- Part one -
Mr. Stanton Moses, in the final chapter of a fascinating book on spiritistic photography, sets out the theory that additional figures in photographs were formed from ectoplasm (which he called "fluid substance") by invisible operators, and compares the results obtained by various photographic mediums.
The “invaluable and convincing experiments” of Mr. John Beaty, as Dr. Alfred Russell Wallace called them, can only be briefly described. Mr. Beaty of Clifton, a suburb of Bristol, was a retired photographer who had worked as a photographer for twelve years. Beaty doubted the authenticity of many of the spiritualistic photographs he was shown, and decided to conduct the research without the participation of a professional medium, but in the presence of a close friend of Dr. J. C. Thomson of Edinburgh, who had the ability to go into a trance.
In 1872, they carried out a series of experiments and obtained the first light spots on the plates, and later the whole figures of spirits. They found that the appearance of additional objects and light marks on the plates is highly dependent on who is the model. This feature has often been noted by others. Mr. Beaty's honesty was confirmed by Mr. Stanton Moses, editor of the British Journal of Photography. During the experiments, many details were noted that did not raise doubts about the decency of the old photographer.
The work of a commission specially created in 1908 by the London newspaper "The Daily Mail" to "investigate the authenticity of what is called spiritistic photography" did not produce any results. The commission consisted of three non-spiritualists: R. Child-Bailey, F. J. Mortimer, and E. Senger-Shepherd, and three supporters of spiritualist photography: A. P. Sinnett, E. R. Sircold-Skills, and Robert King. During the report, the last three argued that they “can only agree that the Commission refused to recognize the possibility of the existence of such a phenomenon as spiritualist photography, not because there was insufficient evidence for this phenomenon, but because some members of the commission did not understand this subject, with which they have not previously dealt with, and their lack of experience in researching it. " A detailed commission report can be found in the Light magazine.
In recent years, the development of spiritualist photography was mainly associated with a circle organized in the English city of Crewe (Cheshire) by Mr. William Hope and Mrs. Buxton - the inhabitants of this city. The circle was formed in 1905, but did not attract attention until the moment when it was discovered in 1908 by Archdeacon Colley. Mr. Hope, describing his first experiences, says that at that time he was working in a factory near Manchester. And once, on a Saturday afternoon, I took a photograph of a young worker against a brick wall. After the development of the plate, the figure of a woman was on it, standing next to the boy, with a brick wall shining through her. The man who posed for Hope asked him in amazement how this figure got into the photograph; he recognized her as his sister, who had died several years ago. Mr. Hope says, “I knew nothing about Spiritualism at the time. We brought this photo to work on Monday, and one spirit told us that it was a spiritualist photo. He said that next Saturday we should try again to take a photo in the same place and with the same camera that we already used. Imagine our amazement when the same lady appeared on the disc again, but accompanied by a baby. I thought about the unusualness of this phenomenon, and it interested me so much that I started my own experiments. "which we have already used. Imagine our amazement when the same lady appeared on the disc again, but accompanied by a baby. I thought about the unusualness of this phenomenon, and it interested me so much that I started my own experiments. "which we have already used. Imagine our amazement when the same lady appeared on the disc again, but accompanied by a baby. I thought about the unusualness of this phenomenon, and it interested me so much that I started my own experiments."
For a long time, Hope destroyed all negatives with images of spirits until Archdeacon Colley, who met him, advised him to keep them. Archdeacon Colley held his first meeting at Crewe on March 16, 1908. He brought his own camera (a Lancaster with a 1/4 plate - the model that Mr. Hope himself still used) and plates, which he marked with a diamond glass cutter and developed with his own reagents. Mr. Hope only pressed the "pear" of the bolt. Two images of spirits appeared on one of the plates.
Since then, Mr. Hope and Mrs. Buxton, despite the conditions and restrictions imposed on them, received, working under vigilant supervision, thousands of photographs of spirits and could proudly say that they never took even a penny for their professional services: only photographic materials were payable. and the time of the specialists themselves.
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Mr. M. J. Werncombe, a professional photographer based in Bridgewater, Somerset, faced the same hindrances in his professional life as Wiley, Boursell, and other mediums who found countless bright spots on records, and like everyone else, he turned to the study of spiritualist photography.
