Mostly forgotten today, William H. Mumler (1832–1884) was the post-Civil War inventor of "Spirit Photography," a groundbreaking development process that revealed the ghost of a loved one hovering behind the subject in the photograph. The first ever "spirit portrait" was a photo of Mumler himself, which when developed clearly showed the specter of his long-deceased cousin in the background. He went on to create famous "spirit photographs" such as Mary Todd Lincoln with the ghost of Abraham Lincoln behind her. Though the art form is now discredited, Mumler's business thrived in his heyday. Following The Civil War, there was no shortage of Americans grieving their lost loved ones, all potential customers. Mumler's clientele was desperate for a final glimpse of the dearly departed.
The ghost photo business wasn't all rosy, though. In 1869, Mumler went on trial for fraud plagued by accusations that he had broken into clients' homes to steal photos of their relatives and that the ghosts in the photographs were simply live models. P.T. Barnum, founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, testified against Mumler at the trial and criticized him for exploiting grieving, vulnerable people. Though Barnum had duped the public early in his own career with such hoaxes as the Feejee Mermaid (actually a monkey) and General Tom Thumb (a five year old dwarf who impersonated a grown man by drinking wine and smoking cigars, which he attested to enjoy), Barnum believed he had been providing harmless entertainment for the public. Mumler, on the other hand, he argued was inflicting permanent emotional damage on his customers.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Mumler
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