How Does the Ghost Trap Work? | The History and Physics of Ghostbusters Equipment

Watch our entire Ghostbusting Equipment Series: • Ghostbusters Equipment
It's time to get ready for Ghostbusters: Afterlife! You can't catch a ghost without laying out the right trap. Get sucked in while we continue to explore science behind the fiction in Ghostbusters. We look back at Dan Aykroyd's inspiration and how the trap slowly evolved from a simple idea of freezing a ghost to the earliest concepts and scripts. From fabrication to the final film, the trap continued to evolve in The Real Ghostbusters, Extreme Ghostbusters, and Ghostbusters: The Video Game. From there, we take the in-universe physics and discuss how the subatomic nature of ghosts is used to ultimate pull them in and contain them.
Voiceover Narration and Audio Editing by Heidi Dion
Written and Edited by Devin Dion
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[@ChannelingSpirits]

Curious how other Ghostbusting equipment works? Want your own pocket version of Tobin's Spirt Guide? Check out our Ghostbusters Operations Manual & Field Guide at: www.etsy.com/listing/1256937994/ghostbusters-operation-manual-field

[@veraciouspatriot4297]

Once again, your videos are amazing. Great job expanding on the GB universe.

[@Phicheee]

Something else I noticed that was different in _Ghostbusters_ compared to _Ghostbusters II_ - the use of the foot pedal to activate/close the trap. In _Ghostbusters,_ Ray steps on the pedal to activate/open the trap so they can catch the Slimer ghost in the ballroom, and steps on it again to close it. In _Ghostbusters II,_ Egon (I think) either keeps his foot on the trap's foot pedal the whole time in the courtroom while they're trapping the Scoleri brothers, and then takes his foot off the pedal to close the trap, _OR_ he steps on it to activate it, takes his foot off the pedal, and somehow the trap can detect when all the PKE is contained and then closes on its own after the last of the PKE is inside the trap. Given the amount of time (5 years) between the two films (and the fact that I haven't seen _Ghostbusters II_ in quite a while), it's certainly possible that Egon tweaked the mechanics of the equipment. What do you think?

[@barple367]

Given how much Egon loves to tinker with his own toys to make them work much more efficiently, it's entirely possible that he made minor enhancements like that to make the equipment easier to use in the field and save the charge from having it open longer than needed. Out of universe though, it was likely an oversight in the film.

[@LPTV84]

If we're talking about the props and technology, I'd love if you covered Ecto-1 and what the rooftop pieces consisted of.

[@jamesgameing36]

I know that the orange thing of the top that has 2 pipes is called a sniffer and it moves from side to side there was a deleted secne where the ecto 1 was getting a ticket and the sniffer was following the cop and the car burned the ticket

[@nils920]

"Two in the box..." "...Ready to go" "We be fast..." "...AND THEY BE SLOW!"

[@red62]

"Wooow!"

[@jacobevans2234]

Wow

[@Kara_Kay_Eschel]

@3/502 INF WIDOWMAKER Did you tell them about the twinkie?

[@nils920]

@3/502 INF WIDOWMAKER Let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. According to this morning's sample, it would be a twinkie... 35 feet long and weighing approximately 600 pounds.

[@dusktodawn3796]

@@Kara_Kay_Eschel what about the twinkie?

[@Magick51]

How about discussing how the PKE Meter works. That would be interesting theory of how it picks up certain entities.

[@matthewpaul6904]

Sorry that info went with Harold Ramis. According to Aykroyd, he's the only one that can make the wings go up and the lights blink

[@verdant2215]

Works like an EMF meter. The closer the anomaly the higher the reading. The wings and grid move as the spirit or anomaly is within range. The goggles work in tandem as the vision to see ghosts. our eyes wouldn't be able to see such vapors like the goggle do. The video game explains this.

[@Draknfyre]

@@verdant2215 The PKE meter in the game was "gamified." It did more than just detect strength of PKE energy with a bar graph (officially), and it had no connection to the Ecto-Goggles. That was just to add some additional "play value" for the game.

