"I am William Castle, the director of the motion picture you're about to see. I feel obligated to warn you that some of the sensations, some of the physical reactions which the actors on the screen will feel will also be experienced for the first time in motion picture history by certain members of this audience. I say "certain members" because some people are more sensitive to these mysterious electronic impulses than others. These unfortunate, sensitive people will at times feel a strange, tingling sensation. Others will feel it less strongly. But don't be alarmed. You could protect yourself. At any time you are conscious of a "tingling" sensation you may obtain immediate relief by screaming. Don't be embarrassed about opening your mouth and letting rip with all you got. Because the person in the seat right next to you will probably be screaming too. And remember this: A scream at the right time may save your life"
"I’m going to buzz the asses of everyone in America" declared Director William Castle, who came up with the ingenuous idea of attaching army surplus vibrators underneath selected cinema seats. These had been aircraft wing defrosters, which shook ice free in bad weather, and their effect became his most famous gimmick, "Percepto!". During the film’s climax, when the "Tingler" gets loose the projectionist threw a switch and the motors starting buzzing, which caused audiences to jump and scream. Castle then employed another gimmick: sudden stereophonic sound. Turning off the lights (and the film), A loudspeaker crying out: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Tingler is loose in the theatre! Scream for your lives!" and then announces that a patron has fainted. And when the lights went up in the theatre, a real live "victim" would be carried out on a stretcher. In some theaters, shills were planted in the audience to scream at the appropriate moment, further exciting the audience's reaction. [movie publicity materials]
