This is a prototype made in 2008 which illustrates a skeleton being electricuted in an electric chairthe skeleton is connected to the chair using a light rope for the wires, as shown in the images below. A fog machine behind the chair releases fog upon triggering while a strobe light and eerie green light are illustrated.

A simple wooden chair built from low-grade, rough wood comprise the electric chair prop. To allow the skeleton to move in a more natural way when lifting from the chair, the skeleton is supported by two pieces of 1×2 wood hinged in the middle. A bent-over position is the first movement of the skeleton and a chair pulls the support behind the back of the skeleton causing the skeleton to move to a prone position when maximum extension is approached as shown in the close-up photo and rear view below. A single cylinder and two hinges provide a simpler solution although two actuators could have been used. The arrangement of the cylinder, two support arms, and the chain which pulls back on the arm to erect the skeleton are shown in the rear view as the skeleton is held to the arms by wire ties.

To hide the mechanism, the rear view shot was taken before covering it with black cloth. A programmasble length balst of fog, set by a digital timer module, is released when the fog machine is actuated. A green floodlight beside the fog machine casts an eerie green glow all around when scattered by the fog. The flashing associated with electricity comes from a strobe light on the top. The solenoid air valve, timers for the fog machine, two power supplies, the electronics package, and set of computer speakers can be seen in the bottom of the photo. An audio file of electricity noises like a loud arcing from a Tesla coil is played froma laptop and fed continously to the speakers that are similar as the spotlight conenction to the same AC supply.

The electronics were designed to be generic enough to be used with various displays. When the sensor is tripped, the first relay activates and a second later, the second relay closes. The first relay usually activates fog and lights and the skeleton motion is activated by the second relay. The two relays on a board take the beam tripped signal from the sensor and drive all DC (control solenoids) and AC (floodlight) loads.