Early beginnings of paranormal photography

In his book Photography and Spirit, John Harvey’s first words are, “There are spirits – and they can be photographed.” (Harvey, 2007) This is a common thought for many people who believe in ghosts and it is now thought that the “coming together of photography and spirit [allies] modern technology to ancient believe and apparatus to apparitions,” (Harvey, 2007)

In the early 1800s, experiments to combine the separation of light and dark and a set of light sensing chemicals to produce photographs started. Despite the difficuly of the task, in 1839 scientist created the first photographical method known as daguerrotype imaging. This is where is all started and the development of photography is still going on today. (History, 2001) But when did it become a medium for the paranormal? 

The first “unexplainable” ghost photograph is said to have been taken by W. Campbell of Jersey City, New Jersey in 1860. (Prairie Ghosts, 2008) The story behind Campbell’s photography is that he took a picture of an empty chair, but once the photograph was developed it revealed an image of a small boy sitting in the chair. Unfortunately for Campbell he could not recreate the photograph and therefore was not well remembered by historians of art. (Paranormal-encyclopedia, 2012)

The most well-known ghost photograph was taken by the Boston photographer, William H. Mumler(Figure 1). (Radford, 2011) He began producing “spirit photographs” in 1861 and continued to produce until being revealed as a “hoaxer”. The ghosts he claimed to have captured were merely double exposures of previous clients. (Radford, 2011)

“Despite ever-increasing technology, real photographic proof of ghosts remains as elusive as ever.” (Radford, 2011)

The following picture was taken by William Mumler.

© 2000 The American Photography Museum, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Used by Permission.
Figure 1

You can find more of Mumler's photographs on  The American Museum of Photography's website.

References

Harvey, J. (2007). Photography and spirit. London, England: Reaktion Books Ltd.

Fi.edu. The History of Photography. (2001). Retrieved from http://fi.edu/pieces/watson/hist.htm

Mumler, William. Master herrod in a trance. his spiritual body withdrawn and appears behind. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.photographymuseum.com/mumler.html

Paranormal-encyclopedia. A Brief History of Paranormal Photography. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.paranormal-encyclopedia.com/p/photography/history.html

Radford, B. (2011). When Did the First 'Ghost Photos' Appear?. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/11699-ghost-photos.html

Taylor, T. Spirit photography. (2001). Retrieved from http://www.prairieghosts.com/ph_history.html