DIY Pepper's Ghost Effect

Picture this: It's 2012, Coachella season. Everyone is screaming for Snoop Dogg on stage, and he announces a surprise guest is coming out. Everyones excited, wondering who is about to tear up the stage, and BOOM, Tupac walks out. Tupac! Almost 20 years after his death, Tupac is walking across the stage, spitting rhymes like...well, like Tupac. This was done with a Pepper's Ghost Illusion.

If you're a fan of Tupac or just really cool special effects, I have GREAT news for you--you can recreate this effect right at home.

• Beamsplitter Glass
• Framing
• Display
  • TV, Tablet, Smartphone, etc.

That's literally it--super simple!

So before we start on this super cool project, I wanted to explain a few things. This is simply an "at home" variation of a Pepper's Ghost Illusion. The original illusion was actually performed on stage. A large piece of glass would be placed at an angle between a brightly lit stage and the audience. There would be a hidden room off to the side where the "ghost" would be. If the lights in the hidden room were brightened and the stage lights were dimmed slightly, the glass in the middle would pick up on the reflection of the ghost! While it looks like a transparent figure is standing before the audience, it's really just the reflection on the glass projecting towards them.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's dive into YOUR ghostly DIY!

This part is the most lenient part, which can either be reliving or stressful. But don't panic!

The key thing to remember in this step is that your display is going to go on top. It should be facing downwards, laying completely flat. We personally used a part of a deconstructed picnic table for our framing, so you can literally use whatever you see fit.

The frame should be built in a "Z" shape to hold the glass and the display properly. The glass is going to be slanted at a 45 degree angle, so keep this in mind when building your frame.

Once you have your frame secured in a sturdy position big enough for your display to lay across and your glass to slide into at an angle, let's move on to inserting the glass!

This is where you're going to need your beamsplitter glass. We personally carry beamsplitter glass that is 30% reflective and 70% transparent, as well as 40% reflective and 60% transparent. Typically the 40R/60T is going to give you the best of both worlds, but it's ultimately up to you which style you choose.

The reflective/transparency ratio is what makes this effect work so well. You need the transparency aspect so it looks like a ghost figure, but you also need it to be reflective enough that it's visible!

Because you already set your frame up, you should be able to prop your glass up at the 45 degree angle easily. You may need to have some extra support to keep the glass in place, just as a sturdy glue or velcro strips.

Once you have your glass perfectly aligned within the frame, now we can go to the next step! This is where things start to get fun, so buckle up!

There's one key thing to remember in this step: You want an image with a black background.

The black background is going to make whatever ghastly image you choose really pop off the page. For our example, we chose a bright blue lion with a black background because the colors contrasted really nicely, plus, who doesn't like lions? EnvatoElements.com has some really great stock videos to choose some for this project.

Once you find your image, you're going to want to have it maximized on whatever display you're using. If you're using a display that doesn't have internet, such as a TV, simply load your image onto a USB and plug it into your display.

If you have your display image taking up your whole screen then let's move onto the next step.

Your frame is built and your glass is in place, so the only thing left to do is to get your display put in!

This is arguably the easiest step. Just like the last step, you might want extra support just to make sure your display is secure--we used velcro strips. All you need to do is sit your display on top with your selected "ghost" already loaded on the screen and be prepared for all of your friends to give you some major cool points.

If you have any questions at all, please contact us on our website--we'd love to hear from you!