7 Ghostbusters Facts You Ain't Afraid Of

It’s been over 30 years since the original Ghostbusters film launched a sequel and a franchise of toys, cartoons, and ecto-flavored beverages. If you were alive in 1984, chances are there isn’t much you DON’T remember about the Ghostbusters phenomenon, but we’ve compiled 7 facts about the spooky hit comedy that might just surprise you.

#1. Dan Aykroyd was following in his grandfather’s footsteps.

Photo Credit: Amazon

Aykroyd’s great-grandfather Dr. Samuel A. Aykroyd was an 18th-century psychic investigator.

His father Peter claims he’s been regularly communicating with the dead since he was 8 years old, and at one point tried to build a device that could capture ghost’s voices, but stopped when the ghosts told him that it would be impossible.

#2. The film was inspired by an article in a journal from the American Society for Psychical Research.

Photo Credit: Alphr

Shortly after leaving Saturday Night Live, Aykroyd read an article on quantum physics and parapsychology in a journal from the American Society for Psychical Research and a light bulb went off in his big cranium. He decided to write a screenplay that combined psychic research and old-style comedy. Think of a cross between Sherlock Holmes and the Marx Brothers.

By the way, that photo features Sigmund Freud (front row, left) and Carl Jung (front row, right), both members of the Society. Some pretty heavy hitters!

#3. Harold Ramis was pretty much the opposite of Aykroyd, and that was perfect.

Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures

Ramis was a healthy skeptic, but he did have an interest in early civilizations and a detailed knowledge of the occult. Put those tastes together, and you have the essential story for Ghostbusters: a slapstick, science-driven exploration of the occult where an evil god is summoned by an ancient Sumerian cult.

But, things still needed to be distilled a bit more before the script was ready for action.

By the way, did you know that the original script for the film would have been the most expensive movie in history?

Find out why after the jump!

#4. The original treatment was much more epic.

The original 40-page draft called for the film to take place in the future, where dozens of groups of Ghostbusters fought specters across time and space.

The iconic Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man showed up on page 20, and was just one of 50 giant monsters the ‘Busters would have to destroy to save civilization.

Photo Credit: Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History

Director Ivan Reitman estimated that it would have cost $300 million to make that version of the film, so he suggested they focus on one group of men getting their start in the ghost fighting business.

The Marshmallow Man was now ready for his close-up.

#5. Sigourney Weaver really wanted the part.

Photo Credit: GIPHY

Before Ghostbusters, Weaver was known mostly for her role as Ripley in 1979’s Alien, but she really wanted to land in a comedy.

At her audition, Ripley, or rather Ms. Weaver, chose to do a wordless scene where she turned into one of Gozer’s hell-hounds. She slithered around on the couch and snarled at Reitman, who was super-impressed. Obvs.

Find out how they filmed that scene where Dana floated over the bed after the jump!

#6. The scene where Dana floats over the bed was made with no special effects.

Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures

Reitman borrowed a trick from illusionist Doug Henning from their time working together on the musical Merlin on Broadway.

Dana’s 360-degree turn and levitation were both done on-set with no fancy effects added in post-production. Reitman considers it one of his favorite scenes he’s ever created.

#7. Aykroyd pissed off one of his idols (and caused a traffic jam) to shoot the final scene.

Photo Credit: Deviant Art

Science fiction legend Isaac Asimov lived in New York during filming, and the final scene shut down a good section of NYC, which caused a traffic jam that led all the way downtown. Asimov, who lived on the Upper West Side at the time, showed up on set to complain about the traffic.

Producer Joe Medjuck told a passerby that the delays were caused by Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club, which was filming in New York at the same time as Ghostbusters.