Picture of a Ghost

Something that we did not learn in history class as much as I would have liked to, is about the spiritual movement that happened during the mid nineteenth century after the American Civil War. During this era, an interesting phenomenon was happening around photography, where photographers claim that they would be able to capture images of people's dead relatives for a fee, of course, and many people believed it and would travel long distances and pay significant amounts of money to sit in front of a camera and then be able to see their dead relatives once again. If you have ever watched a paranormal investigation show, you may already know about what a breakthrough it is when objects are caught in photographs when they were not already there to begin with images such as orbs or lines of light, and even faces and full body apparitions. But can ghosts actually be captured on camera? And do we have proof of this happening? Let's find out. My name is Edwin and here's a dark memory. A man named William Mumbler published a photograph in eighteen sixty two that had an image of his cousin. The media went all out with the reporting of this story because William's cousin had died twelve years earlier. William had been a jewelry engraver before this happened, and after all that fame that came with the reports, he decided to begin his own business as a spirit photographic medium, a business he set up in New York and in Boston. Needless to say, it was very successful. At the time. Both believers and skeptics started sharing their own opinions on this man's business. There was some evidence that the whole thing might have been faked. Still, he claimed that he could capture the deceased loved ones in the frame with them. Little did he know that he was at the forefront of a new trend spirit photography. Photographers from all over the place started claiming to have this same ability and began raking in money, with prince going for hundreds of dollars in today's money. One of the most famous images that came from this man was that of Mary Todd Lincoln, the first Lady of the United States, that posed with the spirit of her husband Abraham Lincoln, who had already been assassinated when the image was taken. Eventually, though, it was discovered that the spirit he was capturing on camera were actually double exposures from photographic plates that were not cleaned properly. It was only a matter of time. In eighteen sixty nine, his fraud was discovered and he was charged, his critic saying that he was taking advantage of people while they were grieving the loss of a loved one. William instead went back to normal photography. But today we do have some compelling imagery of ghosts that are still being debated. Two small boys are sitting on their mother's laps in a black and white photograph. In front of them is a small table with three candles. They are all smiling at the camera with no signs of anything strange. However, once the image was developed, you could see the image of a man hanging upside down with his arms stretched down, hanging from the left side of the frame, the stranger seemingly hanging from the ceiling. Another famous image is that of Godter's Squadron, taken back in nineteen nineteen and the image are many sailors in a group photo. Behind one of the sailors in the top row forth from the left, one can see the face of a man that was not there when the image was taken a person believed to be Freddie Jackson. Freddy had been a part of that group, but unfortunately he had walked into a moving propeller and had died a few days before that image was taken. Rose Benvenudo was involved in a terrible car accident and the appalling fire department had been called to help. Back in nineteen eighty eight. The scene was that of a car completely totalled, with glass shattered and the metal completely twisted as it is routine. Sharonbou, a member of the fire department, took a photograph of the scene, and they were shocked to find that an apparition glowing white was clearly visible on the right side of the photograph. Rose ben Venudo said that surviving the car crash could have only been possible through a miracle. Upon reviewing the image, she believed that the figure standing in the photograph was that of an angel, the same one that protected her that night and the Liz goes on with countless other images, some that have gained extreme popularity and some that I remember when I was a child and reading about them, photos like the back Seat Ghost, taken in nineteen fifty nine by a woman who took the photograph of her husband in his car and then a ghost appearing in the back seat. If you're into researching these kinds of things, the ss Watertown photo taken in nineteen twenty four is another famous image, along with Newby Church taken in nineteen sixty three. They say that a Toys r Us store located in Sunnyvale, California, was haunted by the ghost of a person named Johnny Johnson. Back in the day, Johnny was in love with a girl named Elizabeth, who was the daughter of a plantation owner that was located right there. One of Johnny's tasks was to chop wood in the area, and he would do so regularly. But one day he cut himself while chopping wood, and then he started bleeding uncontrollably, and Johnny bled to death. But now they say that here roams the site now the Toys r Us store, searching for Elizabeth. What makes his story creepier is that a photo was taken right there in that store, and one can clearly see a man matching Johnny's description leaning against one of the shelves in that photo, taken in nineteen seventy eight, One of the early images that I remembered while researching ghost imagery for this episode was that of the Brown Lady, taken in nineteen thirty six. This image was taken in Norfolk, England, and it is still believed to be authentic proof of ghosts, and the reason is that many sightings had already taken place of that same figure in the photograph, and it is believed to be the ghost of Lady Townshend. Her story is tragic. After her husband found doubt about her infidelity, he locked her in a room by the hall and left her there to die. Determining of these images are real or fake turn into somewhat of a hobby, though with some advanced techniques, one can more easily detect when an image has been manipulated. Whether you believe in the existence of ghosts or not, some of these images might make you think twice about what our eyes might be missing. With spirits manifesting themselves visibly showing up to make themselves a part of our memories. If you have any images that you would like to share for us to add to the website, send them to me via Instagram or email. The information is on the description of this episode. This episode of a Dark Memory was written and produced by me Edwin Kovarujas. Don't forget to send your ideas by visiting a dark memory dot com and to tap follow right now on your podcast player until next time. Thank you very much for listening.