Spirit photography became popular in the 19th Century when a man called William Mumler claimed to have taken the first spirit photograph. It was said that departed spirits can have their images imprinted onto pictures.
These spirits would appear as translucent and pale looking entities in photographs. During the Civil War, bereaved families used spirit photography as a form of proof that their loved ones that died during the war still continued their existence in some fashion.
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The popularity of spirit photography came with its critics as well. One of the more prominent ones were P.T. Barnum. He felt that the spirit photographers were taking advantage of people whose judgement was clouded by grief. On the month of April, 1869, William Mumler was brought to trial for fraud. Barnum testified against him. Prior to the trial, Barnum told a respectable photographer to prepare a photo (as shown above). In the photo, the spirit image of Abraham Lincoln floats behind Barnum's right shoulder. Barnum wanted to prove his point that spirit photographs can be produced by any competent photographer.
