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The Ashgate Companion to Cultures

Olu Jenzen, Sally R. Munt

The in the Machine: and Technology

Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 John Harvey Published online on: 28 Nov 2013

How to cite :- John Harvey. 28 Nov 2013, The Ghost in the Machine: Spirit and Technology from: The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures Routledge Accessed on: 26 Sep 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315613383.ch2

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The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 affirming), and the character and quality of its reception (the audience’s ingenuousness, along with the context of its dissemination (whether elitist and sceptical or populist and evidence the which in is presented(thatis,thefactualandinterpretativeaccompanies informationthatit), manner the Likewise, ‘observe’). to made is device the when under humancontrol;moreover, thehumanoperative candeterminehow,whatand (and recording processing, the its intrinsiccharacteristicstoo),andoperation(which maybeeitherautomaticor playback medium, and access capacity, to used technology settings, the encoding, sensitivity, of system device’s the by conditioned is For straightforward. so what not is machine the , and in marvel But, the between externality. relationship of the degree some possess must means these by audible or faithful register of objective facts. Thus, whatever (however astonishing) is made visible types ofinstrumentationarebothdispassionate and disinterestedwitnessestoa principally to render what is, ordinarily, unseen and silent. Advocates argue that these of visualandaudiorecordingdevices, adaptation and onthe spirit andtechnology, of technology)theall-encompassingreachscienceandinnovation. life afterdeathandofworldsbeyondthesenses,todemonstrating(ininterests of existence the for proof evidential spirit) of interests the (in providing to view a with is This empiricism. with and material, and contemporary the with and example recent of a a also coalition is between It spirit device. and electronic technology an that brings by together recorded the and primordial seen was it that is particular apparition this about unusual was What Palace. the at of sightings claimed of forward, and open and close them. On one occasion, they saw on the CCTV footage a figure in a sixteenth-century robe walk guards noticed that the fire doors of an exhibition area kept moving, apparentlyAt unaided. Palace,Court Hampton London,in2003,severaldays beforeChristmas,security 1

hs hpe cnetae o te neato, xhne n tasto between transition and exchange interaction, the on concentrates chapter This uk/3336299.stm [accessed:June2011]. Availablecamera’. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/palace at: on caught ‘“Ghost” 2003. BBC it does so. This, in turn, in This, the device ‘observes’so. and does preservesit is determined by how The GhostintheMachine: Spirit andTechnology John Harvey 1 This is a relatively recent example in a long 2

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 agencies andthephenomenaitself(Barthes1981:81–9). interpretative these authenticate between relationship not indexical no could was there it for phenomena, limitation: the further one had technology The inadequately. could preserve, illuminateanddisseminate accounts of spirits, butimperfectlyand Thus, the technologyof the printedword and image (that is, illustrative engravings) representation. of styles prevailing the and licence artistic to subject and proficiency, subject. Moreover, such artefacts were circumscribed by the ‘artist’s’ sometimes limited painted and drawn tangible idea,oftenfailedtocommunicate the sublimityorotherworldiness of their Likewise, 55). 1759: (Burke Objects’ portraits orinterpretative illustrationsofnarratives ofspirits,whileprovidingamore … of idea imperfect and insufficient to the task: ‘A lively and spirited verbal description can raise a very obscure (1729–97), Burke Edmund to according was, expression lexical and emotional its safe, documented called, are practitioners (Glanvill 1681: 1–191). Even if the veracity of they an account could be vouched as , the ephemeral appearance and actions of , Spirit , witches and tosupernatural 1–40). bywitnesses 2003: given (Harvey testimonies apparitions written and spoken of form the in Prior to the nineteenth century, so-called proof of the existence of spirits was compiled Spirit Histories meaning andimportanceassignedtotechnologicalevidence. assumptions and , knowledge, and world view) shape significantly the The Ashgate Research CompaniontoParanormalCultures 2 permanent and vivid, reliable, of putatively form objects. scrutable the in hand, first at phenomena the of half second it was claimed, could capturetheephemeralphysicalmanifestationsofparanormal the , significantly. in extended enterprise photography that of spirit reach the of century, nineteenth advent the With 35). n.d.: (Anon. steadfast’ made and retained be might objects outward of representations fleeting the which by method ‘some develop to aspiration an of fulfilment the was Photography Still Images to the modern and scientific period in an age of and . Before the Before superstition. and religion of age an in period scientific and modern the to development ofphotography;itdeveloped coterminously withspirithistoriesprior visually and, later,audibly. living, the and dead the between communication facilitated also but New matter medium. recording the on imprint their recording technologythusnotonlydocumentedthe interaction ofthespiritwith and spirits of presence the between

