# Most Effective Illusions?



## JustJimAZ

I know most people know what a Pepper's Ghost is, and it's a great illusion.

What I would like to know is what other illusions do you employ that are effective? Do you have a great levitating scene? Headless lady?


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## Technician of Terror

Not sure if it's considered an illusion but I project a spectre onto scrim (triggered by TOTs) that looks pretty cool.


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## fontgeek

The combination of a visual suggesting cobwebs and then super fine fishing line draped at face level in an area the guests have to walk through.
I like peppers ghost, but I've rarely seen anyone actually freak out and scramble blindly like a madman because of it. The illusion of being caught in spider's web has worked amazingly well for many years, and the cost is minimal to produce it. You can add sounds and such to enhance it even further.


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## beaver state rich

I always have liked the mirror effect used to create a 1/2 man illusion. Here is a link to a non-gory one.


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## scareme

FCG People love it.


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## Batbuddy

I used a Big piece of screen(6ft x 18ft) and painted a scene on it and when it was lit properly it "disappeared" or looked solid depending on whether it was front or back lit. Here is a video.


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## BillyVanpire

the floating man..

http://sfglobe.com/?id=3638


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## corey872

I don't know that this is an 'illusion' per se... it is not 'visual' and the effect was very real, but it was enough to send a cold chill down my spine for a few seconds, so I will relate the story:

I was getting some props ready for this Halloween and cutting some sheets of paper to line a couple of new lanterns (the stained glass order wasn't going to make it in on time).

I had a few sheets of paper already on the work bench and was working on cutting another when I felt a literal 'tug' on the scissors - pulling them away from where I was trying to cut. At first I brushed it off...'did that really happen?!... perhaps a twitch in my arm?' But then it happened again...a notable and direct tug as plain as if someone had reached in and pushed the scissors off the mark I was trying to cut!

Of course since I was already in the 'spooky' Halloween mood, I yanked my hand outta there as a cold chill shot down my spine. It took me a few seconds to process, reason, then act on my suspicions... I moved some sheets of paper and found the high-strength magnet I had out for a different project! It got buried under the paper and was tugging on the scissors when they were near.

I think what made this so effective was the magnet did not 'grab' the scissors and latch on with that 'ka-*****' sound...which would have instantly given the 'secret' away - it was only a gentle tug. But overall, still a very effective illusion.

How to incorporate this? Don't know exactly - but if you can get someone to hold a metal object and possibly pulse an electromagnet nearby - they might feel the tug. Or get them to hold an object with a magnet inside and pulse the same pole on en electromagnet to get a repulsive kick. ... the 'push away' might be even a little less intuitive than the magnetic 'pull'. Especially if you can put the magnet in a wood, plastic, or otherwise not apparently magnetic item. Possibly seance table prop or similar?


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## Hobz

corey872 said:


> How to incorporate this? Don't know exactly - but if you can get someone to hold a metal object and possibly pulse an electromagnet nearby - they might feel the tug. Or get them to hold an object with a magnet inside and pulse the same pole on en electromagnet to get a repulsive kick. ... the 'push away' might be even a little less intuitive than the magnetic 'pull'. Especially if you can put the magnet in a wood, plastic, or otherwise not apparently magnetic item. Possibly seance table prop or similar?


I've been to haunts where they give you a length of rope to hold onto to keep your party together. Maybe hide a few magnets somewhere in the rope so that it gets tugged as they're holding onto it?

Dowsing rods for ghost hunting would be another interesting item to use.


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## JustJimAZ

Some interesting ones here.


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## BillyVanpire

re: strong electro magnets & the general public...

strong magnets can interfere with medical devices & electronics, 
turning on a magnet could turn off someone's pacemaker. 

chances are low but it is something to consider when deploying on the public.


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## Batbuddy

More likely the scare will interrupt the function of their pacemaker. just kidding.


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## gma

I use the technique Batbuddy mentioned - lighting one side or the other of a painted scrim. Very effective. I've wanted to do one where ppl are walking down a dimly lit book-lined hallway - then have it disappear to reveal something like attacking zombies.


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## MadCityHaunt

I REALLY love this effect and have been experimenting with some variants. They actually give you a brief explanation of how it is achieved but just seeing the effect and peoples reactions to it is incredible. This would be a step beyond Pepper's Ghost and/or projected scrim illusions.





 (Illusion starts at about the 23sec mark.)

Another variation of this is the Faux Fire effect which uses similar methods.






This effect can be achieved using fog, but the ones you are seeing in the videos are actually water vapor. Here's a great example of someone who did this using a fog curtain:




__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=792218262142


(Hope that link works for people. Effect pops at about the 25sec mark.)

Another effect I am in love with is parametric audio. It was designed for marketing purposes (I believe) but never took off because people didn't think the effect was that great for music, movies, etc.

However for subtle haunt audio, scares & FX it's actually really killer! I went on a huge rant about it back when I was still doing my blog. If you want all the details on it check out that post here (http://www.madcityhaunt.com/blog/guide/hear-parametric-audio-directional-sound/) otherwise if it's TLDR just checkout this video to see people's reactions to the effect:





 (Effect starts at about the 51sec mark.)

The Parametric Audio Spotlight is essentially an "audio laser" that can be pointed at a person and ONLY that person will hear the audio. It's like being able to whisper in someones ear from a hiding spot up to 100+ yards away.

I'm always obsessing about new effects to research but these are some of my favorites! :jol:


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## ogre49

Really like that screen idea. I wonder if it would be possible to use it indoors ? Or would the screen be too visible at fairly close range?


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## Batbuddy

If it is done right, I think it can be effective from just a few feet away. In our haunt the guests were only 4 to 5 ft away. Indoors you could control the lighting even better for a more effective illusion.


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## JustJimAZ

One of our AZ Haunters is playing with fog screens for effects like this. I really love the faux fire, and I will be experimenting with creating that myself some day.


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## mikeythemars

I've become a big of fan of what I refer to as static, non-mechanical optical illusions. Examples in my haunt include a bottomless tomb (google "infinity mirror" if you want to know how it works) and a watcher bust (think the library scene in the Disney World Haunted Mansion attraction). These are props that set up quickly, have no moving parts, require no triggering or audio and which consistently get the largest number of "_wow, how did you do that_" comments from TOTs.


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