Pepper’s ghost is an illusion technique used in the theatre, cinema, amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts.
It is named after the English scientist John Henry Pepper (1821–1900) who began popularizing the effect with a theatre demonstration in 1862.[1] This launched an international vogue for ghost-themed plays, which used this novel stage effect, during the 1860s and subsequent decades. Other uses of the illusion are the Girl-to-Gorilla trick found in old carnival sideshows and the appearance of “Ghosts” at the Haunted Mansion and the “Blue Fairy” in Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, both at the Disneyland park in California. Teleprompters are a modern implementation of Pepper’s ghost. In the 2010s, the technique has been used to make dead or virtual artists appear onstage in live concerts, such as Tupac Shakur, Michael Jackson and Hatsune Miku.