However, therelationshipbetween spiritand visual technology preceded the In thecontextofthischapter, ‘audiography’ isusedtomean therecordingofsound. 2 In so doing, photography proffered a direct indexical relationship indexical direct a proffered photography doing, so In 52 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 variety in the rendering of forms (Coates 1911: 13, Mumler 1875). and dexterity The manifest faces a to 1880s the in waygave – (1832–84) Mumler William States, spirit photography – in, for example, works by the progenitor of the genre in the United shadow, pallid stain or vague afterimage of the ghost upon the backcloth of early studio and early twentieth centuries, then, so did the image of the spirit. The rudimentary dark material cultureofthecamerabecameincreasinglysophisticated duringthenineteenth the As 1–125). 1887: (Burton film or plate the of sensitivity spectral named) aptly (the and speed format, constituency, chemical the and time, focal and length, speed, shutter the lenses, of configuration and type quality, the by determined moment ofexposure,thecamera’sdarkchamberwas temporarily‘haunted’. the In 638). 516–17, 1920: Wall 19, 1911: (Coates skotography) as known technique (a undertook experiments to obtain of ‘extras’ with the ’s lens cap on their image directly onto the plate, independently of the lens. To this end, investigators impressed spirits that believed Others sensitive. was emulsion plate’s glass the which to phenomenon invisible eye, naked the to if, objective, an as taken was Some investigators claimed that thespiritwas present infrontof the lens when the ‘extra’. so-called the of presence the wereadvancedexplain theories to supernaturalist (Harvey sitter 42–3). the 2007: wasto who known someone often, of and, dead Various glass plate was developed the image showed, in addition, the less distinct face or figure the When portraiture. would studio conventional English of manner the Hope in sitter living a the photograph Typically, 2.1). did (Figure as (1863–1933) Hope ‘operator’), in William photographer (or worked spirit photographer camera, commercial the a manipulating themselves with not collaboration were they if who, mediums visible tothosewithoutthegiftofsecondsight. also made notonlypermanent but could be supernatural ephemeral imageofthe the photography, In weredrawn. spirits which unto a was,similarly, plate glass the photography, spirit In 22). 1999: (Harkness with, communicated and of, visions dark and highly polished surface in which Edward Kelly (1555–97), Dee’s medium, saw a was This ‘shew-stone’. or mirror obsidian 1609) or (1527–1608 Dee’s John magus the of counterpart mundane wasthe plate glass The weredirected. lens the beyond world the of images them with and rays light which onto plate, glass the reveal to exposure situated attherearofchamberwas momentarilyremovedperiod of duringthe wet-In processing. slide photographic dark in the one , visible dry-plate a and into paper or film sensitised the on image latent the of transformation slow the recalls experience the haze; a of out though as ball crystal the within appear gradually forms clairvoyant or exposed and developed by the photographer. Scryers describe seeing the image formedwasthe photographing, wasit invisibleuntil the described by either and both In surface. sensitised a onto and obscured an of rear the to projected be to light of amount small a enabled It lens. curvature:the glassy a through things of appearance the concentrated likewise – the cameraobscura and beforethat – camera early The ball. crystal the of function the assumed camera the photography, The picture). mental a (as images showed subjective things past, present and or , as well a as ball) the of (as the dead. the In objectivespirit within either visible be could phenomenon and visual diviner, a by seen were They focus. into images invention ofthecamera,crystalballwasparanormal instrumentalinbringing The spirits are in and of the camera: their appearance in both ofthewordis appearance inboth camera: their The spiritsareinandofthe Spiritualist by invoked were spirits century, nineteenth the of half second the In The Ghostinthe Machine: SpiritandTechnology 53 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 The Ashgate Research CompaniontoParanormalCultures Figure 2.1