[@Draknfyre]

Fun fact: The body of the PKE meter was actually a battery-powered shoe polisher. It was modified to add the wings, lights, buttons, and other greebles.

[@Magick51]

@@Draknfyre I knew this fun fact for awhile now. Thank you for the refresher.

[@cyber4209]

the science behind this is actually really solid, I studied on physics for about 7 years now and this is actually really solid information, and it could work! Great Job!

[@ChannelingSpirits]

We try! You probably know way more than we do with physics but wanted to make the science work as realistically as possible. Glad to know we weren’t totally off!

[@theasexualvampire13]

That's what I love about this channel, you never can tell what kind of references or random clips they're going to throw in.

[@TF2Scout..]

Makes it more cooler

[@786empireofrok8]

The next video should be on the containment unit

[@786empireofrok8]

What about the Twinkie

[@DR-uf5sf]

Agreed, I would like that as well. I have a few theories on how it works; I'm sure just like everyone else. 😆👍

[@jimmywim]

Absolutely. " This is a high voltage laser containment system. Simply turning it off would be like dropping a bomb on the city." Why are lasers involved in the indefinite capture of PKE electrons? How high a voltage are we talking. Turning it off would be like dropping a bomb on the city? Is it the power supply that would cause the explosion? Or is there something to the combined constrained of all that PKE? Egon also called it "the protection grid". Is it a grid of lasers? So much to explore here!

[@d.j.w2600]

@@jimmywim ok to answer the laser grid part, all that means is that behind the containment unit is a wall of ionized laser beams which stop some entities phasing through either their ethereal qualities. What caused the explosion was that massive release of negative pyschokinetic energy. The protection grid just means it protects or guards a.k.a keeping the ghosts inside.

[@sloggnznorgin6285]

Trey Stephens well to put it simply, Matter! Like everything else. 😉 Technically we’re all electric beings wrapped in 🥩 . Living or dead, hardly makes much difference, I would think.

[@TankHammer]

I super appreciate the homework and consistency put into these videos. One of the most fun things about the movie science of Ghostbusters is how much thought really did go into the concepts and your videos are some of the few that respect that.

[@derekmason1881]

Do the Containment unit next

[@MrKingofzombies]

There was always something that confused me about The Real Ghostbusters trap. Several times during the series they trapped and released several separate ghosts but in the episode "Drool the dog-faced goblin" Ray says that when two ghosts are trapped together they fuse into one specter and are impossible to separate.

[@LPTV84]

Back in the day, continuity wasn't that a big deal in television and film. Now that nerds have a bigger voice, they are important. Most of the writers brought onto The Real Ghostbusters didn't care too much if it made sense canonically. Just if it didn't break the movie concepts, and if it helped the story.

[@TankHammer]

@@LPTV84 It depends on which writers! There were several that came in and out during the show's run. Many did care deeply about the lore. Others just wanted to service one story at a time.

[@This-country-sucks-4]

Drool will and is missed

[@ChannelingSpirits]

We have to agree with all of the above. Some writers were great with the lore (J. Michael Straczynski, Richard Mueller, who wrote several episodes and Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular) while I'm sure others saw it as a kid's show who likely didn't think people would be picking it apart 30+ years later. Ghost classifications very widely, there is a ton of techno-babble that doesn't make sense, and as mentioned, some ghosts fuse in the trap while others were fine.

[@zzco]

@@ChannelingSpirits vary is a measure of change, very is a measure of intensity/degree. :p

[@projectfanboy]

I assumed the battery is good for years whilst in idle mode but once it traps something it starts to discharge quite quickly.

[@RealGojifan2001games]

Well, I guess it's time to go build Ghostbusting equipment

[@TF2Scout..]

Indeed

[@hatandbeardmedia5925]

So Egon must have done something to the trap he kept under his floorboards on the dirt farm to keep the terror dog trapped... Intriguing.

