Ever since the 1954 release of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship Of The Ring, man has dared to ask, “You know the Door of Durin? The hidden entrance to the Mines Of Moria only revealed in moonlight and only opened with the utterance of a secret password? What if I could walk past that whenever I do laundry or put Thanksgiving leftovers in the basement fridge?” One valiant Redditor has finally answered that call.
Reddit user Eclipse_007 has uploaded an image gallery depicting the steps he took to turn some plywood, a sheet of plexiglass, and a string of LED lights into a real-life Door Of Durin that acts as the secret entrance to a basement home theater. A YouTube video shows the finished product in action. The touch of a hand reveals the door’s signature carving and activates the mechanism that actually opens the door. Eclipse_007 says he is currently working on voice recognition so that, just as in the book and movie, the door will open when someone says “mellon,” Tolkien’s Elvish word for “friend.”
Reached for comment, Peter Jackson said the door seemed okay, but on second thought should actually be at least three times taller and have an extended barrel ride sequence carved right in the middle.