WHO YA GONNA CALL?

OF THIS OUTER BANKS worldOut

Would-be Ghostbusters Ryan Moser (left) and Josh Lundy (right) tackle paranormal pests in their DIY costumes. Ryan prepares to set the trap (inset).

Who Ya Gonna Call?

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RYAN MOSER / STORY BY ARABELLA SAUNDERS

ON A JANUARY AFTERNOON IN 2019, Josh Lundy stood in the driveway of his Kill Devil Hills house staring at his recently purchased 2005 Dodge Magnum.

He’d seen the car parked outside of Starbucks in Kitty Hawk a few weeks prior and called the number on the for-sale sign for two simple reasons: He’d owned the same model back in his 20s, and it was a good price at around $4,500.

That afternoon, however, the vehicle took on a whole new meaning.

“I thought, ‘You know what? This would make a really cool Ghostbusters car,’” says Josh, who makes a living as a wedding DJ. “That got the wheels turning as I tried to figure out how to make it look like the Ectomobile.”

Step one was easy. He called his best friend and fellow ‘80s kid, Ryan Moser. Together, Josh reasoned, they could deck out the car and create matching DIY costumes just in time for Halloween.

Even though Josh warned Ryan that the process would likely be time-consuming and costly, Ryan was all in from the start.

“I was stoked,” Ryan says enthusiastically. “I grew up with the movies – I even had the action figures and stuff. I mean, what little kid doesn’t like the Ghostbusters? It’s nostalgic.”

The pair drew up their initial plans for revamping the Dodge, which included adding an intercom system, some custom-rigged lights and securing a couple of old medical oxygen tanks to the roof rack. They also began scouring the internet for Ghostbusters-inspired merchandise to incorporate into their costumes.

With Ryan’s background in car mechanics and Josh’s expertise in all things Ghostbusters-related, the duo made the perfect pair. Nearly eight months and another $1,000 later, Josh and Ryan went through the 15-minute process of suiting up in their custom costumes that looked straight out of 1984.

The only catch? Halloween was still a month away.

“We decided to just go cruise around the neighborhood,” Josh says. “I wasn’t expecting the amount of attention it got in the community, so it was really cool seeing pretty much everyone waving and taking pictures as we drove by.”

It also gave them time to plan a photo shoot that would do their months-long cosplay project justice. As a professional photographer, Ryan decided to stage it underneath the Washington Baum Bridge across from Pirate’s Cove Marina in order to give the images a grittier, industrial vibe. With a little off-camera lighting, a mini-fog machine and lots of slow-shutter shots on a tripod, Ryan got the material he needed to later go back and piece together some more complicated composite shots – plus a few photoshopped proton pack light streams. And when Halloween finally arrived, they were fully prepared to take a cruise down Bay Drive, one of the Outer Banks’ biggest trick-or-treating hotspots. They posed, took photos with fans, and local law enforcement even let them turn on the Ectomobile’s siren for the full effect.

Their next stop was a costume contest at a local bar, where they easily took home first place and a $100 award.

Though Josh eventually sold the car after its engine died, the pair may still suit back up for a visit to RC Theatres when the franchise’s newest flick, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, hits big screens this November. But as far as Halloween 2021 plans go, they’re keeping things mum for now.

One thing’s for sure, however: “It won’t be as big as buying a car,” Josh says with a laugh.