[@wesscoggins6963]

The amount of work you put into these videos is amazing!

[@JonTheGeek]

Imagine Ghost Busters with John, that would've hit so different. Are you telling me the animated show, The Real Ghostbusters, introduced the multi-trap function that's used in the new movie?

[@MrSpooner1985]

The Admiral Ackbar saying “its a trap” after the montage of Ghostbuster scenes saying “trap” was hilarious.

[@SerpentNight]

6:50 The Super Slammer seems a lot like the Ghost Vacuum accessory in the pretty terrible 'Ghostbusters' NES game.

[@ChannelingSpirits]

I was watching AVGN and thinking the same thing. I wondered if they were inspired by it or it was a coincidence.

[@SerpentNight]

@@ChannelingSpirits There's a rumor too that the upstairs computer screen in the firehouse in the more modern game shows the game end text of the NES game. I can't make it out myself well enough but I've heard it.

[@ChannelingSpirits]

Yes, the infamous "CONGLATURATION !!!" screen. It's there, if you go to the Ghostbusters Wiki page on the Firehouse you can see a screenshot of it. I'm not sure if they Remastered version still has it.

[@seanmcgrath3826]

I played that game on the Sega Master System, & it was actually pretty good on it. I don't get why the NES version was so terrible

[@SerpentNight]

@@seanmcgrath3826 Never played it but I've seen it and it does look like an improvement.

[@CrimsonNineTail]

Just saw Ghostbusters Afterlife, I enjoyed this video, and was able to understand a good number of the science behind the explanations. Great job, new subscriber here.

[@ChannelingSpirits]

Welcome aboard! *hands smoking ghost trap*

[@cartoonraccoon2078]

One of the earliest lessons I learned about paranormal extermination is the when the light is green, the trap is clean.

[@SerpentNight]

Wow, a 'Blade Runner' connection. That makes my day.

[@LextheRobot]

Some model buildings originally built for Blade Runner appear in Ghostbusters when the Stay-Puft marshmallow man can first be glimpsed, his head bobbing along behind and between them.

[@wesscoggins6963]

Stephen Dane also worked on Spaceballs, My Science Project, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, and Red Dawn. I definitely see a similar aesthetic for the equipment in Buckaroo and My Science Project, that Cassette-Punk era of cobbled together equipment was so endearing.

[@TGTK-FreeSpeech-]

This channel is going to get huge when the 3rd movie finally comes out.

[@granfo]

I am loving this series! We want moaaaarr!

[@KidCrazer14]

It all makes more sense now, thank you for explaining!

[@Hertfordshire247]

I'm glad I wasn't going mad. I always remember as a kid and it is coming from The Real Ghostbusters that they didn't get back to the firehouse in time and whatever was in the trap released. By the way, the traps by themselves couldn't trap Stay Puft ala the episode where Egon's Uncle Cyrus wants Egon to go with him to do proper science work not counting Ghostbusting as real, Cyrus unwittingly releases Stay Puft after pushing some buttons on the Containment Unit. On trying to recapture Stay Puft, Winston says about the traps not being big enough, by themselves to capture Stay Puft. In the end, they trip Stay Puft over and end up using available trap to pull Stay Puft apart, trapping bits. F*^k knows how that works when reconstructing him in the containment unit but the whole cartoon Stay Puft thing confused me as a kid, does now, it was obviously done for money to make Stay Puft friendly but, this ruined the aura of him.

[@guy_kisser]

To be fair, It is a god.

[@DR-uf5sf]

Bravo. Well done. If I may, offer a suggestion. What about the Containment Unit? Not, the animated one but the one in the movie & video game series. Thank you. Again, great job.

[@dragondude9637]

I recently read that the containment unit took up almost half of the basement explaining why it was so small a space for them when they went down there. They bricked up the unit to keep rats and things from getting in there and chewing on cables and so forth, but after the first movie in the Real Ghostbusters, Egon improved the unit and left it uncovered for maintenance reasons.

