William Mumler has the rather watery distinction of being the first name in spirit photos. In 1861, a self-portrait came out with a shadowy woman in the background — Mumler assumed it was a mistake, but his friends took interest, claiming it looked like his dead cousin, and soon spiritualists were declaring it the first-ever photo of a ghost. Obviously, Mumler snapped up this opportunity to make a living being the world’s first spirit photographer. The above photo, his most famous, is of Abraham Lincoln’s widow, Mary Todd Lincoln, circa 1871. Supposedly, when she arrived at his studio, she used the name “Mrs. Lindall,” but still found her true husband’s arms encircling her.
