Magician Among the Spirits — Chapter 8 Part II - Spirit Photography

In December 1921 I tried to visit Mr. Hope and have some Spirit photographs made but I was informed that his engagements would keep him busy for months and that I would have to wait my turn.

I then got in touch with a friend of mine by the name of DeVega[76] who lives in Glasgow and asked him if he would not see Hope and arrange to sit for a photograph.

After considerable correspondence between DeVega and Hope the latter agreed to make the photographs provided DeVega would go to Crewe.

DeVega assented to this, and an appointment was made and the sitting took place.

The following account of DeVega’s experience is taken from a full report which he sent me.

“Dec.

16, 1921. --Arrived at No. 144 Market Street, the door was opened by an elderly lady.

I asked if Mr. Hope was in and presently he came down.

I told him that a well known member of the Spiritualist Society and a man known to be a collector of Spirit photographs sent me and that seemed to be sufficient for Mr. Hope.

“I had brought my own camera along and asked him whether the pictures could be taken with it.

However, he said he used his own camera but would let me investigate it all I wanted to.

He told me he could not possibly photograph me that forenoon as there was another gentleman coming but arranged for two o’clock.

“I watched Market Street, from a distance, all the forenoon but saw no one go in.

I arrived there promptly but it was 2:30 before Mr. Hope arrived.

A Mrs. Buxton joined us.

She, Hope and myself sat around a small table.

They sang hymns, said a prayer and asked the table if all was favorable.

“At his request I placed my packages of plates on the table.

They placed their hands above them and sang again.

Hope suddenly gave a quiver and said, ‘Now we will try.

’ He showed me the dark room, which is a small arrangement of about six feet high, three feet wide and five feet long.

There were two shelves and on these were dusters, cloths, bottles of chemicals, a lamp, etc. The lamp is an old affair lit by a candle.

The room is so very small that when two people are in it there is no room to move about.

“He next showed me the camera and asked me to examine it.

I gave a glance at it and told him I did not doubt his word, which seemed to please him a great deal.

I thought if it was a fake he would not allow me to examine it as closely as he asked me to.

It was an old make, one fourth plate, studio camera and had no shutter, but worked with a cap over a lens (the cap was missing).

He next showed me the dark slide.

It was an old-fashioned, double wood end slide.

I examined it very closely but it was unprepared.

[Illustration: SO-CALLED “SPIRIT EXTRA” ON PHOTOGRAPH OF HARRY PRICE MADE BY WILLIAM HOPE OF THE CREWE CIRCLE

] “The studio itself is a little glass hot-house arrangement built on to the side of the house.

A green curtain is hung at the one end at which the sitter sits.

“We went again into the dark room to load the plates.

He gave me his slide and told me to leave two of my own dark slides down in front of the light as he would try my camera too.

I opened my plates and placed two in his dark slide and closed it.

It was placed on the under shelf where I could see it faintly.

He then asked me to open my own two slides slightly and sign my name on them.

(I signed J. B.

Gilchrist.

) As I signed them he moved the lamp to let me see better.

This threw the one fourth plate in the shadow.

After that he handed me the one fourth plate slide to sign the two plates in the same way.

“_I am sure, although I did not actually see him, that the slide I loaded, was changed for another one.

_ It was too dark to see under the level of the shelf.

I, for a moment, considered letting my pencil slip and spoil the plate and load in another from my packet but I thought it advisable to let things go on as I would then see just what his usual procedure was.

I wondered at the time _Why I could not have been told to take the plates from the package, sign them and then place the plates in the slide and place the slide in my pocket until they were to be exposed.

Why was it necessary to sign my own plates in my dark slide at all?

In fact, there was no necessity for me to take my slide in the dark room.

_ “We went back into the studio, again I was asked to examine the camera.

However, I took up my position in front of the camera.

Mrs. Buxton stood at one side and Mr. Hope at the other.

The dark focusing cloth was low over the lens (the cap being missing) and the slide open.

Mrs. Buxton and Hope sang a hymn and each took an end of the cloth, uncovering the lens.

This was repeated with other plates as well.

“Now my camera was set up.

I was asked to open the slide and show them how the shutter worked.

The exposure was made.

He placed his hand in front of the camera, covering the lens and asked me to open the slide myself as he did not want to touch it.

_Now why did he close the lens in that way?

_ It would have been simpler to have pushed down the open front of the slide, closing it, but I believe that on his hand was a spot of some radiant salt or some such substance that would cause a bright spot to appear on the negative, such as appeared on that plate when it was developed.

Holding his hand in front of the lens while an exposure was being made is such an unnatural action that I believe that was the cause of what he called ‘a Spirit Light,’ when it was developed.

The next photograph I told him to press the release again to close the shutter.

He did so.

“We then adjourned into the dark room to develop the plates.

The two, one fourth plates were placed by me, side by side, in a dish and the two three and a half by two and a half in another dish and developed.

By pouring the developer from one dish to another, one of the one quarter plates flashed up dark.

I remarked that one was coming up very quickly and he replied that ‘when they come up like that it is a good sign for it is very likely there is an “extra” on them.

’ I said no more but in my experience and knowledge of photography, such an occurrence is impossible unless the plates have been previously exposed.

“_The two plates were taken from the same packet, loaded into the dark slide at the same time, with the same dark room light and the same distance from the light.

They were then exposed on the same subject immediately after each other; the same length of exposure being given (I counted them mentally) with the same aperture of lens.

The plates were then placed side by side in the same dish of developer and I contend that the image must come up at a uniform speed on both plates and that it is impossible for one to flash up before the other and darken all over unless it was previously exposed, especially when there was no variation in the light when the exposure was made, it being three P. M.