[@Montesama314]

So, protons blast the negatively charged PKE structure (the ghost), and the muons made in the process create an anchor yanking the ghost into the trap. Cool.

[@SSmith-yh5nz]

Unbelievably well done. Both this video and the one on the pack, are just above and beyond. Love it!

[@retropulse03]

If a trap can't hold one indef, it's interesting to wonder how long the terror dog is under the floorboards in afterlife.

[@sundered_ant]

Fantastic episode gang : D the fact that you brought in the cartoons and video game made it even better.

[@AveryTalksAboutStuff]

Nice video! Now I'm gonna have the theme song stuck in my head all day 😂.

[@red62]

Could we also get a video of how the PKE Meter works?

[@shainewhite2781]

Love the Ghost Trap, AKA the Ecto Containment Unit.

[@The_Bad_Guy.]

The ghost trap and containment unit are two totally different things.

[@d.j.w2600]

@@The_Bad_Guy. Thank you, someone had to correct this guy.

[@bradpeterson7957]

Another great video! I love this channel!!

[@aftonrobotics1214]

Finally, I couldn't ever find any explanation for the trap ever! Thank You.

[@MrShadowknight2000]

This is very fascinating I really enjoy it

[@brookeroram1620]

Great video. I havnt seen a "channeling spirits" video in a while. Very well done. Time to sub!

[@SniffHeinkel]

I really enjoy your Ghostbusters videos.

[@Orangeflava]

You guys deserve premiere tickets to Ghostbusters: Afterlife!

[@ChannelingSpirits]

We will definitely be seeing it opening night!

[@flaysol7719]

It sucks

[@jameshowlett8811]

Love these videos

[@spottyhead]

Amazing research on the science. Well laid out and perfectly placed callbacks. All I can give is one like to this but I want to give more lol

[@alexanderhall4281]

I love this film. Recently I've been watching the film on Netflix. But it's been removed. Now I've bought it on utube so i will always be able to watch it. I'll probably get it on DVD as well.

[@Prussian7789]

Never would've guessed their was legit science behind ghosts and ghost busting

[@spike772000]

Greatest channel ever period.

[@harrydbastard]

I love how much work is put into each video

[@ChannelingSpirits]

It's a lot of work but we know you guys love it! Sorry they take so long but we try and make it for it with the great content. Thanks for watching!

[@harrydbastard]

@@ChannelingSpirits its inspiring me. I'm trying to do my own KZbin channel and its helping me figure out a few things in how to edit the videos 😁

[@craigory87]

Wow Heidi! This is sweet! I watched the proton pack episode too youve got an awesome channel. New sub!

[@bradpeterson7957]

Love it!

[@786empireofrok8]

Very good videos guys keep up the good work

[@KenWheelerWhistler]

It's pretty much like a miniature vacuum, and just like with a real vacuum it can't hold too much or it might exploded! Though I still don't know how a Ghost trap that traps ghost, sucks all of the Real Ghost busters up and took them back in the 1950's?

[@robertplourde2447]

Great video. I like Heidi's voice.

[@JonTheGeek]

Can you PLEASE do an updated video for all the equipment now that Afterlife is out. PLEASE

[@neilmendrico5262]

I hope the ecto-1 vid would be coming up soon

[@zatchfan202]

Zap’em cap’em and trap’em!

[@_Only_Zuul]

wow! i never noticed ray dropping his trap in that scene!😮😮😮

[@Draknfyre]

The bit about traps sucking your soul out through your eyes if you looked at the trap when it's closing was from one of the early script drafts. It was left out but the line about not looking at it was left in. The fan movies that feature it are a direct homage to the original idea. And while it's logical that the battery is in the rear, that wouldn't work when depositing ghosts. When the cartridge disconnects the power would be lost, and the ghosts could escape before the containment unit could be closed and cycled.

