Lincoln's Ghost

Abe appears as a ghost with his hands on the shoulders of his wife Mary Todd Lincoln. Mary cherished the photograph taken by spirit photographer William H. Mumler. When Mumler snapped a photo for a bereaved spouse or parent, the deceased loved one appeared in the background. The apparition gave the mourner hope for the afterlife. I long for my dead daughter Alix to accompany me always, but I wouldn’t want to go through life with her latched onto my shoulders. It wasn’t clear if Mumler had the ability to capture ghosts in camera or if he was a user of nineteenth century “Photoshop.”