US researcher who founded spiritualism spent his life in vain
03.11.2006

U.S. researcher Andrew Jackson Davis is considered the founder of
spiritualism. He did not display any special talents in his childhood.
He went to an elementary school only. Things changed dramatically in
1843. Davis was a 17-year-old youngster when he met Levingstone, a
hypnotist. The latter discovered the abilities of an extraordinary
medium in Davis. In a capacity of medium Davis toured many U.S. cities.
He studied extensively by reading books on medicine, nature and
mysticism during those lengthy tours.

In May 1845, some unusual revelations dawned upon Davis during a vision
that he had in May 1845. The revelations were meant for promulgation for
the benefit of present and future generations. Davis settled downed in
New York. In a somnambular state, he dictated paragraphs of his book to
a secretary. The book was entitled The Principles of Nature, Its Divine
Revelations and the Voice to Mankind. It would become a bible of
spiritualists for the next one hundred and fifty years. Davis' numerous
followers appeared first in America and later in Europe. The accounts of
unexpected encounters with the spirits of the dead started coming from
different countries. Eyewitnesses' accounts could have been ignored and
written off as fiction if there had not been objective evidence
indicating the existence of a world that is invisible under normal
conditions. First and foremost, pieces of evidence were gathered by
means of photography.

The first officially documented case of a ghost picture produced by
photography dates back to 1862. The picture was taken by the American
photographer Memler. One day he was alone in his friend's photo shop. He
took a picture of himself. Much to his surprise, he saw two figures
coming into view on the photograph as he revealed a record. Memler did
not show any interest in spirits or ghosts at the time. At the beginning
he thought that the second figure appeared because of the traces of a
photograph previously recorded on the record.

At times similar incidents occur if photography is based on colloid
method. Following the incident, Memler was keen to find an explanation
and went on to carry out several experiments using brand-new records.
The strange unclear figures appeared again on some of the records. At
the advice of his friends, Memler quit his regular job and became a
professional photographer and medium capable of summoning and
photographing the spirits.

Click here to see real life ghost pictures
Memler enjoyed huge popularity for some time. He was in great demand
among members of an audience concerned with the occult. But the party
was cut short by Memler's competitors who accused him of fraud. The
competitors demonstrated a method that could be used for producing a
blurred whitish picture of the second person standing next to a poser.
The disclosure could have pulled the plug on further attempts to entrap
ghosts in the photographic lens. Fortunately, things ran a different
course. A carefully conducted test saved Memler's reputation. During the
test he had to use somebody else's camera and photographic materials
while working under close scrutiny of several professional
photographers. Against all odds, Memler managed to produce the pictures
of spirits

A hurricane of breathtaking discoveries swept through the world of
traditional science at the turn of the 20th century. The discoveries
completely altered the course of the development of human race, which
became heavily dependent on machines. People had no time for
communicating with the spirits.