House of mirrors

A house of mirrors or hall of mirrors is a traditional attraction at funfairs (carnivals) and amusement parks. The basic concept behind a house of mirrors is to be a maze-like puzzle, but in addition to confounding the spatial senses with a labyrinth element, the visual senses are also confounded by the construction of the walls of the maze of optically reflective material, most often glass mirrors. Sometimes each mirror may be distorted into different curved, or shapes to give the participants unusual and confusing reflections of themselves.

In fiction, battles sometimes take place within a hall of mirrors. Perhaps the first instance of this was at the climax of the film "The Lady from Shanghai" (1948). Other notable examples include Woody Allen's movie "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993) which directly refers to "The Lady from Shanghai"; the show "Macgyver", where Jack Dalton is brainwashed and is forced to fire on Macgyver; and "the Teen Titans series" episode "Betrayal". Francisco Scaramanga's "Fun House" in the James Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun" has a House of mirrors. The famous ending sequence of "Enter the Dragon", starring Bruce Lee, takes place in a house of mirrors.

Even the Simpsons have played on the confusing aspects of the house of Mirrors; Homer attempts to confuse and escape a crooked private detective with his many reflections, only to be promptly shot on the first try thus putting a stop to the stereotypical ending.

History

The origins of the house of mirrors stems from the hall of mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.

Upon a visit to France to discuss colonial land agreements, Peter Stuyvesant arrived at the Palace of Versailles and gazed upon the hall of mirrors present in the palace. Peter (or Petris) became determined to bring this amazement to the newly founded colonial city of New Amsterdam, of which he was governor. Peter Stuyvesant's House of Mirrors was founded in 1651 and he charged one Dutch gulden for admission.

ee also

* Curved mirror