[@rambo8863]

Well i could work by haveing sockets in the front of the trap. So then you deposit the trap in the unit, it connekts the trap to the grid.

[@Greg87601]

I love this video.

[@ehrenleon1789]

I wanna know how you know all of this like seriously all the videos of the ghost busters equipment makes sense!!!????

[@ariellejoanna9973]

i love al them

[@jamesdupuis8066]

Outstanding video ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Question was is the range of the trap from the foot plate to the trap unit itself?

[@ChannelingSpirits]

It likely varied between props but most prop builders cut the hose between 9-10 ft.

[@FutureGroupsofRufus]

Sometimes I wonder if the people at Game Freak "borrowed" the ghost trap idea for Poke balls. lol

[@pikachuthebananasplit9061]

One thing that I don't understand is when they close the trap why do they look away when the ghost is sucked into the trap?

[@Mirandorl]

So if you got Uri Geller (or someone who was actually genuinely psychic) and stuck their head over a ghost trap, it would suck their abilities out of their heads.

[@BellowDGaming]

Ecto Containment Unit next

[@kylesamuels5636]

Only thing I never understood was, after releasing a ghost into the containment unit, what happens to the trap ??

[@darrylwashington1398]

Nice😺👍

[@reecesand3121]

This is just a bit of a nit pick but I'm pretty sure the neuon trap is the trap ontop of the ecto 1 in tbe video game, it may work on a larger scale compared to the normal traps especially since it's directly hooked to the power supply of the car and such as

[@stephanefarnes6398]

I love you!

[@saturncrush]

If geekdom101 channel can do it I know this channel can.

[@plowe6751]

How is it that Gozer and Vigo the Carpathian were not trapped?

[@JULYXXIV]

I don’t think they were out of business the entire five years. The video game hinted at that at the Sedgwick Hotel. I’ll say that it’s probably closer to two years.

[@dragondude9637]

So basically it happened during or after Ghostbusters 2.

[@ShiroiTengu]

I thought that "muon trap" only applied to the super slammer on top of The Car in the game?

[@OldStank]

So are some of the ghosts actually dead people or are they just entities that take on the appearance of the deceased?

[@BigDaddyKing632]

I looked at the Trap Ray

[@seatspud]

Just don't look at the comments, Egon. ;)

[@joshuabrookmyer4119]

Bad ghosts get put in the inter-dimensional time out box.

[@thejellyranger7679]

“I looked at the trap, Ray.” 😳

[@julianthememekid2031]

Can you guys make a video about what ghosts the ghostbusters caught in the montage in the first movie?

[@ChannelingSpirits]

It will be a little bit. We are intending to do a deep dive of the Ghostbusters equipment, and then we'll definitely get to everyone's favorite ghosts (as well as the obscure one's in the montage). Keep checking out our videos!

[@julianthememekid2031]

@@ChannelingSpirits Ok thank you!

[@julianthememekid2031]

When are you guys going to make a new video?

[@ChannelingSpirits]

The question is when we are going to video editing. We have one written and recorded, but editing is taking longer than we wanted. Stay tuned, its coming, we promise!

[@sammylane21]

These traps would be what?? 15 to 20lbs each in real life??

[@sloggnznorgin6285]

Makes sense, the power supply and magnets would make up the bulk of the weight me thinks.

[@rustyshackleford9588]

In the cartoon at one point said it would combine multiple ghosts. (Drool the dog faced goblin episode)

[@dragondude9637]

Wasn't Drool biting that demon at the time he was caught which explained why they were fused together?

[@rustyshackleford9588]

Maybe, it’s been a while but I thought they just said “trapped together”. Different rules in rgb to be sure I remember as a kid seeing some continuity things like that.

[@chaosbringer2000]

Us now: this tech is impossible ppl in the future: We came...we saw and kicked it's Ass!! Me: Challenge accepted

[@oldmighty15]

Not expecting that at 0:37, 1:53 & 11:02

[@flaysol7719]

🤣

[@psychodfunk]

What clip is 9:23 taken from??

