
black. The audience views a scene through a piece of plate
glass such as a room with furniture, a dungeon, or any other
type of scene. The actor is costumed in the black room with
a beam of light focused directly on the actor which creates
a reflection in the plate glass. When the audience views the
scene through the plate glass, they see the reflection of
the actor on the glass which provides the illusion of a
transparent ghost.
How to Create Pepper’s Ghost Effect
Pepper’s Ghost effect is still used for Halloween
festivities, in amusement park haunted houses, and a variety
of other purposes. It is not difficult to create Pepper’s
Ghost effect if you have the right materials and know how to
present it properly to maximize the effect to your audience
of viewers.
The materials which are used to create
Pepper’s Ghost effect are quite simple and include a large
piece of glass at least several feet tall by several feet
wide, a light to focus on the subject, a black room, black
fabric, or black backdrop, and a light dimmer which can be
used as an option instead of a requirement. The plate glass
can also be substituted with Plexiglas as long as there are
no imperfections or scratches. For optimal results though
plate glass provides the best effect.
The most
difficult part of the project is finding a piece of plate
glass that is large enough to make the effect a success with
your audience. Sometimes you can find it in thrift stores
however you will have to look around to find a piece that
will produce the best effect for your project.
For
the next step, it is necessary to find a suitable location
where you can set up the effect without sacrificing any of
the illusions you want to create. Depending upon where you
set it up, it may require some construction if you cannot
find a setting that will accommodate this type of project.
Create the black backdrop where the actor will be
located. You can create this with black cloth or a
constructed plywood room that is completely covered with
black paint. Whatever you choose, make sure the room is
completely hidden from the view of your audience.
Create a scene which will be situated behind the plate
glass. You can use your imagination here and set it up as a
room in a haunted house with a chair where the ghost will be
seated or any other creative ideas you can come up with.
The lighting behind the plate glass and in the black
room where the actor is located will require adjustment so
you can clearly see the props behind the plate glass as well
as the transparent illusion of the actor. The brighter the
light the less transparent the image will seem and lower
light levels will make the image appear to be more
transparent. This is where a light dimmer can come in handy
because it will make it easier to adjust the lighting for
the perfect effect.
The plate glass will need to be
positioned at a 45 degree angle to the black backdrop to
enable the actor’s refection to be seen by the viewing
audience. The visible edges must then be camouflaged in a
way which is not obvious to the audience that the plate
glass is present.
Pepper’s Ghost effect is used with
current technology such as with military fighter planes
where the pilot does not have time to look down to get the
data that is needed to operate the plane. This is where
Pepper’s Ghost effect can be used with modern day technology
by reflecting the data on the screen at the right depth so
the pilot does not have to refocus and without obstructing
the pilot’s view out of the plane.
Pepper’s Ghost
effect can also be used with GPS systems where instead of
looking down at the instructions to figure out what they
mean you can see them hovering in front of you and out on
the road where your vision is focused.
With new
technologies emerging on a frequent basis it will be
interesting to see the different ways that Pepper’s Ghost
effect will be used in the next five to ten years.