silver print,twentieth century,firstquarter William Hope,anonymoussitterswithspirit‘extra’,brown-toned 54 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 in contrast. remarkable more the all seem trespassers ephemeral the of appearance the makes that of backdrop a with banal domesticity, theimages collude to createasense of the and the ordinary Coupled movie). home amateur the of the hallmarks in (the fluctuations exposure sudden and zoom, hand-held and clumsy pans a unfocused by and shuddering characterised quality, is footage video and cine The . of presence of spirits acting upon objects and invisible their environment kinetically, the in the time manner first the for and figures, insubstantial otherwise or translucent and capture theperegrinationsintimeandspaceofghostsformmist,orbs,coils, to claim, proponents possible, now is it camera, video digital the latterly, and, century representing twentieth the of With quarter spirits. first the in adventcine-camera the portable the of to response cinematic a anticipates ‘extra’ mobile the of image still this in ‘extra’ an of head motion while the the camera’s aperture was show open (Doyle 1922: to 56–7). Whether true or false, appears that (1859–1930), Doyle Conan Arthur by the process of takingthephotograph.However, thereis at leastoneexample,collected after and during motionless wererendered dead the and living the Both exposure. the was honouredbydintoftheconditions imposed upon thesubjectbylengthof of stillness the photography, studio early In simile. the literalised photography Spirit earth orintheair,videosandphotographsofscenes associatedwithdeliverance on manifest are which forms, figure-like numinous and shapes, luminous and of flaring incidents with associated often are Angels subject. normal ostensibly the of video or photograph a in feature incidental an as ghosts of manner the in appear They eyes. of ahumanandanimalsyncretism,withcloven feet,horns,pointedears,andsearing traditional the assume Demons angels. and possession, of victims the on but also demons, which appear either visibly or else vicariously through their influence Moving Images the . camera and unscrupulous studiophotographer,inthe of the part manipulation onthe technology or else that same technology facilitated anunparalleled degree of creative Thus, eitherthespiritsresponsively adaptedthemselvesof thenew tothepotentiality These images are subtly layered upon or in front of the living sitter (Harvey 2007: 142). composition, draped in a translucent cowl or enclosed by a vignette of ectoplasmic fog. the within orientations and positions in sizes, different in multiples, in or singly either appear more distinct and in some cases as clearly defined as the living sitter.of Theythe dead, in the appear work of the English spirit photographer Edward Wyllie (1848–1911), 3

The spirits that are allegedly recorded on kinetic media include not only the dead the only not include media kinetic on recorded allegedly are that spirits The See: ‘Scariest ghost caught on film’. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/ at: jaundiced scepticism. Available film’. and similaruploadsindicates thatthedefaultresponseofmostviewers isarather on caught watch?v=mvKZPA8wFPc ghost [accessed: June 2011]. The ‘Comments’ on YouTube for this ‘Scariest See: Are butaspictures.( The sleepingandthedead 3 The Ghostinthe Machine: SpiritandTechnology 2.2.73–74) 55 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 it is supposed, the spirit manipulates by pointing to letters, numbers, and words of words and numbers, response andsalutationonanOuija letters, to pointing by manipulates spirit the supposed, is that, it wood of plank heart-shaped a planchette, the of introduction The complex. the the sametrajectoryasthatforrenderingvisualanomalies:fromrudimentaryto farmhouse atHydesville,NewYork (BostonJournal1904:12). their in room a from coming rapping of sound the witnessed they that 1848 in claimed sisters, Fox The state. Leah (1814–90), Margaret (1833–93) and Kate (1837–92), more the movement’s first mediums, a to regressed the conversation century, the the nineteenth of of conditions half first the during States United the in of advent the with However, 43–4). 