What Is It
Simple to build prop. At night when you look into the Bottomless Pit you see what appears to be a hole straight into the center of the earth. Even small children were asking if it was a hole to Hell.
How Does It Work?
It’s a 55 gallon drum with one way mirror backed glass on top and a regular piece of mirror in the bottom.
During the day you can’t see into it as it has to be darker outside the drum than inside. I drilled a 3″ hole in the side of the drum and strapped a 25 watt red light bulb to the side. I used strapping tape to hold the light on strictly because I was too lazy to look for another way to do it in a hurry. At night the red light lit it up just enough that folks were attracted over to that side of the yard to see what the eerie red glow coming out of the ground was.
Here it is with the top ring off and the mirror standing up against it. I’d had to use duct tape around the top of the mirror/ring as water got inside it one night and caused a major condensation problem. I kept a blow dryer plugged in behind one of the coffin doors one night to keep warming the mirror back up to burn off the condensation. That was great until the compressor in the garage kicked on at the same time one night and blew the breaker. One whole side of the yard was thrown into darkness. The guests all thought it was part of the show as I’d throw the breaker and it’d spit back off. In my haste to get to the basement I’d dropped the blow dryer and left it on. It and the compressor along with all the lights would come on at once, overload the circuit and off they’d go again. Oops.
A view of my spray foam intestine lining and the mirror on the bottom. I used silicone caulk to attach it to the bottom of the drum. Be careful what you use to attach your mirror. Make sure it’s safe to use on mirrors. Not all adhesives are and will eat the silvering/backing off your mirror.
Another close-up of the intestines. I had a great time climbing in the drum to paint them. That’s why there are missed places. I’d hold my breath, dive inside, spray like mad then scramble back out. Loads of fun.
Here’s the hole where the light was. Made a great illumination without being overly obvious. Folks were too busy tripping out on the effect to notice it for the most part.