Spirit Photography

          Speaking for most people, I think it would be safe to say that if a person saw a "spirit" in a photograph, they would automatically just assume it was photoshopped and would not think anything more of it. But, in the 19th century, people thought just the opposite. In fact, people would pay to get their picture taken, to see spirits of their loved ones in the background. This was known as spirit photography. It seems hard to believe in this day in age that people could be so oblivious to think these images were true. However, during this age, photography was just being invented, so many people did not know how it worked. Photography especially became important during the Civil War, specifically the Battle of Gettysburg. Since this age was the era of the rise of science, rise of x-rays, and photography, there were many new things that were still unexplained, resulting in so much belief in spirit photography.

          There were also many different passionate religious beliefs during this time period, with many extreme beliefs and many extreme skepticisms. Both of these sides are extremely important, in the fact that they both depend on each other. Without one, the other would not exist. Certain religious groups took different sides on spirit photography. For example, Puritans, being strict, traditional, and straightforward, took the skeptic side. One strong argument for the skeptic side is that of Freud. He argues that, "Spirits and demos are only projections of man's own emotional impulses. He turns his emotional cathexes into persons, he peoples the world with them and meets his own internal mental processes again outside himself." However, many found comfort in believing in spirits. Many thought "there is a strange feeling of comfort and hope expressed in such ghostly surveillance." Spirit photography was a symbol of national mourning. Since there were so many casualties during the Battle of Gettysburg (over 50,000), people needed a way to cope with death. Thus, "spiritualism's belief in the afterlife and the possibility of communication with the dead manifested itself in the realm of the visible by means of these photographic proofs imprinted upon glass-plate negatives."

          One component of spirit photography that I found interesting (and even kind of morbid) was Momento Mori. This included taking family portraits, for example, with a recently deceased member of the family. To even consider this today would be appalling to most individuals. However, in the 19th century, it was a way to hold onto loved ones a little longer. In class, someone mentioned the "worlds most beautiful suicide." This almost seems like a modern day example of Momento Mori, since the photograph of the deceased was used in an almost advertising way. Here is the picture:

          So, although we do not participate in spirit photography anymore as a society (thank goodness!), we still are involved with the fascination of spirits. It seems that no matter what, we will always wonder about the deceased and the afterlife. Even if it is not the same as the 19th century, we find different ways to mourn, such as visiting the person's gravesite (people did not have individual grave sites back then). It is fascinating to research the different beliefs about the dead and to find similarities with how we think now. It seems we will never really know for sure about life after death!