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 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.
One of the largest implementations of this illusion can be found at the various Disney theme parks around the world in the Haunted Mansion attraction; the technique gives the impression of hologram-like ghosts.
External links
- A description and illustration of the illusion (http://www.phantasmechanics.com/pepper.html)
References
Sorrell, Jason (2003) The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies, Disney Editions, New York (p. 72)