Thread: How to do a ledge drop off effect?

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I was at a haunt last year and saw an this effect and have been trying to figure it out since. I know it worked off of a similar set-up to the bottomless pit, there was a small shack on the path that you had to enter, immediately upon entering you are put onto a 'ledge' that continually shrinks...on the other side of the ledge it appears to drop off to an endless pit, however you realize that when you step down that it actually is a surface (mirror I believe) that you could walk on and that the bottomless pit was just an illusion. I didn't really get a good look at the works behind it at the time, but I made a diagram of how I think it may work (although i could be totally wrong). Any help would be great, I'm thinking of doing a smaller version of this for our haunt here.

I think you are on the right track. The only thing I can think of right off the bat is that you cant walk on a mirror so a thick iece of plexiglass is going to be needed. You are probobly talking 3/4" to 1" thick minimum. I think lighting will also play a big part in your setup.

That was the interesting thing, and I thought about that, but I'm pretty sure their setup had it to where you walked on the mirror which I didn't think was a good idea. You could tell it was a mirror when you stepped down on it just because of the sound it made when you put pressure on it.

I have a bottomless pit at the entrance of my haunted house.
This year I am going to add another bottomless pit that people have to walk across. The original pit is about 3 feet tall and very narrow.
The new bottemless pit will be only about 1 foot tall but 4' x 8'. I am going to build a narrow foot bridge that will go over the pit through the middle. I will place the pit directly inside the entrance and visitors will have to walk across it to get inside.
I will post videos when I get it built which will be soon!!!

Originally Posted by hauntcrazy

I have a bottomless pit at the entrance of my haunted house.
This year I am going to add another bottomless pit that people have to walk across. The original pit is about 3 feet tall and very narrow.
The new bottemless pit will be only about 1 foot tall but 4' x 8'. I am going to build a narrow foot bridge that will go over the pit through the middle. I will place the pit directly inside the entrance and visitors will have to walk across it to get inside.
I will post videos when I get it built which will be soon!!!

That sounds great! Please take lots of pics and vids. It's a great idea to add the narrow bridge.

Sounds like a great idea, I'd love to see it when you're done.

I also have questions on how does this work. I have started my bottomless pit, and have mirror and acrylic. I have to bend heavy cardboard in circle. I have made the top edges of cardboard jagged painting it black and was adding debris. I could not find anything else big enough round. my mirror and acyrlic are about 25-26 inches round. I have not attached film on acrylic yet. I am probably going to need help, some things look easier than they are. So I can't try it yet. I want to do this pit inside,the house. I was told it would not work uness I have something covering the top part of it in black. It will just show ceiling which is white. I did not even think of that when I started. Do I have to attach this on a tilt in base and face something black? I am going to use those L brackets all around inside and set mirror in. I did not even think of that when I started. I am trying to make it like a project exploded and put a hole in the floor. Thanks

I've seen the effect too, and am wondering how it works. Could somebody post pics of thier pits? Thanks.

Dollylinn and Pumpkin King
Here is the best link on how to make a pit
Bottomless Pit

It is a very simple prop to make and only cost me about $50 to make.
About 3 or 4 hours construction time.

You will need some plexiglass and mirror film which is avaible at Lowes or Home Depot.

Here is a video of mine at about 20 seconds into the video.
YouTube - Chestnut Hill Haunted House 08 Vid 2

I finally finished my bottomless pit science project that exploded. Here are a few pics. There will be a little more debri around.