Spirit photography comforted the grieving with a promise of life beyond this earthly realm by capturing ghostly images of the deceased in the same frame with the living. The new technology spawned a lucrative industry from the mid-1800s to early 1900s. It also had detractors including Harry Houdini and P.T. Barnum who were determined to unveil trade secrets.

Spiritualism Swept America And Europe

The earliest known spirit photographs were taken in America when spiritualism was sweeping the world. Spiritualists believe that the deceased continued to exist after death and were able to interact with the living. Most historians point to the movement beginning in 1848 in Hydesville, New York, where sisters Kate and Maggie Fox allegedly communicated with spirits.

According to the Science and Media Museum:

“Spectacular displays of ‘spirit’ phenomena during séances were central to spiritualist belief, from mysterious rappings to full-on spirit materializations. Spirit photography seemed to empirically capture these often elusive phenomena, serving to confirm spiritualist understandings of reality.”

The Fox sisters became a sensation as they traveled the nation communicating with spirits, holding séances and giving lectures. Their success gave rise to a thriving industry for psychics and spiritual mediums.

By the late 1800s, Spiritualism had an estimated eight million followers across America and Europe. Many were from the burgeoning middle class and upper class. Among the famous followers were Victoria Woodhull, Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Edison who tried to analyze spiritualism through science method. Skeptical of the mediums and clairvoyants, Edison wanted to build a type of “spirit phone” to communicate with the deceased.

Photography Produced Strange Accidents

Accounts of spirits caught by a camera lens were made as early as the 1850s when photography was still relatively new.

The Library of Congress writes:

“At that time, the process of photography was mysterious enough to most people that the idea of a photograph capturing the latent image of a spirit seemed quite possible.”

In his 1856 book, “The Stereoscope: Its History, Theory, and Construction,” Sir David gave step-by-step instructions for creating Spirit Photography:

“For the purpose of amusement, the photographer might carry us even into the regions of the supernatural. His art, as I have elsewhere shown, enables him to give a spiritual appearance to one or more of his figures, and to exhibit them as “thin air” amid the solid realities of the stereoscopic picture.”

Despite technical explanations Spiritualism was on the rise. People wanted to believe the deceased were nearby. With nearly 620,000 lives lost to the Civil War (1861-1865) they also needed to believe. Much like the yearly return of Monarch butterflies on Dia de Los Muertos comforts the people of Latin America, Spirit Photography offered solace to a nation of grieving Americans.

William H. Mumler “Captured” Spirits By Accident

But it was not until glass plate negatives were used circa 1859, making double images possible, that spirits began to regularly appear in photographs.

In 1860, jewelry engraver and amateur photographer William H. Mumler launched the field of Spirit Photography with his claim to have taken the first true image of the spirit of a young girl beside him in a self-portrait. He took the photograph to a Spriritualist who confirmed that the girl was indeed a ghost.

An avid self-promoter, Mumler secured an article on his Spirit Photography in popular spiritualist publications as well as mainstream media. Despite the fact that glass plate negatives made double images possible, Mumler launched a lucrative business in Spirit Photography.

One of his most famous pictures was of Mary Lincoln with the ghost of her husband Abraham Lincoln behind her, taken around 1872.

The Library of Congress writes:

“Doubts grew about his work, but even when a spiritualist named Doctor Gardner recognized some of the so-called spirits as living Bostonians, people continued to pay as much as $10 a sitting.” (LOC)

Mumler was charged with fraud in 1869, but was not convicted, due to lack of evidence.  One of the most famous people to testify against him was P.T. Barnum.

Although Mumler was one of the earliest and most successful practitioners of Spirit Photography, many others emerged. Among them are Sybell Corbet and Frederick Hudson in England and Edouard Isidore Buguet in Paris.

In his 1897 book Spirit World Unmasked: Illustrated Investigations Into the Phenomena of Spiritualism and Theosophy, Henry Ridgely Evans describes two techniques employed for Spirit Photography:

“…by double printing and by double exposure. In the first, the scene is printed from one negative, and the spirit printed in from another. In the second method, the group with the friendly spook in proper position is arranged, and the lens of the camera uncovered, half of the required exposure being given; then the lens is capped, and the person doing duty as the sheeted ghost gets out of sight, and the exposure is completed.”

Another interesting development from this time was the trend for trick photography including headless photographs.

Spirit photography comforted the grieving with a promise of life beyond this earthly realm by capturing ghostly images of the deceased in the same frame with the living. The new technology spawned a lucrative industry from the mid-1800s to early 1900s. It also had detractors including Harry Houdini and P.T. Barnum who were determined to unveil trade secrets.

Spiritualism Swept America And Europe

The earliest known spirit photographs were taken in America when spiritualism was sweeping the world. Spiritualists believe that the deceased continued to exist after death and were able to interact with the living. Most historians point to the movement beginning in 1848 in Hydesville, New York, where sisters Kate and Maggie Fox allegedly communicated with spirits.

