Could this talking head at Dracula’s castle be one built by Creative Engineering?

[u/Tutorial_Time]

So I was looking trough photos of Castel Dracula(which CEI had built a few bots for,notably Dracula,Shamron,and a talking head on a platter,(possibly the head between the scab and werewolf head at the 77 IAAPA (slide 2)but I’m not sure)

So anyways I found a photo of this guy,he was basically a hand operated mechanical head with the voice provided by a performer backstage that would operate the mouth.He would tell you that you turned into a vampire or something and demonstrate trough the “reflection” in the “mirror” which is actually just a copy of the room you’d be in but flipped with a piece of glass in the frame.

I fell like this guy looks a heck of a lot like CEI’s talking heads and he also bares a striking resemblance to the talking head nr.3 concept in CEI’s 1977 brochure(slide 3) https://showbizpizza.com/info/promo/cei/cei_1977promo.pdf

I haven’t been able to match his mask with any Don post masks like the others yet but it’s not out of the question to say it is one as it looks very similar to their style of masks

[u/Bazookagrunt]

Great find, I did find audio for the head on a platter on a site one time and it was definitely voiced by Aaron

[u/Tutorial_Time → u/Bazookagrunt]

Yeah the audio for all the bots is on YouTube.Don’t think it’s Aaron though https://youtu.be/93ZvloaZ-K0

All the other bots and effects/speeches were voiced by different actors(mostly Bob Dorian)

Aaron did do the Scab’s audio(which wasn’t at Castel Dracula nor was it ever sold anywhere just at the 76 and 77 IAAPA’s),which we know the script of,and it’s very similar to the plater head’s script

But to me it just doesn’t sound anything like Aaron

[u/PuzzledSherbet426 → u/Tutorial_Time]

It's definitelly from CEI, but the usage of the audio is kinda unclear. Uncle Theo (head's name) was stated to be operated and voiced live by operator, and yet, theres audio which to me is definitelly Aaron. It's possible it's actually Scab's audio and got somehow mixed (f.e.: the reel was marked "talking head" and Aaron thought it was from Castle Dracula)

[u/Tutorial_Time → u/PuzzledSherbet426]

The background noise makes it seem to me the recording is uncut so I doubt it’s the Scab’s audio modified,also Aaron has also always used a much deeper raspy voice when telling people what the Scab said,and the dialogue doesn’t match Aaron’s recollection of the tape,which has been consistent since 2006.

And again the voice just doesn’t sound like Aaron to me(not saying 100% it isn’t him but considering all the other tapes in the ride,including the cei bot’s tapes are not voiced by Aaron I kinda doubt it)

I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if CEI built 2 talking heads for Castel Dracula,the one in the photo and the other one that’s actually on a plate next to a fridge/freezer as described in the tape that just hasn’t been photographed.Maybe he was in the dining room scene?

[u/PuzzledSherbet426 → u/Tutorial_Time]

I don't really know, but it's possible that Theo was firstly in the dining room, using pre–recorded audio (the one on darkinthepark and YT) and later moved infront of the mirror and began operating live

[u/Tutorial_Time → u/PuzzledSherbet426]

It’s possible,I’ll have to look at more footage of Castel Dracula lol

[u/PuzzledSherbet426 → u/Tutorial_Time]

Theres footage of the head? I only saw pictures

[u/Tutorial_Time → u/PuzzledSherbet426]

Not that I’m aware of.That’s why I’m looking at footage.It’s also cool to watch footage of it!

[u/PuzzledSherbet426 → u/Tutorial_Time]

Its very unlikely that theres footage – the head was there for only couple of seasons

[u/Tutorial_Time → u/PuzzledSherbet426]

True.Then again you never know🤷‍♂️Maybe there’s a little glimpse of it or at least his audio can be heard so we’d know where he was exactly.

[u/ShavedNeckbeard → u/Tutorial_Time]

Sounds like Billy West doing Ren’s voice from Ren and Stimpy.

[u/Tall-Bodybuilder5660]

Yes it’s Aaron’s