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
With the three photographic sensitives most known in this country I have
secured remarkable results. Whatever may have happened, or may happen,
on other occasions, nothing can in the slightest degree shake my firm
conviction that, with these three sensitives, I have secured genuine
psychic photographic effects. With Mrs. Deane, in my own home, we secured
an excellent picture of my father (see Figure 30). True, Mrs. Deane had
the plates beforehand for “magnetising,” but that would not enable her to
produce an unmistakable likeness of someone she had never seen—a likeness
which could not have been produced from any existing photograph, in the
very unlikely event of her obtaining such. Moreover it is not essential,
in every case, that Mrs. Deane should have the plates beforehand for
magnetising. On several occasions, members of the S.S.S.P. have, without
Mrs. Deane’s knowledge, substituted a fresh unopened packet of plates for
the unopened packet she has had with her, without interfering with the
success of the experiment.
Mr. Vearncombe has been most successful as a medium for obtaining
results on plates in sealed packets. Effectively to test Mr. Vearncombe,
I devoted a great deal of time to wrapping and sealing packets which
could not possibly be tampered with without leaving some trace of
such tampering. Others have done likewise, and on the plates in such
packets, which after the most careful scrutiny have revealed no evidence
of tampering, we have secured successful results. On one occasion I
persuaded a local professional photographer to seal a packet of plates
before I handled them. This he did very thoroughly, and then I added my
own wrappings and seals and sent the package on to Vearncombe. Within a
week the packet was returned intact.
Mr. Frederic Lewis of Birmingham, who co-operated with me in this
test, is a technical photographer of more than average ability and his
certificate is of value. In this he states:
“I certify that on May 14th, 1920, I wrapped and sealed an
unopened packet of Imperial Special Sensitive ¼-plates and
handed the packet to Mr. Fred Barlow, who then fixed his
own wrappings and seals. Mr. Barlow brought back the packet
of plates to me on the morning of May 20th, 1920, and in
my presence broke his own wrappings and seals. I then very
carefully verified that my own seals and wrappings were intact
and am quite convinced that these had not been interfered
with. I personally developed the plates in the presence of Mr.
Barlow. On two out of the twelve plates in the package distinct
negative images of faces developed—one face on one plate and
three small faces on another. I can offer no explanation of
this result apart from being perfectly satisfied that no
trickery or deception was practised.
(_Signed_) “FREDERIC LEWIS.”
Could anything be more definite and conclusive than that?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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