Recently, a collection of Hope's so-called "spirit photographs" was discovered in England. These incredibly haunting pictures supposedly captured ghosts on film. Regardless of the validity of "capturing the dead," the expressions on the faces of the people hoping to communicate with their deceased loved ones still prove to be quite unsettling.
William Hope started his adult life working as a carpenter before developing an interest in photography.
Hope's life changed in 1905 when he believed to have captured a picture of a spirit while he was photographing a friend.
Soon after this encounter with the spirit world, Hope went on to lead a group of spirit photographers called the Crewe Circle.
The London-based group rose to prominence in the years following World War I.
Demand for mediums and spirit photography was at an all-time high thanks to grieving relatives hoping to contact their loved ones who passed in the war.
By the 1920s, Hope was a well-establish London-based medium. However, he also began to attract criticism for his practices.
Hope and the Crewe Circle were investigated in 1922 by the Society for Psychical Research.
They concluded that Hope was a fraud. Rather than actually photographing spirits, they claimed Hope was actually manipulating pictures to create the appearance of spirits.
Despite the public criticism of Hope, his most ardent supporters stuck by him.
Hope and his Crewe Circle continued to practice their brand of spirit photography until his death in 1933.
Hope's story speaks to the human experience of tragic loss more than anything. These people wanted to believe so badly in Hope's "abilities" that they let it override their better senses. It's easy to attack these people as fools or worse, but can you really blame them for hoping to talk with their loved ones again?
Source from ViralNova
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