Ghost of Abraham Lincoln (photograph)
The Ghost of Abraham Lincoln is a photograph taken by the American photographer William Mumler in 1872. It appears to depict a faint white figure, interpreted as the ghost of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, standing over his seated widow, Mary Todd Lincoln. The photograph is assumed to be a hoax, although it is still unclear how exactly it was created. The photograph is currently the property of the Ian Rolland Center for Lincoln Research. It's part of the Friends of the Lincoln at Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Background Mumler began taking spirit photographs in 1862. He invited the renowned photographer J. W. Black to examine the process he used, but Black was unable to tell how "ghosts" appeared in Mumler's photographs. Throughout the 1860s, Mumler's career took hold, and many spiritualists came to him for photographs. One of the reasons for a surge in demand was the American Civil War, which caused more than 600,000 deaths. He was repeatedly accused of fraud and was brought to trial in May 1869. The prosecution brought a list of possible methods Mumler could have used to fake the photographs, but none of them could be proven without a reasonable doubt.