Pepper's Ghost

Pepper’s Ghost effect involves creating the illusion of a ghost through optical trickery, by using rear projection which could be repositioned to make images move on walls, on semi-transparent screens, and inside of smoke, to produce the effect of an apparition. 


How Pepper’s Ghost Effect Works

The illusion of a ghost is created by an actor who remains out of sight from the audience in a room that is completely painted in black. The audience views a scene through a piece of plate glass such as a room with furniture, a dungeon, or any other type of scene. The actor is costumed in the black room with a beam of light focused directly on the actor which creates a reflection in the plate glass. When the audience views the scene through the plate glass, they see the reflection of the actor on the glass which provides the illusion of a transparent ghost.






How to Create Pepper’s Ghost Effect

The materials which are used to create Pepper’s Ghost effect include a large piece of glass at least several feet tall by several feet wide, a light to focus on the subject, a black room, black fabric, or black backdrop, and a light dimmer which can be used as an option instead of a requirement. The plate glass can also be substituted with Plexiglas as long as there are no imperfections or scratches. For optimal results though plate glass provides the best effect.


Create the black backdrop where the actor will be located. You can create this with black cloth or a constructed plywood room that is completely covered with black paint. Whatever you choose, make sure the room is completely hidden from the view of your audience.

Create a scene which will be situated behind the plate glass. You can use your imagination here and set it up as a room in a haunted house with a chair where the ghost will be seated or any other creative ideas you can come up with.

The lighting behind the plate glass and in the black room where the actor is located will require adjustment so you can clearly see the props behind the plate glass as well as the transparent illusion of the actor. The brighter the light the less transparent the image will seem and lower light levels will make the image appear to be more transparent. This is where a light dimmer can come in handy because it will make it easier to adjust the lighting for the perfect effect.

The plate glass will need to be positioned at a 45 degree angle to the black backdrop to enable the actor’s refection to be seen by the viewing audience. The visible edges must then be camouflaged in a way which is not obvious to the audience that the plate glass is present.