# Ghost phone



## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

I always do a huge cemetery scene for my haunt each year and this year I wanted to create a really cool unique and interactive prop to along with it, the ghost phone. This phone when completely finished will be sitting on a table just outside of the cemetery on a table with a lamp. whenever someone gets near the phone it will ring, if they are brave enough to answer it they hear actual ghost speaking to them.










this is using two circuits to make this all possible. the first is a doorbell/ringer connected to a motion sensor connected to a transformer to step down the power for the door bell. the motion sensor will ring the ringer as people get near it. this will be hidden away on the bottom side of the table out of sight. i also have a microswitch inside the phone that will cut the ringer off once anyone picks up the phone.

the second is an actual mp3 player i have hidden into the bottom of the phone which is hard wired on the inside of the phone to to the handset that will play an mp3 of some rather scary whispers that i got on amazon.

so far i still need a table to set this all on to really finish the project, right now the phone and mp3 are working just as they should, once i get the table i can start to mount the rest of the components for the ringer and finish up a few more things.

once its all done i will post a video of it all working together


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## mys197gt (Jul 7, 2010)

Awesome


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I love that phone, and the idea is wickedly funny.

Make sure the phone is bolted well to the table, lest some antique phone admirer feel tempted to abscond with it:jol:


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## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

awesome idea! i can't wait to see the final product!


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

RoxyBlue said:


> I love that phone, and the idea is wickedly funny.
> 
> Make sure the phone is bolted well to the table, lest some antique phone admirer feel tempted to abscond with it:jol:


SHHHhhh!!! Don't let him know!!! Ahh!  theyre on to me...

Seriously though, awesome Idea


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

What a fun idea Bigant!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

yeah i was thinking of securing the phone to the table but with its going to be difficult since to remove the top you need to access the bottom, so if the bottom was bolted to the table i wouldnt be able to screw the top back to the base again. i will ponder this some more and see what i can come up with. perhaps a few black wood screws along the perimeter of the black part of the base will keep it from being hauled off by ghosts


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## Creep Cringle (Jun 23, 2009)

Really cool!!!! I like this!!!


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## CoolDJTV (Jun 28, 2011)

Awsome Idea!
Like the interactive perspestive!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

thanks everyone, i figured it would be fun to give people a chance to interact with the haunt this year.


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## curley (Apr 3, 2011)

BIGANT, that is an awesome idea, I wanted to do an interaction a's well, the phone idea never crossed my mind... Let me know how it works out!!


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## debbie5 (Mar 2, 2007)

Very original!! Love it!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

the only issue i am having is deciding where to put the whole thing. i am thinking out near the sidewalk in front of everything that way the little kids that are too scared to enter the graveyard can still have some fun as well.


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## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

Really cool idea. I bet there are many that will pass the ringing phone by.


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

jaege said:


> Really cool idea. I bet there are many that will pass the ringing phone by.


yeah thats what i am afraid of so we made the sign you see behind the phone, its hard to read right now but says

The Residents of Eerie Acres Cemetery are just dying to speak with you. Should you happen to hear the phone ring feel free to answer

i think the paper will be laid out on the table near the phone


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## Jaybo (Mar 2, 2009)

What a cool way to get your backstory across to the TOTs. Does the phone ring continually until answered or will it stop if people walk away from the phone?


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

What an awesome idea!!! I'm certain your going to have a great time with this, and the faces of the tot's should be priceless!!! If at all possible try to get some video of it, I'm sure there's lots of people here who would love to see their reactions!!!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

Jaybo said:


> What a cool way to get your backstory across to the TOTs. Does the phone ring continually until answered or will it stop if people walk away from the phone?


Its using a motion sensor hack to make it ring so it will only ring for about 5 seconds or so once there is no more motion detected.

hopefully we can go out table shopping at a few thrift stores this weekend to find the perfect table to put it and the lamp on.


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## goneferal (Sep 8, 2010)

That is a terrific idea.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

Now THAT's a REALLY Wickedly Cool Idea!!!! Devilish, creative and Cool as HELL!! hECK YEA!! let's see the Video of this in action.


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## Dark Star (Nov 6, 2007)

Really cool idea. 

But I do think you need to secure it. Could you open it up drill holes in the metal bottom, drop in some bolts and then close it back up again? Then drill holes through the table and secure underneath the table with nuts?


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## Dixie (Feb 18, 2009)

That is such a cool idea, I just love it. 

As for securing, depending on the type of table, you could cut out a hole in the bottom of the table to allow access to the bottom of the phone while still allowing it to be mounted to the tabletop... I would definitely want to secure it too, so I wouldnt have to worry about watching for it to walk away that night. The less things to think about on 10-31, the better.

