10 Horror Movie Props You Didn't Know Were Reused

9. Ghostbusters' P.K.E. Meter Was Used In They Live

Child's Play Tales from the Crypt Chucky Crypt Keeper
20th Century Fox/Universal Pictures

Given how Egon Spengler is the crazed genius of the Ghostbusters team, it's no surprise to see that one of his creations has been put to use in a couple of other movies.

Designed by Harold Ramis' Spengler in order to track things that go bump in the night, the Psycho-Kinetic Energy meter can be spotted in John Carpenter's iconic They Live. In the Horror Master's 1988 picture, the P.K.E. meter is used by the military as a way to detect alien lifeforms.

Of course, They Live was headlined by the legendary 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, and the P.K.E. would later turn up in yet another wrestler-driven movie in 1991.

Not just was Spengler's swanky Psycho-Kinetic Energy device good enough for the military in They Live to use, but the P.K.E. meter was also featured in '91's Hulk Hogan-fronted Suburban Commando; a movie that also had an appearance from the Undertaker. There, the device was used to track down a freeze laser.

Hunting ghosts, pinpointing aliens, or tracking weaponry, the P.K.E. is seemingly quite the versatile piece of kit.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.