Have you ever wondered what makes ghosts fly? Ghosts are assumed to be spooky and frightening souls of the dead, haunting the living with their ghoulish flight. But we were curious about what an alternate ghost story looked like.

We believe there’s more to a ghost’s flight than spiritual propulsion. In October 2018, we had the opportunity to develop a tactile, interactive experience for over 2000 kids attending Brookfield Place’s annual Halloween Bash. Our experience featured three giant ghosts hung over 30 feet in the air, each exploring an alternative method of flight that kids could interact with to help keep them afloat.

Ghost 1 was kept flying with the power of hot air and featured a ceiling of 300 floating candles. Over time, 4 central candelabras lowered towards the ground and participants had to cast magic spells to raise the candles to the top of the ghost.

Ghost 2 featured wind power. High above attendees’ heads were model airplanes, propellers and a kite which all spun when activated with handheld air pumps that dangled down.

Ghost 3 relied on the power of a full bat colony to keep afloat. Visitors pulled handles to flap the wings of puppet bats.