A gift shop in Buckinghamshire is celebrating its first Halloween with an immersive and creepy hologram display.
The Lemon Tree opened on The Parade in Bourne End this February and has become known for its quirky range of gifts, hampers and homeware.
The owner of the shop, Martin Walters is now doubling down on his promise that The Lemon Tree is not just for Christmas with an immersive and, some may say, too close for comfort Halloween hologram display.
Beginning last week and remaining in place until Tuesday, October 31, a projection in front of the shop’s window depicts a carousel of ghostly figures, one of whom momentarily induces CGI flames to spring up around the door.
Martin, 50, said that while the display is only visible after dark, and tends to wind down by 9:30pm, he has had largely positive feedback from passers-by who praised the lifelike nature of the spectral shapes.
“I paid for a special effects company to put together the projected video, and I have plans to do something similar for Christmas as well.
“It’s been great – there’s a camera outside the shop so I can see some of the reactions of people walking past. There are quite a few different ghosts which are all on a loop, and the most impressive one shows a curtain which catches fire to reveal the ghost behind it.”
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Martin Sanders, a Loudwater resident who spoke to the Free Press after passing The Lemon Tree in the early evening this week, stressed the realistic appearance of the fire, admitting that he had been “about to call the fire brigade” before realising that it was just a hologram.
He suggested that the shop owner should “put up signs to stop people from worrying”, adding: “I can’t decide whether this is clever marketing or will actually cause someone to call emergency services”.
Martin Walters said he had heard from some concerned shoppers about the realistic look of the hologram, but they had conceded that it was only active for four or five seconds during each projection loop.
What’s the scariest Halloween display you’ve spotted this year?
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