2003: (Harvey appeared they whom to those and that took the form of sometimes protracted one-to-one conversations between the ghosts n.d.: 8, Baxter 1691: 24, 30). Some of these audible articulations were genuine exchanges (Anon. history throughout testified have witnesses which to phenomena supernatural The silence of the spirit photograph belies the equally astonishing auditory presence of Early Technology Spirit Audiography channel thatseepsintotheframeofbeingwatched. television one of signal weak the upon borne shadows like appear else or pixilation, the fractured forms of spiritsallcategoriesdissolve and resolve visible, withinthefabricof Where bereavement. and blessing, perceived protection, accidents, from The Ashgate Research CompaniontoParanormalCultures hrb atcptn a ratruh n eeomnctos n ntokn i the in networking and twentieth century. telecommunications in breakthrough a anticipating tocommercially thereby incontrast However, present. available technologyoftheday, medium’s device operatedentirelywirelessly, that sitters megaphone the physical/spiritual to a messages was announced trumpet the properly, More diaphragm. made and magnified cylinderlouder thevibrationscommunicatedfrom phonograph stylusthe ordiscthrough and a of horn the as manner same the in spirits the of voices inaudible otherwise the The concentrated 2.2). and amplified (Figure believed, 82) was it 1919: trumpet, Henslow 150–51, 1926: (Doyle dead the of voices distant byan medium the to attached cases, umbilical cord of – in order to communicate with the inconceivably some more in while, – séance that the trumpet in conical levitate a would used called, so mediums, Spiritualist Remote-voice another. tele, farandphone voice) enabled participants to talk while not being present, one with Greek: the from (derived telephone The sound. for transmission, two-way of system intersections, which is tapped by metal needles when actuated by an electrical current. a metal tablet comprising a lozenge-shaped grid, with an array of lettersCharles and mappedWheatstone’s (1802–75) ontodesign (1806–79) of the 1837, sender F.Cooke’s and receiver communicate using For William electro-telegraphically. messages transmitting respect, spiritualist technologyfollowed the development of commercial devices for this In tempo. Dymo a at albeit participants, and spirit betweenthe interface equitable The development oftechnologyforengagingaudientphenomenahas followed In the 1870s the acoustic version of telegraphy, telephony, introduced another wired oraspiritboard,providedphysicalandmore 56 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 (a semi-conductor), wires, (a and semi-conductor), screws. Superficially, it resembled Guglielmo Marconi’s theTDC reach, ambitious and rhetoric receptor was rudimentaryindesign,comprising twosolenoids, a pieceofgermanium sci-fi its all For 114–29). 1999: Solomon and (Solomon séance a at sitters to revealedwas that side’ ‘other the on scientists’ spirit of of ‘team a by use maintained, experimenters the Experiment designed, the (TGD), Device’ Germanium Scole ‘The through the (TDC) Communication’ example, ‘Trans-dimensional For achieved modernity. (1993–99) of and technology of, the consumers both to, were contributors they respect this In . betweenembodied disembodied transfer and ofinformation means efficient and fluid more clearer, a the and inventions new of desire to manipulate them (in conjunction with themedium or sensitive) knowledge to facilitate practical and intellectual an possessed they increasingly sophisticated,demonstratingitwas believed that,amongother things, vocal messages. During the twentieth century the spirits’ adaptation of apparatus grew and textual communicating of purpose the for objects camera) the had they (as inhabit Figure 2.2 The spirits’ use of the planchette, spirit board and trumpet evinced an ability to an evinced and trumpet board spirit planchette, the of use spirits’ The

toned silver print,twentieth century,first half [Anon.], levitatingtrumpetattachedtomedium byectoplasm,brown- The Ghostinthe Machine: SpiritandTechnology 57 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 where Edisonhadeithernever fullyventured orelsefailed. succeeded recorder digital, latterly and, tape the that appear would It recorded. were they when ear the to inaudible often were voices these ‘extras’, of images the Like grave. the beyond from emanated sounds the case, the in But dead. the of voices professional andamateurinvestigators ofparanormalactivitythefacility tohearthe gave 1960s, the in recorders cassette audio analogue the and 1940s, late the in released recorders tape reel-to-reel portable the – successors phonograph’s The deceased. were they after amplifier, an as served trumpet, medium’s the like which, horn, its through the at was sound, time noless astonishing initsambition:itenabledthevoices ofthelivingtobeheard playback and record both could that device a phonograph, the of 1877 in invention Edison’s voices. their amplify TGD, the would as to, tubes vacuum usinghighly sciences material by studied to be and presence their detect to cells photo-electric as such instruments sensitiveelectrical able were they such, As matter. of attributes imperceptible ordinarily possessed believed, he Spirits, 34–6). 