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Special SFX Section
A glowing mummy’s hand reaches for a couple in
the dark during Thrillpeddlers’ “lights-out” spook
show. Pictured: Kara Emry and Will Freitas
pageant, Shocktoberfest!! (October 4–
November 17).
Blackwood reserves the right to hold
back a few of his trade secrets, but is
otherwise willing to turn on the 500-
watt work lights to reveal much of
his trompe l’oeil trickery. “The special
effects of grand guignol were always a
well-guarded secret,” he explains, “primarily
because most of the tricks themselves
were simple. It was the sleightof-hand
and the production’s other
assets that made performing them so
impressive. It’s the same way with these
shock boxes.”
Each box appears to be little more
than a thematically decorated hidey-hole
with an upholstered banquette. But, for
example, the mirrors on each wall are actually
secret doors to the operators’ towers.
Silently, during the Thrillpeddlers’ traditional
“lights-out” finale, operators may
open the door from behind to briefly reveal
various glow-in-the-dark apparitions.
Doorbell buzzers and vibrating massage
pads are buried inside selected seat
cushions and can be turned on and off
by the operators. More intense vibrations
are created by running a whirring
Mixmaster, weed-eater and car buffer
against the thin back walls of the boxes,
or even a birch branch, which simulates
the scratching sound of malevolent rats
scurrying in the woodwork.
In “shock box alley” behind the seats,
operators have full access to both towers
as well as the space above, behind
and under the private booths. Through
one of the three PVC pipe “speaking
tubes,” operators can make hushed,
spooky sounds to any pair of boxes.
Also in the alley is an air tank attached
to a series of tubing (for those unsettling
air blasts), assorted glow-in-thedark
objects (charged in advance under
black light) and various noisemakers.
Part of the fun, says Blackwood, is transforming
simple found objects into fearinducing
effects.
On far house right is the Egyptian
booth, the most realistic of the three
shock boxes. Half of it is the “new tomb,”
tricked out to look like a pharaoh might
have just been laid to rest there. A
PVC pipe, stuffed with a wad of cotton
soaked in sandalwood, occasionally
wafts potent perfume into the box when
blown with the air hose. A well-stocked
canopic jar (an ancient Egyptian funerary
vase to hold mummy’s organs) emits
a disgusting odor (purchased from a
joke shop) when opened by a patron.
36 September 2007 • www.stage-directions.com