What’s a Ghostbuster without anything capture ghosts in? The Ghost trap is again one of the most recognized pieces of equipment in the Ghostbusters universe. Around 6 traps were built during the course of the two films. There were hero traps, made from metal and had full electronics, servos to open the doors and lights. Not all traps had opening doors. The hero traps were also the only traps to have the removable cartridge that goes into the Ecto Containment Unit. Stunt traps were built for various purposes. There were trap specifically built to smoke, with strips of fabric that would be soaked in the smoking agent. Other traps were built from foam and hung on the belt, the foam helped keep the weight down for the actors. These traps were known as “belt hangers”.
From Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2, the ghost trap went through a number of subtle changes, similar to the proton pack. The differences are;
Ghostbusters hero Ghost trap. Note the red side rods and the removable cartridge
Label seen on the battery box of the Ghostbusters 1 style trap and an example of the complete sticker as seen on the top of the EDA on the top of the proton pack.
Ghostbusters 1 hero trap, as seen in the Sedgwick scene. You can see here clearly the black side dial. Compare the battery box at the rear of the trap to the Ghostbusters 2 trap below, you can see it sticks out much further from the side walls.
Ghostbusters 2 trap, with silver side dial. Notice too that the prongs on the golden CAL resistor have been cut off.
Ghostbusters 2 “belt hanger” trap. You can clearly see the silver side rods on this image. Because the trap is one piece foam, the front of the trap where the cartridge would usually hang over is flush with the cartridge walls. The handle is made from aluminium.