Spectral Viewers



Spectral Viewers are goggles/glasses with special lenses that allow their wearer to see ghosts. Ghosts can usually only be seen through spectral viewers, though there have been several exceptions.

History
In the 1960 film 13 Ghosts, the spectral viewers were invented by Dr. Plato Zorba as a method of seeing spirits. After Dr. Zorba was murdered by Benjamin Rush and the former's nephew Cyrus inherited his mansion, he and his family used the spectral viewers to see the 12 ghosts haunting the house.

The spectral viewers are large and resemble goggles. They are also dangerous, as when a fly flew by a pair of spectral viewers, the viewers electrocuted and killed it. At the end of the film, with all of the imprisoned ghosts having been released, what appeared to be Elaine destroyed the spectral viewers via telekinesis.

In the 2001 film Thir13en Ghosts, Spectral Viewers were used to see ghosts, originally by Cyrus Kriticos' ghost-hunting team and the 2 spirit liberators. When Arthur, his family, Dennis, Kalina and Maggie were locked in the mansion-like machine, they used spectral viewers to see the rampant ghosts that have been released. They are viewers are smaller, had lights along the peripheral corners, and more closely resemble plastic glasses.

Trivia

 * It is never really known nor ever discussed in any of the 2 films on how the Spectral Viewers actually worked. Some speculate they merely alter a person's perception of light as it strikes an object (a ghost, in this case) in such a way, the ghosts are then rendered visible. This might be similar to how corrective lenses bend and refract the light hitting a person's eye, improving visual clarity. It has also been theorized that the transparent material the lenses are comprised of, somehow operate on the same, ethereal plane as the spirits.