Spirit Photography and Ectoplasm

Modern photography was invented in the early 1800s. Before photographers had perfected the craft, experimentation was a must. While developing a photograph, William H. Mumler stumbled on a technique for double exposure in the 1860s. This manipulation allowed him to create photographs with ghostlike figures, a fact he took full advantage of. Mumler began working successfully as a spirit medium, creating doctored photographs for Abraham Lincoln's widow and P.T. Barnum, but was later exposed as a fraud and prosecuted in court.





A feature in early spirit photography was a substance called ectoplasm, first coined by French physiologist and Noble prize winner Charles Richet. Ectoplasm is defined as a spiritual energy exteriorized by physical mediums in a trance state. The gauze-like ectoplasm is secreted from the physical medium's orifices and draped over a nonphysical body, enabling the spirit to interact in the physical world. Obviously, modern science has not recognized the existence of ectoplasm, though it was widely accepted as truth in Victorian times.