1933: (Anon. by conducting experiments to measure and communicate with the dead the 1920s Thomas Edison (1847–1931), it was rumoured, adapted science to the pursuit of explicable systemtooperateinamannerthatwas beyond understanding. this respect,itrepresentedatransubstantiationoftechnology:theconscriptionan In vibrations. spiritual wavesrather, electro-magnetic but, receivenot to wasintended device the However, trumpet. medium’s the on variation a was TGD the respect, this In audibility. signal’s the increase to amplifier an through fed was device the behest, spirits’ the 1900. At in built receiver, and transmitter radio experimental (1874–1937) The Ashgate Research CompaniontoParanormalCultures by the tape recorder’s circuitry when amplified (Daniels 2009, Milione n.d.). In other In n.d.). Milione 2009, (Daniels amplified when circuitry recorder’s tape the by auditory an are or illusion (apophenia) circuitry perceived recorder’s by the tape listener the within the by patterns of up picked noise generated are that transmissions from, for example, ionospheric ducting caused by remote radio signals or walkie-talkie Alternatively, respectively. sceptics advancedand faces, theviewthatsounds that canbeeitherclearorfaintarederived voices emulsion,into plate’s resembling glass configurations the perceptible earlyphotography, of case tape’s the in the or, manipulating field by magnetic psychokinetically, speaking) (theoretically this achieve Spirits microphone. the above,through mentioned than skotography rather of manner that thespiritsembedded the sounds directly ontotherecordingmedium, in the believed others while sensitivity, acoustic device’s the to it attributed advocates Some variousare There (EVP). phenomenon noise) (or voice electrical the explain to theories the continuity of consciousness (Alcock 2004, Ellis 1978, Jürgenson 1964, Raudive 1971). on the part of the dead to communicate with thelivingand, in so doing, to demonstrate and short phrases. The investigators claimed that tape these voices were a deliberate their attempt languages different many in on and once at all speaking multitude voices a of often recordings, perceivable faintly discovered (1909–74) Raudive Konstantīns parapsychologist Latvian the and (1903–87) Jürgenson Friedrich artist Ukrainian The Electronic VoicePhenomenon It was not only spirits that initiated spirit-o-technological breakthroughs. Earlier in Earlier breakthroughs. spirit-o-technological initiated that spirits only wasnot It 58 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 of an edgy soundtrack from a low-budget (which may betray, in the case the in betray, may (which film horror is likethat low-budget a from soundtrack effect edgy an The of voices. transient and ejaculations, guttural creaks, and inexplicable bumps are – recording digital low-quality of gurgle pixilated the or tape the of flutter and losses the noise, white the hiss, microphone’s the noise, normal ambient of suggestive expression of a impenetrable state and of blissful neutral repose. a Punctuating the bare anticipatory else ‘silences’ – or made benignly up smile either dead the of The moodistheantithesisofthatconveyed inspiritphotographs,whichtheportraits words, whispers and weeping are the iterative echo of EVP’s tragedies, yearnings The and appeals. unresolved. and restless often momentary be sounds (substantially buried to under the appears noise floor of dead the recording) of the of condition The dread. and noises andvoicesordinarilyassociatedwithfeelings ofconsternation,threat documents recordings EVP recent and impressive most the of proportion significant a Strikingly, period. the of picture-postcards holiday of back the on penned sentiments silver halideandgelatineorof0s1s). of emulsion an either alike, photographs: spirit in ‘extra’ the and sitter the are too, (as, impulses. As such,thelivinganddeadaretranslatedintosameconditionofmediatedbeing electro-magnetic by caused diaphragm earphone’s the of vibration the by produced air the in disturbances or waves sound are auditioned is What immaterial. country is adistant dead or living is speaker the Whether alive.were they when voice the characterised from transmitted that voice inflexions and sonorities the retain living nevertheless – receiver telephone the a through like just interference, by veiled present in their absence. The words of a more dead lovedbe one to – consequence, heard often a faint as and partially appear, who departed, the of emotions and personality the of and sentience of greater a conveys It based. time and animate is EVPs in the fabricofwalls (BBC1972). ascending the steps of the room before she falls, screaming, to her death is imprinted in Kneale’s Nigel in (1922–66) popularised was idea This recorder. video or audio an of tape on the playhead the like scene the upon acts sensitivity) (with The observer/audient technology. natural a of product the are conceived thus Ghosts 1975). (BBC life’ tape. certain people – eternal occasionally they reappear … of They are some kind of sort echo of a previous some on the recorded are And, undercertainconditions–maybeclimaticconditions,inthepresenceof actions explains our all Underwood that be may camera’-cum-tape 1976). ‘It ‘atmospheric recorder: an (Lethbridge of metaphor haunting technological a using residual phenomenon called 1923) (b. propounded by the parapsychologists T.C. Lethbridge (1901–71) and Peter Underwood station’ –inordertogeneratewhitenoiseor‘static’). ‘off- tuned often are (which radios and telephones on heard are that dead the of voices the machine. the words, the‘ghost’is 4

