The Case for Spirit Photography: With corroborative evidence by experienced researchers and photographersDoyle, Arthur Conan
Religion
The Case for Spirit Photography: With corroborative evidence by experienced researchers and photographers
Doyle, Arthur Conan
Spirit photography; Spiritualism
It happens, occasionally, that these ghost-faces which appear upon the
plates retain some remarkable physical peculiarity which prove beyond all
question who they represent. One such case has been handed to me by the
Countess of Malmesbury, whose own account is so clear and condensed that
it could not be bettered:
“I sat with Mr. Hope and Mrs. Buxton on Friday, December
9th, 1921, and was accompanied by ‘Val L’Estrange,’ a lady
professional photographer, who watched the proceedings on my
behalf, as I do not understand photography. She states that
from first to last she could not detect any fraud. As I sat
for the photograph the wish just crossed my mind that I might
obtain a photograph of J. H., who died in 1880, and that I
could receive a definite sign that it was genuine.
“J. H. died as the result of an operation for the removal of
the lower jaw, which had been seriously injured. No one saw him
after this terrible misfortune except five persons, of whom I
am the only survivor, and I need not say that no photograph was
then taken of him.
“I showed the photograph to Dr. Fielding Ould, who at once
recognised it as that of a man who had had his lower jaw
removed. This opinion was confirmed by several of his medical
friends, to whom he showed the picture.
“I should add that the plates were bought by ‘Val L’Estrange’
direct from the manufacturer, and that we brought them with
us. The exposure was forty seconds. The plate which produced
the portrait was manipulated by Mr. Hope under the supervision
of ‘Val L’Estrange.’ We both superintended the development and
fixing of the negative.
“As an impartial investigator of psychic matters I have stated
exactly what took place, without comment.
(_signed_) “SUSAN, COUNTESS OF MALMESBURY.”
It must be admitted that this case, so exactly recorded, would be a
difficult one to explain away.
I would now quote the case furnished by Major Spencer, who is an
experienced and careful observer, and has given much attention to psychic
photography. In this experiment he used his own camera, his own carriers
and his own plates. What could be more drastic than that! He says, if I
may abbreviate his account:
“The box of plates was never out of my sight and was cut open
in the dark room by myself; Hope or Mrs. Buxton in no instance
touching them.”
The red light, he explains, was a good one and he could see all that
occurred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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