Thread: Need help with fortune teller crystal ball head

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What a great message board I have come to here! I have read hundreds and hundreds of posts but still can't find what I need. When I get an idea in my head regarding Halloween there is no stopping me until it is done. This year my husband and I have a great idea, but we cannot figure out how to make it work. I come to you fine people to help us get it right.

I am going to be a fortune teller and originally we wanted to find or make a crystal ball large enough to fit over my husband's head (please keep in mind he will need to breathe). He will be sitting low to the ground with his head coming through the table and gory make up on his face. Any ideas how to make this work? If we can't get his head into "a ball" maybe have him in a "base" that will reveal him when I lift the ball or something like that? We always try to go for a startle more than gory scare. The ball does not need to be clear, just needs to be large enough to slip over his head. Actually it doesn't need to be a complete sphere, just needs to look good from the front where the ToTs will pass by. I am the one that hands out the candy and will need to "consult" my crystal ball to see if the ToT has candy in their future. This year we will actually be set up in the garage with a little walk through to get to us. Ok, I've rambled on enough...just trying to give some background on the setup. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

a gold fish bowl?

We have not been able to find a round fish bowl, the only one that we could find is flat on the front and the back. I would love to find a plastic rounded one, but have not come across one anywhere yet.

try looking on amazon.com...just type in round fish bowl

I know this is late in the season, but I use a crystal ball like the Scream TV. It's totally interactive and my sister plays a great gypsy fortune teller. Here's a vid of my wife having fun with her. It uses a video camera, TV, and a piece of glass. Been running it for about 5 years with no problems. Of course, it looks much better in person. I still can't get good video at night. Take a look. If you have any questions, just ask...
YouTube - Fortune Teller.mpg

Get one of the large Spirit Balls and use the ball part without the animated head inside.

I bought the Gemmy White Haired Spirit Ball at Ross Dress for Less about a month or so ago for $19.99. Also saw a few similar sized varieties of the spirit ball for the same price in my local Spirit Halloween store when they opened this year. If you go this route you should know that there are several sizes of the Spirit Ball (or Bolla Crystal) and you'd definitely want the largest one.

I have my large White haired guy Spirit Ball taken apart right now. The globe on it is really big. Not taking precise measurements, it's about 13-14 inches high and the opening is 9-1/2 inches wide. I put it over my head and yeah it would work for what you want to do probably. You may want to drill a hole in it for some air circulation otherwise it will probably fog up completely if the night is cold...I assume your husband will be popping his head in and out of it throughout the night (can't be comfortable way to sit all night otherwise--what a trouper!).

BTW if you can still find the White Haired Guy one, he comes with a microphone (audio input) and he can be the best deal (at Ross pricing) because not only would you get the globe but also if you go to the Tutorial Section here in the forum there's a great thread of a tutorial done by OpenTrackRacer about hacking him so you could add your own audio track through an mp3 for example and get the head to say anything you want. I will eventually add a body to my guy and make him a full prop. Gemmy Crystal Ball audio line-in hack I think he was the only head to have a mic just so you know.

Hope you enjoy the forum. Love to see pics or a video of your live spirit ball if you can post later.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. My husband and I spent all day yesterday looking for a spirit ball and of course nobody had any in stock. So today I ordered the 14" Gemmy Witch Spirit Crystal Ball from Ebay. I'm hoping that will be the right size. Once we make some progress I will try to post pictures. Now, like the song says...the waiting is the hardest part.

This is what we have for the table so far: