A Magician Among the Spirits

by Harry Houdini

SO-CALLED “SPIRIT EXTRA” ON PHOTOGRAPH OF HARRY PRICE MADE BY WILLIAM HOPE OF THE CREWE CIRCLE

“The studio itself is a little glass hot-house arrangement built on to the side of the house. A green curtain is hung at the one end at which the sitter sits.

“We went again into the dark room to load the plates. He gave me his slide and told me to leave two of my own dark slides down in front of the light as he would try my camera too. I opened my plates and placed two in his dark slide and closed it. It was placed on the under shelf where I could see it faintly. He then asked me to open my own two slides slightly and sign my name on them. (I signed J. B. Gilchrist.) As I signed them he moved the lamp to let me see better. This threw the one fourth plate in the shadow. After that he handed me the one fourth plate slide to sign the two plates in the same way.

“I am sure, although I did not actually see him, that the slide I loaded, was changed for another one. It was too dark to see under the level of the shelf. I, for a moment, considered letting my pencil slip and spoil the plate and load in another from my packet but I thought it advisable to let things go on as I would then see just what his usual procedure was. I wondered at the time Why I could not have been told to take the plates from the package, sign them and then place the plates in the slide and place the slide in my pocket until they were to be exposed. Why was it necessary to sign my own plates in my dark slide at all? In fact, there was no necessity for me to take my slide in the dark room.

“We went back into the studio, again I was asked to examine the camera. However, I took up my position in front of the camera. Mrs. Buxton stood at one side and Mr. Hope at the other. The dark focusing cloth was low over the lens (the cap being missing) and the slide open. Mrs. Buxton and Hope sang a hymn and each took an end of the cloth, uncovering the lens. This was repeated with other plates as well.

“Now my camera was set up. I was asked to open the slide and show them how the shutter worked. The exposure was made. He placed his hand in front of the camera, covering the lens and asked me to open the slide myself as he did not want to touch it. Now why did he close the lens in that way? It would have been simpler to have pushed down the open front of the slide, closing it, but I believe that on his hand was a spot of some radiant salt or some such substance that would cause a bright spot to appear on the negative, such as appeared on that plate when it was developed. Holding his hand in front of the lens while an exposure was being made is such an unnatural action that I believe that was the cause of what he called ‘a Spirit Light,’ when it was developed. The next photograph I told him to press the release again to close the shutter. He did so.

“We then adjourned into the dark room to develop the plates. The two, one fourth plates were placed by me, side by side, in a dish and the two three and a half by two and a half in another dish and developed. By pouring the developer from one dish to another, one of the one quarter plates flashed up dark. I remarked that one was coming up very quickly and he replied that ‘when they come up like that it is a good sign for it is very likely there is an “extra” on them.’ I said no more but in my experience and knowledge of photography, such an occurrence is impossible unless the plates have been previously exposed.

“The two plates were taken from the same packet, loaded into the dark slide at the same time, with the same dark room light and the same distance from the light. They were then exposed on the same subject immediately after each other; the same length of exposure being given (I counted them mentally) with the same aperture of lens. The plates were then placed side by side in the same dish of developer and I contend that the image must come up at a uniform speed on both plates and that it is impossible for one to flash up before the other and darken all over unless it was previously exposed, especially when there was no variation in the light when the exposure was made, it being three P.M., December 16, clear sky, no sunshine.

“An ‘extra’ did appear on this (one fourth plate). It is a clean shaven face above mine and drapery hanging from it. On my own three and a half by two and a half a light splotch is over my face. Mrs. Buxton informed me that it was a ‘Spirit light’ but Mr. Hope believed he saw the faint features of a face in it.”

While in Denver, Colorado, in May, 1923, I called one morning on Mr. Alexander Martin, whom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had told me was a noted psychic photographer and a very wonderful man in his particular line. Doyle himself had called on Martin the day before but as Martin did not feel in the mood there had been no demonstration. In this Sir Arthur was no more unfortunate than Hyslop, the eminent Psychic investigator, who, according to Sir Arthur, had made a special journey from England to Denver in order to have a seance with Martin but had not been successful.