Pepper's ghost

Pepper's ghost is an <a href="/facts/Magic_(illusion)/GSoeYUVA">illusion</a> technique, used in the <a href="/facts/Theatre/Tq0mvBI8">theatre</a>, <a href="/facts/Film/wM3b9Kk3">cinema</a>, <a href="/facts/Amusement_park/b7v2FTj0">amusement parks</a>, <a href="/facts/Museum/tp40SXuq">museums</a>, <a href="/facts/Television/X4YG5nT1">television</a>, and <a href="/facts/Concert/TaJqQquh">concerts</a>, in which an image of an object off-stage is projected so that it appears to be in front of the audience.
The technique is named after the English scientist <a href="/facts/John_Henry_Pepper/Q7dH0XR2">John Henry Pepper</a>, who popularised the effect during an 1862 Christmas Eve theatrical production of the <a href="/facts/Charles_Dickens/B54mQHJs">Charles Dickens</a> novella, <a href="/facts/The_Haunted_Man_and_the_Ghost%27s_Bargain/RAEV65mv">The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain</a>, which caused a sensation among those in attendance at the <a href="/facts/Regent_Street/rR25oY2n">Regent Street</a> theatre in London. An instant success, the production was moved to a larger theatre and continued to be performed throughout the whole of 1863, with the Prince of Wales (future King <a href="/facts/Edward_VII/nxCuvHE7">Edward VII</a>) bringing his new bride (later <a href="/facts/Alexandra_of_Denmark/asDe9RVr">Queen Alexandra</a>) to see the illusion, and launched an international vogue for ghost-themed plays which used this novel stage effect during the 1860s and subsequent decades.
The illusion is widely used for entertainment and publicity purposes. These include the Girl-to-Gorilla trick found in old carnival <a href="/facts/Sideshow/sDPsbYom">sideshows</a> and the appearance of "ghosts" at <a href="/facts/The_Haunted_Mansion/bocB2Wut">the Haunted Mansion</a> and the "Blue Fairy" in <a href="/facts/Pinocchio%27s_Daring_Journey/rXlknFal">Pinocchio's Daring Journey</a>, both at <a href="/facts/Disneyland/Sur3NUsJ">Disneyland</a> in <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a>. <a href="/facts/Teleprompters/p8GcTQWm">Teleprompters</a> are a modern implementation of Pepper's ghost. The technique was used to display a life-size <a href="/facts/Illusion_of_Kate_Moss/cgWeXzKC">illusion of Kate Moss</a> at the 2006 runway show for the <a href="/facts/Alexander_McQueen/cFB6NgVA">Alexander McQueen</a> collection <a href="/facts/The_Widows_of_Culloden/AgIrT9Ju">The Widows of Culloden</a>.
In the 2010s, the technique has been used to make virtual artists appear onstage in apparent "live" concerts, with examples including <a href="/facts/Elvis_Presley/T0RDjznN">Elvis Presley</a>, <a href="/facts/Tupac_Shakur/Gg89PToc">Tupac Shakur</a>, and <a href="/facts/Michael_Jackson/LLa098zX">Michael Jackson</a>. It is often wrongly described as "holographic". Such setups can involve custom projection media server software and specialized stretched films. The installation may be a site-specific one-off, or a use of a commercial system such as the Cheoptics360 or Musion Eyeliner.
Products have been designed using a clear plastic pyramid and a smartphone screen to generate the illusion of a 3D object.

Pepper's ghost open-in-new

Pepper's ghost