Early EVP recordings were prosaic, often comprising inane phrases not unlike the unlike not phrases inane comprising often prosaic, were recordings EVP Early ‘extra’ voice the photographs, spirit in ‘extra’ portrait mute still, the to contrast In theory the from derives EVPs for account to hypothesis non-supernatural One evp.html [accessed: June 2011]. http://evp-recorder.com/evp-and-sceptics/ at: Available Dictionary’. Available Sceptic’s ‘The 2011]; June [accessed: at: Recorder’. http://www.skepdic.com/ groups. interest ‘EVP and forums example: discussion of For websites on aired are theories Sceptical The (1972). In the play, the sound and a kinetic afterimage of a maid The Ghostinthe Machine: SpiritandTechnology 4 Similar hypotheses were put forward to explain the forwardexplain wereput to hypotheses Similar 59 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 households. With the domestication of spirit activity, no longer was either the séance the either was longer no activity, spirit of domestication the With households. enter to spirits for routes accessible of network a provided century nineteenth the of living. the of world the The pervasive in spread of theelectricitypower industry thatbeganinthelastdecades communicate, could they which through and commute, also was peculiarly adeptasthenaturalmediumorvehicle uponwhichspirits could a vital, metaphysical and adaptable correspondence to thenatureof spirit itself but that, likespirit,was invisiblebutnonethelessrealforthat.Inthissense, it notonlyhad century, Spiritualists seized upon theconcept of electricityas a form of pureenergy twentiethearly the In electricity. use equipment of types these all cameras, mechanical of exception the With ‘rapping’). as such communication, of forms rudimentary and earlier of counterpart electric (an off and on turn inexplicably that ovens microwave and more mundane household appliances such as light bulbs flickering and kettles and Machines recording. sound recorders, CCTV and cameras, telephones, fax machines, video recorders, transmission computers, communication, of included mechanical and digital cameras, radios, televisions, analogue anddigital to mode apparatus every electrical almost purpose-built) to from distinct (as existing accommodate the lawsofpsychics rather thanthelawsofphysicsisevidentinrelation of dead the and and thatofthespirits(Wilson 2008). and barometers deployed toprovethere isaconnectionbetween that theactivityofinstrumentation digital counters, air-ion thermometers, thermal scanners, Geiger counter,and motion detectors – meters, field electromagnetic recorders, audio cameras, (night-) thermographic cameras, the video quantify and and still trace – to supernatural paraphernalia technical highly of excess the by masked is science of stringent a of lack The found. be to there is presuppose they a largeproportionofamateurenthusiastswhoareoftentooeagertodiscover what comprise investigators today’s contrast, In 2010). (Price astronomy British amateur of enthusiasm make-do and ethic homespun the with coupled laboratory, Frankenstein’s that summoned a sense of agothicmodernityassociated with illustrationsofDr pursued was science The cotton 2010). powder, reading, usingimprovised,invented, informedby by (HarryPriceWebsite impossiblemachines talcum tampering rulers, detect and notebook, to record, a wax to including and wristwatch odd, a was thermometer, bench it camera, and as string, studies mundane as field often their was professional with experiments were associated hunters’ technology ‘ghost The centuries twentieth parapsychologists. early and nineteenth the In Electrical Devices thatwas farlessreassuring. ghosts of representations visual discussed above. and The technology extended verbaland, in so doing, of reconstructed a view limits of the the on observations Burke’s to is better adapted recording to conveying darker, Sound sublime, and influence). more dramatic of narratives, an antidote source main the examples, fraudulent verifiably of The Ashgate Research CompaniontoParanormalCultures During the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the adaptation by both the living the both by adaptation the centuries, twenty-first and twentieth the During 60 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 ih rcie, n smwa peitbe ioorpy f hss n gol. By . and ghosts of and flaws the of deployment sophisticated a betray fakes discernible least the contrast, iconography predictable, somewhat and received, knowingly) (too a flirts with and conveniently, too situated is true, be to good too appears But technology. digital with deftness prowess of handling can sometimes be their a photograph’s undoing. The image of of the spirit demonstration a or joke