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'Ghostbusters' Ecto-1 wheelchair costume revs up Halloween

Is your house haunted this Halloween? You better call 9-year-old Jeremy and his wheelchair Ecto-1 in to handle those ghosts.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
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Jeremy ain't afraid of no ghost.

Ryan Scott Miller

We first met young Jeremy last year when he conquered Halloween in a Star Wars snowspeeder. Jeremy and his dad Ryan Scott Miller are back with another mind-blowing costume for 2016. It's the Ecto-1 car from the original "Ghostbusters."

Jeremy is 9 years old and gets around in a wheelchair due to spina bifida, a condition that hampers spinal cord development. His Ecto-1 fits around his wheelchair and puts him at the wheel of the iconic phantasm-fighting machine.

When it comes to costumes, this is about as far from a bed-sheet ghost as you can get. The car replica has working lights and a speaker for playing the "Ghostbusters" theme music and siren. A fully loaded roof rack carries cannisters, a ladder, a satellite dish and a warning light. Everything is there, right down to the big red fins and logo on the side.

The completely custom costume took a month and a half worth of weekends to build. "There were so many challenging parts to this costume, which is part of the fun, but by far getting the curve of the body was the hardest part. We had a couple of failed attempts until we got it right," says Miller.

Jeremy is a huge "Ghostbusters" fan. He's seen all three movies and watches the cartoon series, as well. Jeremy and his dad were thrilled to discover that the "Extreme Ghostbusters" animated series from 1997 features a paraplegic main character in a wheelchair.

Jeremy isn't just using the car for trick-or-treat transportation. He and his dad took the vehicle to the Rady Children's Hospital Halloween party in San Diego, California, after an invitation from the Children's Miracle Network, an organization dedicated to funding hospitals and medical research.

"It was nice to be able to bring some smiles to kids, because we know all too well how tough long hospital stays can be," says Miller.

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Jeremy visits a children's hospital.

Ryan Scott Miller