William H. Mumler: A Photographer's Story

William H. Mumler, a 19th-century photographer, gained fame for his controversial portraits, which purportedly captured the spirits of his clients' deceased relatives. His unique approach to photography sparked both fascination and accusations of fraud. Crista Cloutier, an expert on Mumler, examines his life and his influence on public perception of the supernatural. Although Mumler was accused of fraud, his guilt was never proven.

William H. Mumler

William H. Mumler. Source: Wikimedia, public domain. In 1861, a man was taking a portrait when he caught something on a photographic plate he had never seen before. Next to William H. Mumler was a ghost.

The photo sparked controversy and contributed to Mumler's strange career, as he gained a "talent" and began taking photographs of people who later saw images of their deceased relatives above them in the photos.

Although the authenticity or falsity of his photographs has never been proven, Mumler contributed to a public fascination with the spiritual world that still lives on today.

Crista Cloutier is a sort of "world expert" on Mumler's life and wrote the first chapter of "The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult," which is dedicated to the 19th-century photographer.

"I first heard about Mumler 10 years ago ," Cloutier said. " I was a religion studies major at ASU, and a professor suggested him as a topic for my thesis. After my thesis, I couldn't help but continue my research."

Cloutier presented a slideshow of photos of Mumler and spoke about the man who opened people's eyes to the supernatural.

More out of hobby than obsession, Cloutier discovered that Mumler sold his ghostly photographic portraits to people, most of whom saw dead relatives next to them after the photos were developed.

Many thought at the time that it was a scam.

People began accusing him of breaking into their homes and stealing family photos. This wasn't always the case, but it happened often enough that he could make a living without it.

Toward the end of his career, Mumler was arrested for fraud, but was never found guilty. Cloutier reserves the right to judge whether the photos are real or not, in favor of conducting objective research.

This would provide some insight. I'm open-minded about this. Looking at these photos now doesn't tell us much, because we're looking at them through the eyes of a 21st-century person, not a 19th-century person.

However, if you ask Cloutier if he believes in ghosts, he will give you a completely different answer.

I believe in ghosts. However, that doesn't mean that ghosts appear in these photos. And belief in the spirits of specific people has more to do with religious upbringing and one's own life experiences.

As for Mumler's descendants, he left no family. Mumler's two older brothers were still alive, but neither of them had any children.

While Mumler's relatives died, his passion for secret knowledge and the possibility of a spiritual world around us lived on through mediums, ghost hunters, and anyone else who ever found themselves in a dark room and felt a chill run down their spine.