L***@msn.com
2009-03-20 18:11:10 UTC
I'm looking for some information on "Ghost Special Effects" -- that
is, special effects that can be used to simulate ghostly happenings.
I'm currently working on a theater adaption of "Old Applejoy's Ghost,"
a Christmas tale by the American writer Frank R. Stockton (author of
"The Lady or the Tiger?")
In the story, the heroine is a young girl named Beatrice (age 19). In
the year 1900, she comes to live with her grumpy, miserly old uncle,
John Applejoy, who lives alone in an old New England country mansion.
But there are spirits in the old house. Soon, Beatrice begins to
believe that the house is haunted by the ghost of her great-
grandfather, Colonel Thomas Applejoy, a legendary Revolutionary War
soldier
As Christmas approaches, Beatrice wants to throw a Christmas party at
the mansion, but her miserly uncle will not hear of it. One night,
Beatrice is visited by Colonel Applejoy's ghost, who shows her the
storerooms full of good food and wine in the basement of the mansion,
and instructs her on how to prepare the mansion for the Christmas
party.
But Uncle John (who is a comic "grouchy old uncle" character) refuses
to believe Beatrice's story about the ghost. To convince him, Old
Applejoy's ghost begins playing ghostly tricks on Uncle John, until he
finally gives in and permits Beatrice to throw the Christmas party.
So that's the story. I'm sort of interested as to what kinds of
special effects are used to simulate ghostly happenings on the stage.
Yes, I know. The staging of ghosts is often a matter of costumes,
lighting, and sound effects (i.e. ghostly wind), with a bit of dry ice
smoke thrown in now and then.
I'm looking for what *else* can be done. For example, if an object
(i.e. a pitcher or quill pen) needs to float in the air, how could it
be done? With wires, a la marionette style? How do you make a chair
move back from a table on its own, as if it is being pulled out by an
invisible ghost?
What about shadow effects? I know that seeing a shadow on a wall can
indicate the presence of a ghost. How is this done?
I'm also sort of interested in the old "seance tricks." For example, I
once saw a TV show where a woman pretending to be a medium led a
seance to try to contact a ghost. In the middle of a seance, a "ghost"
-- a transparent image of a man -- appeared alongside the table.
It turned out that the seance was fake. When the woman pretending to
be the medium pushed a button under the table, a large, six-foot pane
of glass slid out from inside a hidden panel into an open arch doorway
in the room. The woman's accomplice -- playing the "ghost" -- was
concealed just inside the open arch doorway, out of sight of the
seance attendees. The lights were turned low in the room for the
seance, and when the man stepped to a certain spot just inside the
open arch doorway, his transparent image was reflected in the pane of
glass, giving the illusion of a "ghost" to the attendees.
Anyway, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. Does anyone have any
special tricks that they use to create ghost effects in the theater?
Or does anyone know of any books that describe tricks like that? I'm
interested in finding out what can and can't be done on stage
concerning ghosts.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
is, special effects that can be used to simulate ghostly happenings.
I'm currently working on a theater adaption of "Old Applejoy's Ghost,"
a Christmas tale by the American writer Frank R. Stockton (author of
"The Lady or the Tiger?")
In the story, the heroine is a young girl named Beatrice (age 19). In
the year 1900, she comes to live with her grumpy, miserly old uncle,
John Applejoy, who lives alone in an old New England country mansion.
But there are spirits in the old house. Soon, Beatrice begins to
believe that the house is haunted by the ghost of her great-
grandfather, Colonel Thomas Applejoy, a legendary Revolutionary War
soldier
As Christmas approaches, Beatrice wants to throw a Christmas party at
the mansion, but her miserly uncle will not hear of it. One night,
Beatrice is visited by Colonel Applejoy's ghost, who shows her the
storerooms full of good food and wine in the basement of the mansion,
and instructs her on how to prepare the mansion for the Christmas
party.
But Uncle John (who is a comic "grouchy old uncle" character) refuses
to believe Beatrice's story about the ghost. To convince him, Old
Applejoy's ghost begins playing ghostly tricks on Uncle John, until he
finally gives in and permits Beatrice to throw the Christmas party.
So that's the story. I'm sort of interested as to what kinds of
special effects are used to simulate ghostly happenings on the stage.
Yes, I know. The staging of ghosts is often a matter of costumes,
lighting, and sound effects (i.e. ghostly wind), with a bit of dry ice
smoke thrown in now and then.
I'm looking for what *else* can be done. For example, if an object
(i.e. a pitcher or quill pen) needs to float in the air, how could it
be done? With wires, a la marionette style? How do you make a chair
move back from a table on its own, as if it is being pulled out by an
invisible ghost?
What about shadow effects? I know that seeing a shadow on a wall can
indicate the presence of a ghost. How is this done?
I'm also sort of interested in the old "seance tricks." For example, I
once saw a TV show where a woman pretending to be a medium led a
seance to try to contact a ghost. In the middle of a seance, a "ghost"
-- a transparent image of a man -- appeared alongside the table.
It turned out that the seance was fake. When the woman pretending to
be the medium pushed a button under the table, a large, six-foot pane
of glass slid out from inside a hidden panel into an open arch doorway
in the room. The woman's accomplice -- playing the "ghost" -- was
concealed just inside the open arch doorway, out of sight of the
seance attendees. The lights were turned low in the room for the
seance, and when the man stepped to a certain spot just inside the
open arch doorway, his transparent image was reflected in the pane of
glass, giving the illusion of a "ghost" to the attendees.
Anyway, that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. Does anyone have any
special tricks that they use to create ghost effects in the theater?
Or does anyone know of any books that describe tricks like that? I'm
interested in finding out what can and can't be done on stage
concerning ghosts.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.