http://www.theadamsresidence.co.uk/robertson/PHANTASMOGRIA.htm

Horror films play on our secret fears. Human dreams, vision and imagination become real in many films, as for horror films, our nightmares come alive. Terrifying shadows, the moan of the wind, creak of the door frighten us from the TV screen.
Modern horror films can boast of bloody special effects.
The Phantasmagoria of Etienne Gaspard Robertson, In March 1798 a Belgian inventor, physicist, and student of optics named Etienne-Gaspard Robert presented what he called the first Fantasmagorie. It was the sensation of post-revolutionary Paris.
His multimedia Gothic horror show thrilled his audiences, his theatre an ancient chapel was dressed up and decorated to great effect, in the same way that theme parks do today, getting people to participate before the show had even started. Other showmen started to produce Phantasmagoria shows in England and America. There is some evidence that Paul de Philipsthal who presented a show at London's Lyceum theatre in 1801, may have originated the form. However no-one it seems before or after has presented such a show with such panache. Robertson used a number of magic lanterns to produce his various effects. Some were used to back project on to a large screen, thus keeping the lantern hidden from the audience, these large lanterns were known as Fantascopes and ran backwards and forwards on wheels; a device attached by pulleys to the wheels kept the lens focused. Assitants placed among the audience had small lanterns strapped to their chests, which allowed "spectres" to be projected in unusual places. Other effects were produced by projecting on to smoke and the use of a Megascope to project models and puppets.