If I’d been alive to witness one of Gaspard Robertson’s “Fantasmagorie” shows, I easily would’ve had my soul scared away. Considering the bloodshed taking place in France at the time due to the French revolution; all of these ghosts suddenly moving and the illusion of a horde of demons and skeletons surrounding the rest of the crowd and I would probably give me a heart attack. Robertson was known for evolving the horror element of the still-objects(like the skeletons and demons) by using the fantoscope to make it seem like they’re moving, and for an unsuspecting onlooker like myself, I’d assume Robertson was some sort of performative necromancer. Nonetheless, after the first stage had been shut down(because authorities were informed that citizens thought the illusions were real) Paris’ citizens loved it, so maybe the thrill would be addictive for me, and I didn’t even mention the anxiety I’d get from smelling the nitric acid[which is used for fertilizers and has a very suffocating smell,] that Robertson would intelligently deploy alongside sulfuric acid which just stinks abysmally. Now regarding what would compare today…probably the 3d horror movie craze from the early to mid 2010’s(you know what I’m referring to). Though the movie theaters didn’t smell as an element to the horror, the 3d movies made the jump-scares and really eerie scenes pop out more. I believe I went to one of them in the late 2000’s or early 2010’s as a kid, and my devout-Christian mother and I almost died from the terror that ensued from the up-close jump-scares as it felt like the monster/killer was up close, and there was no escaping them, and the incredibly loud music or sounds from the movie were inescapable and suffocating.
Powered by:
top