[@ChannelingSpirits]

Return of the Ghostbusters, a fan film.

[@zzco]

And even the containment unit was finite, because by the second film, they were running out of room in there.

[@wesscoggins6963]

I think what you're thinking of was the first film, it was during the Twinkie conversation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqvEgp2JZq-mqrs

[@zzco]

@@wesscoggins6963 Weren't they talking about how the containment unit was getting FULL with the ghosts in 2? like they were going to have to build a new one or something

[@d.j.w2600]

@@zzco nah. First movie

[@zzco]

@@d.j.w2600 Ah, I'm just mis-remembering then. I could also be mixing up the cartoon with the movie, so that's a possibility.

[@WilbertLek]

How does the ghost trap work? Just like the warp reactor. Very well.

[@jamesgameing36]

How about the ecto 1 like how does all of that gizmos on the roof work

[@psychodfunk]

6:14 which episode was that??

[@ChannelingSpirits]

Cry Uncle S2E6.

[@EctoSupreme]

On topic of the video game, how would a Dark Matter Generator even work

[@night-x6793]

It's the same as how a antimatter or a ion generator works where the machine use a special magnetic discharge. Best the way to understand it is think how water is made where you have two hydrogen particles then you use a electric discharge to magnetic a oxygen particle to make water which is bit different with dark matter but the process is basically the same.

[@ChannelingSpirits]

We've actually got the physics of how most of the equipment, including the GB:TVG pack upgrades already worked out. It's just a matter of time to slowly get to each piece. Rest assured, we plan on doing a follow up Proton Pack video going more into the RGB, EGB, and GB:TVG packs. Stay tuned!

[@night-x6793]

I understand the trap functions but the materials to make it functional is the real trick where you can't just make the trap with normal stainless steel or aluminum because ghost can just go through 90% of everything like a house with a open door.

[@dragondude9637]

I think the trap has a specially calibrated laser grid inside it that contains the ghost, but you'll have to transfer it to the containment unit before the battery runs out otherwise the ghost will escape.

[@luizenidog5016]

Thats what i have been wondeing for years .

[@InsidetheBoothTV]

this is just as fun to watch thanks for the useless but awesome info.. lol

[@christopherniceley8848]

Time to do a video about the Containment Unit now, and please, add Walter Peck to the video 😂🤣😂 P/S who doesn’t like this video?!

[@JohnnyMacaw]

the year I was born nice.

[@gmoney4400]

That was really informative. I love you and your videos

[@ArtDocHound]

Jeanine is a Ghostbuster!

[@dieselverse]

Another amazingly in depth video! You guys need to work on your promotion more because you deserve way more views and followers than you're getting. Send them over to GhostbustersNews.com and the podcast The Ghostbusters Interdimensional Crossrip. They'll happily feature your videos as they are always looking for quality news material. Keep 'em coming!

[@ChannelingSpirits]

We are Twitter pals with both of them and love their work! We do our best to get our videos out there and are always working on promoting them, but if we also want to let them know, we'd be grateful!

[@Thekappa]

Real Ghost hunting equipment.? Ghost trap actual ghost in it that would be cool. Props from movie vs real ?

[@komedikampungtugu3158]

can this thing be created in real? i really interesting about capturing real ghost

[@mackcummy4976]

Wait, why can't they just suck up ghosts with the wands. You know, a stream that sucks in the ghost?

[@ChannelingSpirits]

In Ghostbusters 2, the use the trap to directly capture the Jogger Ghost. The need for the proton stream seems to be to weakened them and keep them from escaping during capture.

[@mackcummy4976]

@@ChannelingSpirits Well, why not both? Plus why can't they make a proton stream that just traps ghosts. It can burn real life stuff like people and walls.

[@vitoguttilla2926]

As a NYC GHOSTBUSTER, I have 6 TRAPS, all handy and ready for a new ghost.

[@MulToyVerse]

Heidi is cute! 🥰