In 1920, the famous explorer Mr. Fred Barlow of Birmingham received written messages along with images of the faces of "ghosts" on plates that were not exposed in the camera. Since that day, Mr. Werncombe has received a considerable number of repeated reports and has achieved successful results in the study of this phenomenon.
Mrs Dean's mediumship was discovered not so long ago (her first spiritualistic photographs were obtained in June 1920). During her experiments, she obtained many clear images of the perfume. The results obtained by her are equated with the best works of her predecessors.
Dr. Allerton Cashman, a renowned American scientist and director of the National Laboratories in Washington, made a surprise visit to the British College of Psychology in Holland Park in July 1921. He had several sessions with Mrs. Dean and received beautiful, very clear images of the spirit of his late daughter. All details of this meeting can be found (along with photographs) in the journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Convincing results were obtained on November 11, 1922, at the celebration of the Day of Reconciliation, held in White Hall, when in the photograph of a huge crowd of people gathered near the Cenotaph, many faces of spirits could be seen, and some of them were even identified. This was repeated over the next three years.
Cenotaph (Greek kenotaphos) - literally: an empty grave; a monument or mausoleum, erected in honor of someone who is not buried in this place. The Cenotaph at White Hall in London was erected in honor of the victims of the First World War, designed by Edwin Lutiens. (E. K.)
Modern researchers have proven that these psychic results cannot be obtained through a camera lens. In many cases, during experiments, these supernatural portraits appeared on plates from unopened boxes that were in the hands of posing people. When experiments were conducted using two cameras, "ghosts" appeared in only one of these two cameras. It was suggested that the image was exposed on the photographic plate in advance or that the plate was exposed to psychic forces.
The author could say a few words about his personal impressions, mainly from the sessions at Crewe conducted by Mrs. Dean. They were almost always successful, but none of the images were identified. At the same time, the author fully admits that Mrs. Dean has a psychic gift, which she repeatedly showed in a series of experiments conducted by Mr. Warrick in a variety of conditions. All of them are described in detail in the Sayyks. The author's own experience, however, never gave such obvious results and, if he relied only on it, he would not be able to assert anything with certainty. The author brought his own records to Mrs. Dean's sessions, because he was confident that faces could appear on these plates during preparation for the experiment, when Mrs. Dean, for example, kept a box of plates in her pocket. It seemed to him that she was able to alleviate her "plight" of the medium and get the required result by deceiving. But this impression turned out to be mistaken, since the session with Cashman was pure impromptu. Still, there is a case of using a similar trick, which once happened to her at the College of Psychology; then it was necessary to replace her box of plates with a new one. Despite this, images of "ghosts" were still obtained. Perhaps someone wise guided her on the right path, and she stopped using dubious methods to obtain spiritualistic photographs - maybe genuine, but too vulnerable to attack. Still, there is a case of using a similar trick, which once happened to her at the College of Psychology; then it was necessary to replace her box of plates with a new one. Despite this, images of "ghosts" were still obtained. Perhaps someone wise guided her on the right path, and she stopped using dubious methods to obtain spiritualistic photographs - maybe genuine, but too vulnerable to attack. Still, there is a case of using a similar trick, which once happened to her at the College of Psychology; then it was necessary to replace her box of plates with a new one. Despite this, images of "ghosts" were still obtained. Perhaps someone wise guided her on the right path, and she stopped using dubious methods to obtain spiritualistic photographs - maybe genuine, but too vulnerable to attack.
After these lines were written, the author decided to check the lady medium and gave her his own records, which he himself marked and developed. At the same time, he obtained six psychic results in eight conducted experiments. (A. K. D.)
It was quite different with Mr. Hope. On several occasions the author brought his own plates to his sessions, marked them in a dark room and, without letting go, even developed them himself. In almost every case, they produced images of spirits, which, however, were not clear and recognizable. Mr. Hope had to endure, like any medium, the usual attacks in such cases, including accusations of ignorance and malice, but he came out of these stories with honor, without damaging his reputation.
