Pepper's ghost
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Pepper's Ghost is a patented illusory technique used in some magic tricks. The illusion is named after John Henry Pepper, a chemistry professor at the London Polytechnic Institute, who developed the effect for use in a theater in 1862. Using a single mirror and special lighting techniques, it can make objects seem to appear or disappear, or make one object seem to "morph" into another.
In order for the illusion to work, the viewer must be able to see into the main room, but not into the hidden mirror room. The edge of the glass may be hidden by a cleverly designed pattern in the floor. Both rooms may be identical mirror-images; this approach is useful in making objects seem to appear or disappear. This effect can also be used to make an actor reflected in the mirror appear to turn into an actor behind the mirror (or vice versa). This is the principle behind the Girl-to-Gorilla trick found in many haunted houses. The mirror room may instead be painted black, with only light-colored objects in it. When light is cast on the objects, they reflect strongly in the glass, making them appear as ghostly images superimposed in the visible room.
The world's largest implementation of this illusion can be found at the Disneyland theme park, in the Haunted Mansion attraction. The 90-foot-long ballroom scene is one immense Pepper's Ghost effect. Guests travel along an elevated mezzanine overlooking the empty ballroom. Animatronic "ghosts" perform out of sight, in black rooms beneath and above the mezzanine. The reflections in the glass create the appearance of three-dimensional, transparent ghosts swarming through the ballroom. This scene is also replicated in Disney parks in Orlando, Tokyo, and Paris. This use of the effect is notable for two other reasons: 1) it uses a vertical plane of glass that is parallel to the scene, and 2) the reflected objects are located both below and above the viewers.
External links
References
- Sorrell, Jason (2003) The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies, Disney Editions, New York (p. 72) ISBN 078685419-7
- University of Westminster: Link to the University of Westminster (descendent of the London Polytechnic Institute) mentioning John Henry Pepper and his illusion. Search the text within the page for references since it is lengthy.