Spirit Photography, a trend that is unsettling.
As artist Basil Hallward painted my portrait, the several days leading to it’s completion; I never thought that I wanted to live forever in youth and beauty.
When I did wish “If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!“ then to find out my wish were to came true, I was ever elated.
However, in my celebration; the thought of the “Spirit photography” trend came to hunt my mind. I could not help to wonder, what if I made such wish unto my liked photography portrait? What if the days leading on to that, I would find spirits lurking into my photos as it could have been on my painted portrait?
As much as I wanted to love Sybil Vane, my heart wouldn’t let me and I wouldn’t dare to outer such words after her passing. Lord Henry, Basil and lady Agatha alike were overtaken by spiritualism and spirit photography but I wouldn’t dare to indulge in such pleasures. I would not want to find out, that Sybil and countless others were lurking about me, hoping to make an end out of me.
For months leading my discovery, of how my wish had came true about Basil painting; I was ever so afraid to look into a mirror. Let alone being photographed, in fear that my true self would introduce itself to me and to others.
Photographer William H. Mumler was a genius! Yes! A genius, a crook and a fool, to invent such demonic tools to have the World find out about my in most secrets.
Spirit photography became a rave by William Mumler then an American jewelry engraver and amateur photographer and his wife Anna, at Mrs. Stuart’s 258 Washington street in Boston Massachusetts.
In 1862, Mr. Mumler, reported to The Herald of Progress, a photograph of what was purportedly the spirit of his cousin, who had died 12 years earlier. Due to this, Mumler began his successful business as a "Spirit Photographic Medium". The Victorian World took this revelation by storm. Many relatives of the deceased from the American Civil war, were ecstatic by such fallacy which made Mumler very successful at his craft which claimed to connect the supernatural world with the now living. As I predicted they would, Lady Agatha and Lord Henry, were pests about this subject which made me nauseous.
In 1869, Mumler was charged with fraud but quickly was acquitted, despite the evidence that was brought against his so-called spirits were merely a sham as reported in the Happer’s Weekly.
Eventually, skeptics took on a slander campaign against William Mumler, which thought would bring about the fall of his empire; however he prospered onward after his trial. As Mumler insisted on his work, his desperate supporters were assured that there is an after life.
Furthermore, Anna and Mumler took great advantage of Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of then President Abraham Lincoln who had passed in 1865 and their son 3 years prior in 1862. In 1872 the images of Mary Lincoln posed with the purported spirit of her assassinated husband Abe and an other famous photo of William Lloyd Garrison in 1874 to name a few, were very famous.
In England, the Spirit photography scam continued in 1872; as photographer Fredrick Hudson impress the public with his talent until he meet a similar fate as Mumler did in the United States. In 1875, Edouard Buquet, a French spirit photographer in London, was arrested in Paris brought to justice in allegations of fraud as he made a full confession.
In later years, precisely in 1891; a famous spirit photograph was taken by Sybell Corbet at the Combermere Abbey Library in Cheshire, England. When Corbet, was taking photographs of the room, the same day and time that Lord Combermere was being buried; the outline of a man's head, collar and right arm appeared in the photo, which was believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere.
As you can see friends, Spirit photography scam or truth; frightens me to my core. I have enough fears hidden upstairs in my locked room, then to fancy such absurdity.