Let us take the liberty of making some remarks on the results achieved by Mr. Staveley Bulford, a talented psychologist-researcher who obtained the most remarkable photographs in terms of authenticity. No one, having looked through his albums and noted how his talent gradually developed, how images from dull blurred spots turned into perfectly distinguishable faces, could doubt the reality of this phenomenon.
Although the subject of the presentation still remains unclear until the end, the author, based on his own experience, supports the point of view that in a certain number of cases there is no reason to see forgery or outside influence. The described effect was produced by special rays that transferred the image and had the ability to penetrate into a solid body, imprinting the image on the photosensitive side of the photographic plate. The experiment, which we have already mentioned, with the simultaneous use of two cameras (the medium was located between them), convincingly proved that the image appeared only on one of the plates. The author obtained fairly clear results on plates that were never removed from a closed cassette, and these results were not inferior to those obtained as a result of exposure. Maybe,that if Hope had never removed his camera lens caps, he could have achieved the same results.
Be that as it may, so far these are only hypotheses, which do not exclude the presence of a wise, albeit invisible to the eye, spirit. Perhaps he not only supervised all the operations, but also acted on his own, with his own methods, which each time gave different results in different circles. I must say that analyzing the facts that the author tried to tell in this chapter, he tried to imagine the point of view of each of the photographers regarding the images they received.
If we assume the participation of the spirit in this process, then it becomes clear why all the laws of photography were violated and why the shadow and light ceased to "be friends" with each other, baffling even the most corrosive critics. In favor of the fact that the images captured on the plates were transmitted by a certain spirit, the fact that we get as a result of the images of old photographs and paintings of the faces of both living people and disembodied spirits. In one case, described by Dr. Henslow, a rare Greek manuscript in the British Museum appeared on Hope's plate, albeit with some text changes, suggesting that it was not an exact copy of the manuscript. It is possible that the spirit who chose this manuscript in order to show us, sinners, its image on the plate, suffered from slight memory lapses. This explanation leads to the disappointing conclusion that even if we get a psychic photograph of a deceased friend, it does not mean that our friend was actually present. Only after any fact concerning spiritualistic photography has been confirmed in several independent sessions, we will be able to assert something with some degree of certainty.
During the experiment with Hope's participation, the entire process of obtaining photographs of spirits went through the author's eyes. The author tried to arrange the pictures according to the stages of the proposed process. On the first of them, received with Mr. William from Glasgow (he posed for the session), you can see a semblance of a cocoon with thin veins formed by an ephemeral substance, which we now call ectoplasm, since we still do not have a clear classification of any other species plasma. This cocoon was as thin as a soap bubble and completely hollow inside. It seems that it was a kind of "box with a secret", personifying the ongoing process. Psychic forces were concentrated in the "box" in the same way as in the "study" of a completely earthly medium. The next photo showed how the cocoon opens and a face is formed inside it,moreover, different stages of this process could be noted. In the final form, the face looked as if it was framed by fragments of a cocoon, which formed an arch around the face, from which a veil seemed to hang. This veil has always been present in Hope's portraits, and there is no doubt that we are dealing in this case with a purely psychographic effect. The veil or mantilla appeared in different forms, which are clearly visible in a series of earlier photographs. They are clearly visible in a series of earlier photographs. They are clearly visible in a series of earlier photographs.
Particularly noteworthy is the case of an amateur photographer on the west coast of Africa. He received an image of a dark figure of a spirit, wrapped in a cloak of dense matter, descending in heavy folds from the head to the very ground. When similar results are obtained in Crewe and Lagos, common sense dictates that they obeyed a general pattern.
The author hopes that he has made his own contribution to understanding the phenomenon of psychic photography by mentioning the existence of a “psychic cocoon”. Photographs of spirits are a very interesting section of psychic science that has every right to exist and research, which any serious experimental scientist can confirm.
We cannot deny, however, that there are many scammers in this area. However, and we admit it publicly, many of the results obtained by mediums are absolutely reliable. The author believes that many more discoveries can occur in this area of science, and we must be ready to accept and understand everything, no matter what happens.
- Part one -
Arthur Conan Doyle - HISTORY OF SPIRITISM