Spirit photography is a type of photography in which photographers attempt to capture ghosts and other spiritual entities. It has a strong history dating back to the late 19th century. William Hope was a pioneer of ‘Spirit Photography’.
He was born in England in 1863, and he worked as a carpenter for most of his life. In 1905, he claimed that he captured an image of a ghost while photographing a friend, and became interested in spirit photography. Hope founded a group of spirit photographers known as the Crewe Circle.
Following the devastation of World War, I, grieving families began coming to the circle, looking for a way to contact their lost loved ones. Hope would often ask an individual for a photo of the departed to aid communication with the spirit realm before asking that they sit for a portrait.
He quickly came to prominence and became the subject of many investigations. The Society for Psychical Research determined that his spirit photos were hardly supernatural, and were simply the products of combining glass plates to create superimposed ghostly images. However, despite all these investigations and claims, Hope continued to practice until his death in 1933. He had many dedicated supporters, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote The Case for Spirit Photography in his defense.
Here below are some Spirit photos captured by William Hope.
