William Hope: The Father of Paranormal Photograghy

 

William Hope was born in the year 1863. William began his career as a carpenter when he was a young man. Soon William rose to a certain level of fame with the "spiritualist" circles of the day. William had a certain knack for capturing the images of spirits in his photographs. William Hope produced the first paranormal photo in 1905. Soon after this feat, he created a new group which he called the Crewe Circle Spiritualist Group. Soon after, William began to rise to fame as being able to capture the images of loved ones in photos. 

This was the age of Spiritualism. Spiritualism was at its height in popularity between 1804 and 1920. Spiritualism was a religious type movement. Its belief system stemmed from the thought that the spirits of the dead existed and could if they so chose to communicate with the living. At its peak in 1897, it is said that more than 8 million followers in both the U.S. and Europe practiced some for of spiritualism. The core of its followers were upper and upper-middle class society. Spiritualism grew and spread for almost 50 years without formal groups or organization. This was made possible through periodicals, tours, and lectures. 

In 1905 William Hope produced his first ghostly image. This launched him into fame as something of a medium, not to mention later being called the "Father of Spirit photography". The only problem with all this, William was a total fraud! During the early age of photography, the development process was not commonly known. William used this to his advantage to create his fame and dupe the public.

William used a technique commonly called "double exposure". During this process two different exposures or images are layered on top of each other creating the ghostly image. Once word got out about William Hopes ability to capture the ghostly images of loved ones it gained the attention of the Society for Psychical Research based in the United Kingdom. This group set out to conduct organized research into human experiences the challenged the contemporary model. They were the FIRST group of individuals to research paranormal claims. 

In 1920 William Hope ran into his first bit of trouble. Edward Bush laid a trap for William by using a fake name. Edward Bush sent a letter to William Hope with the name  of "Wood" and sent a photo of a living person whom he pretended was his dead son. Edward Bush then attended a sitting with William Hope and Hope produced a photo of a spirit which happened to be the same photo that was sent to Hope. The phrase "Dear friend Wood" had appeared on the photo. Researchers with the SPR concluded that there was sufficient evidence to prove William Hope as a fraud.

In 1921 a gentleman who was a close friend of magician Harry Houdini attended a sitting and found the unusually dark conditions of the room were ripe for suspicious activities. He also suspected Hope of switching the photograph plates during these sessions.

In all, the Father of Spirit photography was a fraud. But his actions inspired the possibility of capturing spirits on film. Pushing the field of research into a new direction not thought of before. If it was not for William Hope and his fraudulent photos, we may have never began to think of capturing the spirit world through the lens of a camera.

Why did I become a paranormal investigator?

First thing, I did not want to try and be the next Jason Hawes or Grant Wilson. I never intended to be something I would consider a "superstar". I did not want a TV show or a podcast. I did not do this for the self notoriety or the so-called fame. I did this because I wanted answers to questions and situations that I myself experienced. 

I see a lot of people and teams out there calling themselves EXPERTS. I have never called myself this. I have always referred to myself as a "ghost hunter". I have never put a title or a moniker to the explanation other than "ghost hunter". Everyone is SELF TAUGHT in this field. I did not go to school for this unless you included the School of Hard Knocks. 

I see so many folks loosing their way, wanting to be the next Ed and Lorraine Warren. I do not want that level of responsibility. To claim this level of achievement and all you have done is a few hunts, that is so immature. 

Some folks do an event or two and forget their roots!! I will NEVER forget where I started or why I began this journey. Once the pressures outside my control begin to try and dictate my actions, it is time for a change! I will NOT change who I am or what my group has become. I will not compromise my ethics and morals for someone else! 

The last few years have been fun, that is no lie. Even with the current public health situations we have had a blast investigating a few locations. I need to refocus MY efforts back to my roots. I am investigator. I enjoy the dark and damp locations that others think "too dirty" to investigate. I LOVE the silence of a building, to feel the historic pressures and to be able to experience the natural paranormal energies. I want to get back to my roots!! The REAL reason I became a ghost hunter, I want to experience as many paranormal situations as possible and try to answer the age old question:

ARE GHOSTS REAL???

Why ghost hunts are not free?

 There are a lot of factors that go into a good ghost hunt. The most important is the location then the equipment. Neither are cheap. Most of these popular locations charge a rental fee to gain access for a night or weekend. Some only allow you on the property for a limited period of time. You don't even get a full 24 hours for your money! Some locations require a lot of up keep and maintenance. This translates into cost of operation, which means .. you got to pay!!

Some of the places do a very bare minimal to accommodate their guest and do minimal cleaning. While others make their location as clean as possible! In order to keep these locations suitable for investigations they has to be a property manager ( again CO$T of operating ). 

My most FAVORITE place to visit, Haunted Old Lavaca County Jail in Hallettsville! OMG!! This place is sooooo clean. They have it all!! Ghosts, sleeping accommodations, a FULL kitchen, restroom and shower!! So places do not even have a toilet for you to use and STILL charge you an rathe large amount of money.

 A lot of folks are always asking "when can I go with you on your next hunt?"  and my response is usually the same. " I'm sorry but at this is a team member investigation only." Most of our investigations are residential and require a "soft" approach. But when we do offer the public its always the same as well. "Oh, you mean we have to pay?" or "Maybe next time, let me know when you go"

When you say there is money involved the interested seem to disappear or the say "hold 3 for me till this Friday please!!" Then when Friday hits and you message them, they NEVER respond. This is why I do not hold tickets any longer. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE!!

There are a lot of costs involved with hosting a ghost hunt. You don't want people walking away from an event you hosted saying "dang, that's it?"  For the most part, that is what a lot of groups do too! You pay, you show up and you walk around with that team until the time is over. But I want to give an experience that I would want and that costs money! Perhaps its $40 per person, but you are gonna get to investigate a REAL HAUNTED LOCATION, use REAL equipment, bottled water, snacks, and perhaps even pizza for FREE! There are teams and groups that will charge you EXTRA for this!!

So when you see a team or location out there posting about an event and charging for it, they are not trying to pay their light bill or water bill. They are trying to off-set the out of packet expense that they are paying for your benefit! You have been begging to go and they are giving you that opportunity. The chance you have been waiting for is $40 or $50 away. That money goes to assist in the location rental, to assist in buying the bottled water, snacks, food, batteries and even perhaps a gift bag if your lucky enough. 

So do not be so snub when you see a group posting about "charging" for a ghost hunt. Do not be so rude to make comments that are negative. If you can not go, sorry, but don't comment saying "why so much" or " I can't afford that" or "not everyone can afford that".. it just shows your contempt and lack of knowledge on what all is involved with that process. Be better than that and say "have fun" or "maybe next time"...... DON"T BE A KAREN!!! lol