Abstract

This article focuses on the relationship between the history of spiritualist sances in the nineteenth and early twentieth century and the introduction of film. It examines in particular two cases: the convergence of psychological studies on magic and spiritualism with early film theory, signalled in particular by Hugo Ms involvement in both fields; and the trajectory fromspirit photography, a spiritualist practice that was based on the appearance of spectres on the photographic plate, to the trick movies of early cinema. The conclusion sets the relationship between beliefs in spirit and fictional representation of ghosts in film as a promising field of inquiry for contemporary film studies.