These creepy photos of ‘spirits’ are taken from an album of early Edwardian / late Victorian photographs unearthed in a Lancashire second-hand and antiquarian bookshop by one of the Museum’s curators. They were taken by a controversial medium called William Hope (1863-1933).

Born in 1863 in Crewe, Hope started his working life as a carpenter. In about 1905 he became interested in spirit portrait photography after capturing the supposed image of a ghost while photographing a friend.

He went on to found the Crewe Circle – a group of six spirit photographers led by Hope. When Archbishop Thomas Colley joined the group they began to publicize their ghost photos.

Following World War I support for the Crewe Circle grew as the grieving relatives of those lost to the war sought a means of contacting their loved ones.

1. Couple with a young female spirit

By 1922, Hope had moved to London where he became a professional medium. The work of the Crew Circle was investigated on various occasions. The most famous of these took place in 1922 when the Society for Psychical Research (a group of scholars dedicated to paranormal investigation) sent Harry Price to investigate the group. Price collected evidence that Hope was substituting glass plates bearing ghostly images in order to produce his spirit photographs. The supposed ghosts caught on camera were simply former images taken from his subjects and reused on the new photo.

Later the same year, Price published his findings on the photo manipulations, exposing Hope as a fraudster. However, many of Hope’s most ardent supporters spoke out on his behalf, the most famous being Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Hope continued to practice, despite his exposure. He died in London on 7 March 1933 but Hope’s name has been recorded in the history of photography and as an icon the Spiritualist movement. Nowadays, people claim to have captured authentic spirit photos using digital cameras as well as other modern ghost hunting equipment, such as electromagnetic field readers and infrared sensors.

2. Joe and Will Thomas & their grandmother’s spirit

An interesting photo of Welsh mediums – and brothers – Joe and Will Thomas, taken in about 1920. The Thomas family claimed that the image superimposed over the sitters was the only photograph of their deceased grandmother in existence. Hope, however, would have used an existing photograph of a woman to create the illusion.

3. Joe Thomas and unidentified spirit

A vintage photo of the Welsh medium Joe Thomas, taken in about 1920. The shrouded woman’s face appearing in the photograph was not identified by Thomas – but it may indicate some form of collaboration between him and Hope.

4. A Seance

A photograph of a group gathered at a seance attempting to communicate with the spirit world, taken by William Hope (1863-1933) in about 1920. The information accompanying the spirit album states that the table is levitating. In reality, the image of a ghostly arm has been superimposed over the table using double exposure.

5. Mourning scene

An old photo of a mourning scene, probably taken by William Hope (1863-1933) in about 1920. A woman mourns for her husband in a Chapel of Rest, standing by his body which is wrapped in sheets and laden with flowers. The woman’s son stands beside her. The image of a man’s face has been superimposed over the original photograph. The spirit album notes that the family were Roman Catholics and believed in life after death.

6. Two women with a spirit

The face of a young woman appears over the woman on the right of the photograph. The reverse of the photograph reads: ‘Why is the child always pushing to the front?’ and ‘Do we get messages from the higher spirits?’; perhaps questions the women wanted answering. One of the sitters, at Hope’s request, has signed the plate for authentication.

7. Three people with two spirits

8. Family group with two spirits

9. Two men with a female spirit

10. Two women with a female spirit

11. Man surrounded by signs of spirit presence

12. Woman with two boys and a female spirit

13. Man with a spirit face appearing

14. Man with a spirit face

15. Couple with a female spirit

A woman’s face appears above the couple – identified at the time as the sister of a man prominent in the Spiritualist Church. Her cloak adds to the ethereal effect. The signature in the upper left hand corner is by one of the sitters, to authenticate the plate. The couple are the parents of the person who compiled the spirit album.

16. Man with the spirit of his deceased first wife

A woman’s face appears in a ‘misty’ cloud to the right of the man – identified as that of his deceased first wife. Hope may have already held her photograph in his studio, or he may have asked the man to supply her photograph under the pretence of using the image to contact the spirit world.

17. Man with the spirit of his deceased second wife

A woman’s face appears in ‘misty’ drapes around the man. He was said to have been asked to sit for a photograph by a voice heard at a seance held on 6 May 1923. This man had also identified the ‘spirit’ of his deceased first wife in an earlier photograph.

18. Will Thomas with an unidentified spirit

19. Man with the spirit of his helper

The image of a young man’s face appears prominently over the man, draped in a cloak. The signature at the base of the image belongs to the sitter. The man had links with the person who compiled the spirit album, and he gave the photograph to her as a keepsake. He apparently recognised the young man’s face.

20. Man with a female spirit

21. Mrs Bentley and the spirit of her deceased sister

A photograph of Mrs. Bentley, once the President of the British Spiritualists Lyceum Union. A superimposed image – that of Mrs. Bentley’s deceased sister’s face – appears at the lower right of the photograph.

22. A clergyman and two spirits

The clergyman and his wife had attended a seance at which a voice was heard, claiming to be their stillborn daughter – whom the ‘spirit people’ had named Rose. The voice asked them to sit for a psychic photograph, telling them she would try to appear in it. ‘Rose’ is not clearly apparent in the image. The image of the man was identified as the long-deceased father of the clergyman.

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