, December 16, clear sky, no sunshine.

_ “An ‘extra’ did appear on this (one fourth plate).

It is a clean shaven face above mine and drapery hanging from it.

On my own three and a half by two and a half a light splotch is over my face.

Mrs. Buxton informed me that it was a ‘Spirit light’ but Mr. Hope believed he saw the faint features of a face in it.

” While in Denver, Colorado, in May, 1923, I called one morning on Mr. Alexander Martin, whom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had told me was a noted psychic photographer and a very wonderful man in his particular line.

Doyle himself had called on Martin the day before but as Martin did not feel in the mood there had been no demonstration.

In this Sir Arthur was no more unfortunate than Hyslop, the eminent Psychic investigator, who, according to Sir Arthur, had made a special journey from England to Denver in order to have a seance with Martin but had not been successful.

Martin lived about fifteen minutes out of town by taxi.

I took with me my chief assistant, James Collins, so I would have a witness if anything of a psychic nature occurred.

Collins had my camera as I wanted at least to get a picture of Martin.

We found him standing in the doorway of a rear building and after I introduced myself he seemed cordial.

I showed him some Spirit photographs which I had with me and after a few minutes talk I asked him if he was willing that Collins should take a snap-shot at us.

He thought I was asking for a sitting and replied that he did not feel good and besides had been engaged to take the pictures of the children in two schools.

I kept on talking in my most entertaining manner and before long he invited us into the house saying he would photograph both of us.

Meanwhile Collins had secured five snap-shots at close range without Martin knowing it.

When we went into the house I walked right into the dark room but Martin called me saying: “Now don’t you go in there, just wait a minute.

” While we waited outside Martin spent about eight minutes in the dark room.

Then he came out and we went into his studio, a simple room with a black background.

He had me sit down and placed Collins behind me on my right.

As a test I told Collins to step over to the other side as it might look better.

Then when he had done so I turned to Martin and asked: “Is that all right or is it better to have him take the original position?

” “I think it would be nicer if he stood where he was in the first place,” Martin replied.

This led me to think he was keeping that side of the plate clean for something to appear.

There was considerable light in the room and Martin pulled a dark screen on our right explaining that he did not need much light for the psychic stuff, then putting a shade on his eyes he turned to us and said: “Now keep quiet and I will try and do something.

” When he uncovered the lens I counted the time of the exposure which was about fifteen seconds.

As he covered it again he said to us: [Illustration: HOUDINI AND ALEXANDER MARTIN] “That is all I can do to-day.

Now I must hurry away.

” We thanked him and as we were going out I asked him if he had any photographs we could see.

He went into an adjoining room but closed the door so we had no opportunity to look in.

When he came out he had four photographs which he allowed me to keep but he would not write on them who they were of.

The next day I went to see him again and he gave me another seance.

This time he said he would have to cut a plate and he gave me a book to read while I waited.

In looking for a piece of paper on which to write my address he picked up a lot of newspapers and I noticed some scientific publications systematically inserted between the leaves which led me to think he was trying to hide his knowledge and wished to appear as a simple minded old man who knew but little about photography.

I have not the slightest doubt that Mr. Martin’s Spirit photographs were simply double exposures.

I think his method was to cut out various pictures, place them on a background and make an exposure.

His plates were then ready for his next sitter, which in the above instance was myself.

Being an expert photographer he might have used the original wet plate method of making an exposure, developing it, washing the emulsion off the plate and refinishing it with a new emulsion but I am convinced that the two Spirit photos which he made of me were simply double exposures.

The technique of photography does not trouble the psychic operator.

He has no regard for the laws of light or chemistry.

The fact that in all of his pictures the Spirits appear to be perfectly conscious of posing does not disconcert him, nor is he disturbed because they always appear as they were in life.

How much more interesting it would be and how much more such photographs would add to our knowledge and aid the advancement of science if once in a while the Spirits would permit themselves to be snapped while engaged in some Spiritual occupation.

From a logical, rational point of view, Spirit photography is a most barefaced imposition and stands as evidence of the credulity of those who are in sympathy with the superstitions of occultism.

It is also evidence of how unscrupulous mediums become and how calloused their consciences.

In this country there is no such organized group of Spirit photographers as the Crewe photographers in England.

Since Mumler’s narrow escape from deserved punishment and his disappearance there have been few who had the courage to operate as boldly as he did.

The most conspicuous one practicing at the present time is Dr. (?

) W.

M.

Keeler, who according to Spiritualistic publications has a nerve and conscience equal to any psychic undertaking.

With Spirit photography as with all other so-called psychic marvels, there never has been, nor is now, any proof of genuineness beyond the claim made by the medium.

In each and every case it is a simple question of veracity, and when the most sincere believers in Spiritualism unhesitatingly admit, as they do, that all mediums at times resort to fraud and lying, what dependence can possibly be placed in any statement they make?

There can be no better evidence of rottenness in the whole structure than the fact that for upwards of forty years there have been standing offers of money in amounts ranging from five hundred to five thousand dollars for a single case of so-called phenomena which could be proven actually psychic.

Knowing the character of mediums as I do I claim if proof were possible there is not a single medium, including Spirit photographers, who would not have jumped at the chance to win such a prize.

If there are any who are operating honestly let them come forward with proof and take the reward.

[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPH OF HOUDINI MADE BY ALEXANDER MARTIN, AT DENVER, COLORADO, ON MAY 10, 1923, SHOWING SO-CALLED “SPIRIT EXTRAS”] CHAPTER IX