According to the Science and Media Museum:

“Spectacular displays of ‘spirit’ phenomena during séances were central to spiritualist belief, from mysterious rappings to full-on spirit materializations. Spirit photography seemed to empirically capture these often elusive phenomena, serving to confirm spiritualist understandings of reality.”

The Fox sisters became a sensation as they traveled the nation communicating with spirits, holding séances and giving lectures. Their success gave rise to a thriving industry for psychics and spiritual mediums.

By the late 1800s, Spiritualism had an estimated eight million followers across America and Europe. Many were from the burgeoning middle class and upper class. Among the famous followers were Victoria Woodhull, Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Edison who tried to analyze spiritualism through science method. Skeptical of the mediums and clairvoyants, Edison wanted to build a type of “spirit phone” to communicate with the deceased.

Photography Produced Strange Accidents

Accounts of spirits caught by a camera lens were made as early as the 1850s when photography was still relatively new.

The Library of Congress writes:

“At that time, the process of photography was mysterious enough to most people that the idea of a photograph capturing the latent image of a spirit seemed quite possible.”

In his 1856 book, “The Stereoscope: Its History, Theory, and Construction,” Sir David gave step-by-step instructions for creating Spirit Photography:

“For the purpose of amusement, the photographer might carry us even into the regions of the supernatural. His art, as I have elsewhere shown, enables him to give a spiritual appearance to one or more of his figures, and to exhibit them as “thin air” amid the solid realities of the stereoscopic picture.”

Despite technical explanations Spiritualism was on the rise. People wanted to believe the deceased were nearby. With nearly 620,000 lives lost to the Civil War (1861-1865) they also needed to believe. Much like the yearly return of Monarch butterflies on Dia de Los Muertos comforts the people of Latin America, Spirit Photography offered solace to a nation of grieving Americans.

William H. Mumler “Captured” Spirits By Accident

But it was not until glass plate negatives were used circa 1859, making double images possible, that spirits began to regularly appear in photographs.

In 1860, jewelry engraver and amateur photographer William H. Mumler launched the field of Spirit Photography with his claim to have taken the first true image of the spirit of a young girl beside him in a self-portrait. He took the photograph to a Spriritualist who confirmed that the girl was indeed a ghost.

An avid self-promoter, Mumler secured an article on his Spirit Photography in popular spiritualist publications as well as mainstream media. Despite the fact that glass plate negatives made double images possible, Mumler launched a lucrative business in Spirit Photography.

One of his most famous pictures was of Mary Lincoln with the ghost of her husband Abraham Lincoln behind her, taken around 1872.

The Library of Congress writes:

“Doubts grew about his work, but even when a spiritualist named Doctor Gardner recognized some of the so-called spirits as living Bostonians, people continued to pay as much as $10 a sitting.” (LOC)

Mumler was charged with fraud in 1869, but was not convicted, due to lack of evidence.  One of the most famous people to testify against him was P.T. Barnum.

Although Mumler was one of the earliest and most successful practitioners of Spirit Photography, many others emerged. Among them are Sybell Corbet and Frederick Hudson in England and Edouard Isidore Buguet in Paris.

In his 1897 book Spirit World Unmasked: Illustrated Investigations Into the Phenomena of Spiritualism and Theosophy, Henry Ridgely Evans describes two techniques employed for Spirit Photography:

“…by double printing and by double exposure. In the first, the scene is printed from one negative, and the spirit printed in from another. In the second method, the group with the friendly spook in proper position is arranged, and the lens of the camera uncovered, half of the required exposure being given; then the lens is capped, and the person doing duty as the sheeted ghost gets out of sight, and the exposure is completed.”

Another interesting development from this time was the trend for trick photography including headless photographs.

In the 1920s illusionist Harry Houdini formed entire shows around proving that mediums were fakes and that Spirit Photography was a hoax.

London Stereoscopic Company Went For Laughs

Spirit photography was also used for humor. With photography still in its infancy these photos exhibit an impressive level of technical achievement. Stereographs-cards used two nearly identical photographs mounted side by side. When viewed through a binocular device they produced an illusion of depth.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

“The firm’s output was colossal; their 1858 catalogue listed more than one hundred thousand views.” 

While architectural views and landscapes represented most of their output, comic images of supernatural scenes involving ghosts or spirits were popular.

Mumler was charged with fraud in 1869 after a supposed spirit from one of his photographs was discovered alive. P.T. Barnum was a vocal critic of Mumler and Spirit Photography for taking advantage of people in a vulnerable time of grief. Barnum testified against Mumler in court, but he was acquitted despite the evidence. Mumler went on to become a regular photographer.

In the 1920s illusionist Harry Houdini formed entire shows around proving that mediums were fakes and that Spirit Photography was a hoax.

London Stereoscopic Company Went For Laughs

Spirit photography was also used for humor. With photography still in its infancy these photos exhibit an impressive level of technical achievement. Stereographs-cards used two nearly identical photographs mounted side by side. When viewed through a binocular device they produced an illusion of depth.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

“The firm’s output was colossal; their 1858 catalogue listed more than one hundred thousand views.” 

While architectural views and landscapes represented most of their output, comic images of supernatural scenes involving ghosts or spirits were popular.

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