Again, super cool idea. I can't wait to see how it goes over!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

I will find some way to secure it to the table so it doesnt get lost. 

my only big problem right now is getting the ringer to work exactly right. so far i have a motion detector hacked to a door bell transformer which is connected to an old style bell and ringer doorbell. the problem of course is the motion detector will keep the bell ringing solid as long as it sees movement. i need to find a way to make it "ring" by perhaps adding a flasher or something to the line to make it pulse the ringer


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

i have been having lots of issues getting the motion sensor and ringer to work exactly as i want them to since once people hang the phone up it will just keep ringing till they walk away. this seemed kinda lame to me so i have ditched the motion sensor and went with a wireless outlet instead with a small black transmitter. i was planing on being outside that night anyway so i will just manually control the ringer with the transmitter hidden away in my hand. this way i can fully control when it rings and when it doesnt.


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## remylass (Sep 18, 2008)

BIGANT said:


> i have been having lots of issues getting the motion sensor and ringer to work exactly as i want them to since once people hang the phone up it will just keep ringing till they walk away. this seemed kinda lame to me so i have ditched the motion sensor and went with a wireless outlet instead with a small black transmitter. i was planing on being outside that night anyway so i will just manually control the ringer with the transmitter hidden away in my hand. this way i can fully control when it rings and when it doesnt.


Sounds like you need to recruit a volunteer.


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## mys197gt (Jul 7, 2010)

remylass said:


> Sounds like you need to recruit a volunteer.


yeah haha that would be the best option especially since this will be the first Halloween we take the kids out TOT'ing! I really dont want to miss that!


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## mys197gt (Jul 7, 2010)

sorry posted from my wife's account!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

OK so we found a great antique table and lamp today to finish up the ghost phone. I made a quick video showing the phone in action and how I made it. Im sure I will change a few things before the big night


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## GRP (Aug 18, 2009)

Love the idea and how you did it. Great job. Any ideaon where to find a phone like the one you used? Any idea what the phone is called?


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

ebay is FILLED with these phone and they are rather cheap actually. just do a search on ebay for "french phone" or vintage french phone. most go for around 20 bucks or so. i think i paid like 25 for this which was on the higher side but i had to have the brass model. most are broken and no longer work which is perfect and keeps the price down.


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## kprimm (Mar 14, 2009)

Very, very cool and unique idea. This would be great to add to any Halloween display or haunted attraction. Very well done, A big salute to you.


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## AzKittie74 (Aug 10, 2007)

A W E S O M E !!!!!!! Love the table, Love the phone, Love the ring and Love the voices!! this is a hit no doubt we r all looking on Ebay for a similar phone to steal this idea!! Bravo!!


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

I love everything about this prop. The look and weight of a vintage phone are perfect. Mechanical bells have a great thump and tickle to them. It's a simple, unique idea that engages the audience in an extremely intimate way. I'm betting a lot of people won't even put it to their faces, anticipating a loud noise or spray of mist or who knows what.

Some thoughts:

- I agree with the advice that you need to secure the phone well. Also make sure the receiver cord is sturdy enough to take some tugging and the receiver itself can take being dropped on the ground. If kids are handling it relatively unsupervised, it may take some punishment.

- That also goes for the lamp, if it's part of the tableau. I'd consider a plastic rather than glass cover, in case the whole thing gets knocked over. I'd also consider the balance of the table. If it's on spindly mid-century legs, you might want to weight them. Just a thought. (Can you tell I don't trust TOTs very much?)

- The whispering sounds awesome. If I picked up the phone though, I'd expect a little more. Maybe have a scary voice fade in and out occasionally, saying creepy things? Something that would cue them when the "bit" is over and they can hang up.


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## Chuck (Oct 10, 2009)

Damn Ant, you did a really good job on that. If you didn't live down the street from me, I would have ::ahem:: borrowed your idea. No use in having 2 ghost phones on the same street.


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

Thanks everyone!! I cant wait to see how it gets received this year!!


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

Chuck said:


> Damn Ant, you did a really good job on that. If you didn't live down the street from me, I would have ::ahem:: borrowed your idea. No use in having 2 ghost phones on the same street.


Thanks Chuck! Im really looking forward to everything this year and hopefully this time I will be able to get away from the house and take the kids around the block early and see your setup on the big night!


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## GOT (Apr 17, 2007)

Great idea. You should make a visible fake phone cord that leads into the cemetary then disappears into the ground.


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## BIGANT (Jul 13, 2010)

GOT said:


> Great idea. You should make a visible fake phone cord that leads into the cemetary then disappears into the ground.


Haha its funny you mention this right after the video i cut up the cord that comes out of the phone and frayed the wires up so you can visibly tell the cord is broken and the phone "shouldnt" work.


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