Thread: Haunts that use illusions--is there one near you?

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My favorite kind of haunt is not the kind that I do, or that most of us do (though I love them all--don't get me wrong!) It's the kind that is mysterious, creepy, and somewhat magical. The kind of haunt that's not in-your-face, but is quieter and requires a long slow look around, and then you see things. These haunts often use Pepper's Ghosts or projection or other video effects. They use tricks and illusions that leave you wondering "How did they DO that??!!"

Near Los Angeles, we have had these:
1) Hallowed Haunting Grounds http://www.hauntinggrounds.org/
2) Turbidite Manor (a pro haunt that moved to Tennesee) http://turbiditemanor.com/
3) The House of Restless Spirits http://houseofrestlessspirits.com/

Some examples of illusion effects:
There will be a harp in a room. Then a Pepper's Ghost of a woman appears and plays the harp, and you hear the harp music.
There are statues where the face appears to age before your eyes, and then goes back to being young again.

Is there a haunt like that near you? If so, please list their website, and what effects you saw (even if you didn't know how it was done).

(6-10-10 edited for grammar and spelling)

nothing like that near me. about the only thing like this i have ever seen is the year we went to disneyland, and as you were riding along, there was a ghost that appeared in the mirror as if he were riding with you. as little as my daughter was, that was what still to this day stands out the most for her. but i want to thank you for those sites. i want to do a magic theme some year and these ideas may come in handy.

trickortreat,

You're reading my mind! I'm all about atmosphere. Another well-known haunt that relies more on illusion than scare tactics and gore is of course the Davis Graveyard.

http://www.davisgraveyard.com/Welcome.htm

Yes, an atmosphere that's quiet and eerie- that's what I love. It makes things seem more realistically haunted. Davis Graveyard is on target with their projection effects, especially ghosts of kids giggling and playing in their colorless graveyard. Isn't that what you might expect to see late at night in a big graveyard that has children's graves? I was glad to have attended a seminar by the Davis Graveyard folks recently. Nice people.

Originally Posted by hallorenescene

...the year we went to disneyland, and as you were riding along, there was a ghost that appeared in the mirror as if he were riding with you.

The Disney people working on the Haunted Mansion were actually called Illusioneers!

Some other Disney Haunted Mansion illusions:

Pepper's Ghosts of ballroom dancers
Pepper's ghosts of dueling men walking out of their portraits
Rear Projection of Madam Leota's head talking inside a crystal ball.
Projection of Little Leota (like a small statue) saying hurry baaaack
Projection of statue Busts singing Grim Grinning Ghosts

Haunters have put videos on YouTube that allow you to begin duplicating many of these effects, by projecting onto styrofoam forms, etc. There must be a home haunter who has a made a ghost appear in a full mirror, by using a one-way mirror and lighting a ghost or skelly in a box behind the mirror. Anyone got a link for that?

Take the IDEA of Disney's effects and make them creepier: House of Restless Spirits lets you look into a bedroom window, it looks like a child's bedroom with a doll and a chalkboard. But the hanging, framed, black-and-white photo portrait of a young girl vanishes leaving just a blank canvass inside the frame, and you now see the girl standing in the middle of the room in an old-fashioned muslin nightgown, her hair and gown blowing in the wind, and she reaches out to you, calling. She's in color, but muted colors. Then she disappears and the black and white photo of her face reappears back inside the framed portrait on the wall.