practical a either as latter, the to evincethe too); order notability of in measure a achieve efforts (and supernaturalism their of cause proffer former The gain. financial by motivated amateur spiritphotographerswhohave delightedtodeceive, have rarelybeen some ofthephotographersclaimedthemtobe:ghosts. werethey photographs ledmany peopletoassumethat otherwise normalportrait what in appeared mysteriously that faces and figures supplementary the explain to inability same this film, photography, spirit of camera, beginning the the since Ever techniques. of processing and limits and nature the about misunderstanding public’s general the ‘smoke’, to due is Misidentification ectoplasmic forms. figure abstracted and as orbs, emanations, psychic variously ‘pose’ manifestations, other among camera and malfunction, reflections, obstructions, and flare lens photography, spirit of case the In 15). 1866: (Cox image double photography, a created observed, portrait was it sitter, of movementstudio the in used times exposure slow very the to due example, havewould that anomalies strange create to For culture. visual in unprecedented been apparatus the for potential the to werewise photographers Early itself. technology the and bemisinterpreted,equallywell. recorded in spirit histories: words, images and sounds can either tellthetruthor lie, spirits are no more evidential than were the testimonies about supernaturalphenomena of renderings technological respect, this In technology. the with interact to capacity its to judge;andone’sowncredulitypresuppositionsaboutthespiritualrealm the personwhorecordedanomaly;theircompetence faith intheclaimsmadeby one’s on rather, based, is sound or image an of veracity the in self-authenticate, cannot such as medium the Since photography. chemical negativesin of manipulation signs ofimpostureorimpositionthatwere oftendiscernibleinthesuperimposition and tell-tale the leaving without photograph ‘normal’ a of cannot the among pseudo-spirit photography the digital prove example, For to them. used only portrayspirits:itcanalsofurtively inserttheunfocused and translucent forms of fake are to that used technology also of are types phenomena same the of many Paradoxically, Faith andFakery for movements between twoworlds. conduit main the sensitive Spiritualist the or encounter spirit for context primary the 5

Professional spirit photographers who have beenwantonly fraudulent,and from arising peculiarities to response in made commonly are attributions Mistaken et canlig sci eeg) ad s eevr (vkn te ehooy f the of technology the (evoking telephone) (Bolton1914:10–11, 13). receivers as and ); psychic (channelling next asanelectricalconduitbetween thisworldandthe to storeoremitspiritualpower); Mediums and the attendant sitters at séances were often referred to: as a ‘battery’ (able The Ghostinthe Machine: SpiritandTechnology 5 61 Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 between life and death. However, unlike Spiritualist mediums, the camera and audio and camera the mediums, Spiritualist unlike However, death. and life between sensitive tocontact thedead – technologyinthehands of anyoneis now themediator in hand with ademocratisation of encounter: one no longerneeds to beaSpiritualist hand gone has supernatural the of domestication and urbanisation The vehicles. and in that demonstrate phenomena practice ghostscanbefoundanywhere–instreetsandshops,hospitals,hotels,houses audible and visual of Recordings graveyards. and with which they sites are commonly associated: battlefields, castles, stately traditional homes, churches the from ghosts of emancipation the to significantly contributed has and narrative compound work satisfactory consummation. camera night-vision deliversrarely a that audience the exploitativewith an foreplay in and stimulation sensory background eerie hand-held voice-over, dramatic and of music, use the participants, the of and responses person physiological and what anchor emotional The between heard. and or seen anticipation, is what and and felt absence is between tension Documentaries the encounters. exploit spectral actively with associated used popularly been also sensations has evoke technology to the here, But functions. same the serve phenomena the genre. The websites serve, on the one hand, to cultivate a vigorous and sceptical critique and,ontheotherhand,asfodderforcredulous. and vigorous a cultivate to hand, one the on serve, websites The of genre. history the the from examples as well as faked, and mistaken taken, be can they how about with together photographs, of, exchange an and to, exposure public a for opportunity unprecedented an provide websites The investigators. professional to anomalous photographs made and collected by bothamateur enthusiasts and with another technology – the Internet – has spawned innumerable websites dedicated photography spirit of confluence the developed, ‘extra’ first the after century a Nearly Spirit andTechnology inPopularCulture photographic image. of the photographerand a sense of the fortuitousand unsolicited on thepartof the graininess, andbadcomposition,toconveyshake, alowlevel ofcompetenceonthepart camera exposure, incorrect focus, poor as such photography, leisure of limits The Ashgate Research CompaniontoParanormalCultures 7 6

