Spiritualism and Photography
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Photo by Erik Müller
Life after death is a topic that is debatable among most people. It really all depends on their opinions and belief systems. Although not everyone believes in spirits, studies show that most people believe in some form of the afterlife.
Spiritualism started in the mid-1800s with the Fox sisters. The sisters claimed to have the ability to communicate with spirits from the other world. From then on, spiritualism was on the rise. The invention of photography and cameras already existed during this time, so it was no surprise that someone would be curious enough to capture these paranormal experiences. However, it turns out, the first photograph capturing a spirit was said to be accidental.
William H. Mumler, a photographer, located in Boston, was the first spiritualist to photograph a spirit. While he was trying to take a self-portrait in his friend's studio, he took a picture that would change his life. Mumler discovered an apparition next to him in the photograph. He revealed that he believed the ghost was a cousin who had passed away a long time ago.
Mumler's wife was also a claimed psychic. Naturally, he was fascinated by the supernatural and abandoned his profession as a jewellery engraver to take on the new world of photographing spirits. He began to charge people for a chance to catch a ghost on camera, but he made no promise that the photographs he took of his clients would capture a spirit. Sometimes there were no apparitions, but other times, he was able to capture some.
In his time of photographing spirits, one of the photographs he took that did capture a ghost was a unique client named Mary Todd Lincoln. The picture clearly shows her husband and one of the United States of America's former presidents, Abraham Lincoln, standing over her left shoulder and looking down at her.
Some people started to consider the possibility of William H. Mumler being a fraud. Many people were curious about Mumler's new career choice and wanted proof of if he was indeed telling the truth. Some started to investigate. A professional photographer went over and gathered information that he then decided that the spiritual photographer was credible. Besides, his clients who received photographs with the spirits were able to identify them as family members.
After the negativity surrounding his reputation, he moved to New York and continued his passion as an unusual photographer. The mayor of New York ordered the arrest of William H. Mumler after a journalist accused him of fraud. The trial determined he was not guilty of any crime. Professional photographers and citizens of New York testified in his defence.
We will never really know about these photographs' accuracy, but it is all up to what you believe and what you can determine from William H. Mumler's work as a photographer. It can be quite intriguing to think that when photography was first invented, it was used to photograph spirits and corpses. For this reason, it will always have a historical link to the dead and spiritualism.
Want to learn more about William H. Mumler?
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/spiritualism
Kaydence Marie
Kaydence Marie is a writer attending the professional writing program at Algonquin College. Although she is ardent for reading and writing, she is also very interested in photography, music, and animals. Kaydence can most likely be spotted reading her tarot cards while checking out a restaurant's latest vegan options.
