The Photographer Who Captured Ghosts

William Mumler was a 19th century photographer known for capturing the images of one particular kind of subject: ghosts. Mumler was described as a "spirit photographer," who would take portrait photos of ghosts alongside their loved ones. His talents were so widely known in post-Civil War America that even Mary Todd Lincoln asked for his services. In his new book The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost, Peter Manseau looks at why Mumler rose to fame, what his ascent said about a nation still grieving over the devastation caused by the Civil War and why he ended up on trial.