Paranormal investigation as entertainment, along with spirit photographs and EVPs, Contemporary televisiondocumentariesaboutghosthuntingandparanormal spectacle inabidtopersuade. a vividtheatrical emphasis isuponcreating programmes, the the playsand both In fictitious). entirely others, real; supposedly were acts which of (some saints the of a promote medieval plays, or saints and plays, which re-enacted the miraculous interventions of, sense communal a beliefin,thesupernatural,theyareacontemporary version ofthevernacular invoke to endeavour their In paranormal of investigation. practice the into insight an provide and hunting, ghost of experience http://www.ghostresearch.org/ in theconstructionofasocialfantasyaboutafterlife,serve asavicarious(andsafe) at: aid paranormal the and horror of themes the on Televisionchannels and programmes June Available at: 2011]. [accessed: Available Haze’. ‘Paranormal Photographs’. paranormalhaze.com/10-famous-ghost-pictures-and-their-story/ 2011]; June [accessed: ‘Ghost ghostpics/ See: 7 62 6 http://www. Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 themselves andtheirinfluence. supernatural occurrences and beings,ofthemeansbywhichtheycommunicate fan, signs of electrical transmission and activity, signifying,variously, the proximityof ceiling a and monitor CCTV a lights, inconstant sockets, mains wires, telegraph with static on the television – seen, again, at the very beginning of the film1946) – comprises,(b. along Lynch’s David In enter. spirits the which through portal beckoning the – ghosts of manifestations visual certain also and EVPs of reception the with associated condition a channel, open or empty an signifies reality, twoandthreedimensions,thepastpresentisruptured. of out climbs she Subsequently, both the video viewer. image and the the television screen. The towards membrane between welltechnology and a of out crawling Sadako the television,havingautomatically(supernaturally)switched on, shows the ghostof of stream plasma-like ectoplasm. fluorescent Again, in a a scene from Hideo in Nakata’s (b. 1961) screen the exit They legion . a television (b.1943) their by through infested ghosts is of Hooper’s family Californian InTobe suburban a of cinema. home the in (1982), fictively explored been have boundary the about contained. is phenomenon the releasing the spirit from represented; the machine (like the is genie from the what bottle) and of transgressing in participate is positionedsafelybehindtheboundaryofmedium:theyobserve ratherthan spirit’s residuebeforeitleaves. the arrest only can They living. the of world the into revenants usher cannot recorder of apost-mortem,postmodern‘psi-cyborg’. new radically a between,relation formation consciousness the of, afterlifeandtechnology: andmerging suggests The fortuitously. or deliberately either medium themselvescamera andsoundrecorder,implanting intothemachineandontoits the of inhabitants transient as terms, non-biological on reincarnate to – embodiment resonance. According to these visions of reality, spirits desire and achieve technological part, of mechanisms, processesandmediumsintermsofindicatorsspectral presenceand their for Technologists, them. capture appropriate spirits,fantasisingthe inadvertentarguably potentialitiesandanomalies to capture technology Spirits for medium. order the in become technology has machine The receptiveness. of power the Technology sensitive,has usurpedthehumanandSpiritualist and democratising replicating designed. devices originally not were they adapting which for end and an to and appropriating manner a in creatively technology, exploit actively spirits In fictive examples such as Conclusion The flickering pattern of ‘noise’ on the television screen at the beginning of audience the supernatural, the with encounters mediated other and televisual In The Ghostinthe Machine: SpiritandTechnology Twin Peaks and, also, in their allegedly ‘true-life’ operations, 63 (1992), the (1992), Me WithWalk Fire Peaks:Twin The Ring (1998), Poltergeist Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 13:59 26 Sep 2021; For: 9781315613383, chapter2, 10.4324/9781315613383.ch2 hru, C. Cheroux, Cardoso, A. 2010. Recommended FurtherReading The Ashgate Research CompaniontoParanormalCultures Jolly, M. 2006. M. Jolly, Harvey, J.2007.PhotographyandSpirit Library. Metropolitan MuseumofModern Art. 2005. et al. . London: British London: Photography. Spirit in Belief The Dead: Living the of Faces Electronic Voices: Contact with Another Dimension? Winchester: O Books. h Pret eim Poorpy n te Occult the and Photography Medium: Perfect The . Exposuresseries.London:ReaktionBooks. 64 Nw York: New .