Thread: Haunted Harp

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I don't post often and then usually only to offer help, but here is my newest prop. The Haunted Harp. It will be used in my Pepper's Ghost scene so it really isn't finished. I won't set up the scene for another couple months. I have a young girl to play the Harpist who will appear and disappear during the night.
A little history about this prop. My good friend Specter built this prop several years ago. He told me that a guy name Nathan Hamilton from Hallowed Haunting Grounds was where he acquired the idea. When I saw this at Specters house, I swore I would build one. There isn't any sound yet so I'll find and play some dark harp music from within the scene.
This prop uses fiber optics and a prop1 controller with led's. The body is built from 2 lb. foam and the cardboard tube from a roll of carpet. It weighs 14 lbs. I did coat the whole thing with a product from Industrial Polymers called Styrospray. Apply it with a brush and it's dry in a half hour. Puts a hard coating of plastic over the styrofoam. $30 will get you a two quart kit. http://www.industrialpolymers.com/styrospray.html
Here it is, sorry for the poor video. Click on the pic.

Ooooo original and creative!!! I think this will look fantastic and I can just imagine how creepy it will look with a ghost girl playing it!!! Looking forward to seeing the whole effect!!

Wow that thing is cool. I cant wait to see it in your haunt and with some music

Cool idea! Will be a great addition to any haunt!!! TWO THUMBS UP FOR CREATIVE DESIGN!

That is neat!

Okay, my jaw just dropped to the floor. That is an amazing, ethereal special effect. And you are going to to a Pepper's ghost with it. WOW!!!

Sweet !!!

Thanks! Been working on it for a good month. I used the exact same program in the prop1 that I used for my fireflies. I'm still looking for a fairly "dark" harp song that I can use. It needs to be fairly rhythmic to match the strings. The other strings that don't light are made from leather cording(black strings) and weed eater line. Here is a pic of the back before I added the strings. Just carved it out with a hot knife.

Now I would have never thought of doing anything like that.. but now my mind is going crazy .. Is there anyway we could get you to do a little tutorial please please on how you rigged the fliliments

Witchypoo,
The strings are much easier than you think. Bought 30' unjacketed fiber here; http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Unjacketed.htm Used the 2mm stuff at 50 cents a foot. You could easily use the 1mm and it might actually be better. The 2mm is stiff. I sanded the end down with 600 grit paper, but it should actually be polished ultra smooth for best light transfer. I sanded the middle of the string with 250 grit sandpaper and would like to suggest that when you do this step, do it in the dark and start at the top of your string. Light is much harder to get out of the top of the string than the bottom of the string, so starting at the top allows you to see the max light you should shoot for, from the string. Sand lighter at the bottom. I used shrink tubing to attach the led to the fiber. Nothin' fancy, just be sure to keep the led in the proper line with the fiber. I used 3 -4 tubes per connection for strength. To fix the fiber at the inside of harp, I used a butt connector for electrical connections. Didn't crimp it too hard, just enough to hold the fiber securely. Flat washers on the inside of the connector. Added a few washers under existing washers to tighten a string that might be loose. Just tied off any weedeater line or leather. At the top, there are shelf pegs for holding shelves at certain heights. Drilled a hole in each one so the fiber or weedeater line could be wrapped and secured though the hole. Tried all the same color but liked using all colors the best. There are 8 outputs on the prop1, so 8 lights. If you have any more questions, just ask.