Thomas Edison, the first ghost buster
Thomas Edison, ghost buster
When you think of inventor Thomas Edison, you think of the light bulb, the phonograph, and any one of his amazing inventions which are still a part of modern society. It was no wonder that he acquired the title 'the wizard of menlo park' with his invention of the electric light. What people don't realize is that Edison also took to finding a way to contact the dead with a device full footed in science.
Spiritualism was the craze then, and it usually centered on a 'sensitive' who could bridge our world and the other world of ghosts. The problem was, and still is, that the evidence is completely subjective on who the sensitive is, and to enter the realm of respected science it had to pass the idea of 'repeatable experiments' in a lab, and under laboratory conditions. The field of spiritualism became a field of fakers, hustlers, and con artists who would use crude 'proof' such as ectoplasm photographs and the like to bilk people hoping to contact the dead. This led a backlash to the spiritualism movement, where popular magician Houdini would devote a segment of his show to showcasing the fraud in most mediums.
Enter Thomas Edison. He believed if there was a way to confirm the world of ghosts, it could be done with science and technology. He announced with great fan fare of his intention to make a device to contact the dead. Edison worked on the concept and device with his usual intense drive, but with no results he reluctantly said he could not create the device(although some believe it was a strange combination of radio/electric phonograph). There the story ended, right?
Not quite. Although Edison himself never completed the device, some say he did and was 'dissuaded' by some in power to suppress his work. Like the electric light, Edison's efforts are still in the field of parapsychology with the idea of EVP...Electronic voice phenomenon. Originally the idea was to place a radio reciever in a section of 'white noise' and with electronic recordings you could pick the voices of places and things from other places, other times. This idea moved into recording sessions where an interviewer would ask to the spirits in haunted locations and with special playback, you could confirm that there was a reply from otherworldy sources. While still not embraced by the scientific community, EVP is a step in the right direction of gathering evidence of the beyond, and perhaps with new technology and more methods to ferret out fraud, perhaps we can discover the answer the timeless question, what is the next world?
Edison Death Machine
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Edison Death Machine by ZP films. I mentioned the Edison device to filmmaker George Bonilla, I was pushing a story called spooky action...that never got anywhere, but George really liked the idea of Edison's machine and came up with the script for Edison Death Machine. I got to help out as the assistant director on the film, and it was a fun experience working on the film. It's available at various stores right now, and worth a look.
for more info go to ZP international website.
www.zpmovies.com
When you think of inventor Thomas Edison, you think of the light bulb, the phonograph, and any one of his amazing inventions which are still a part of modern society. It was no wonder that he acquired the title 'the wizard of menlo park' with his invention of the electric light. What people don't realize is that Edison also took to finding a way to contact the dead with a device full footed in science.
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| Thomas Edison working on an invention |
Spiritualism was the craze then, and it usually centered on a 'sensitive' who could bridge our world and the other world of ghosts. The problem was, and still is, that the evidence is completely subjective on who the sensitive is, and to enter the realm of respected science it had to pass the idea of 'repeatable experiments' in a lab, and under laboratory conditions. The field of spiritualism became a field of fakers, hustlers, and con artists who would use crude 'proof' such as ectoplasm photographs and the like to bilk people hoping to contact the dead. This led a backlash to the spiritualism movement, where popular magician Houdini would devote a segment of his show to showcasing the fraud in most mediums.
 |
| one of the early photo fakes which was passed off as legit contact |
Enter Thomas Edison. He believed if there was a way to confirm the world of ghosts, it could be done with science and technology. He announced with great fan fare of his intention to make a device to contact the dead. Edison worked on the concept and device with his usual intense drive, but with no results he reluctantly said he could not create the device(although some believe it was a strange combination of radio/electric phonograph). There the story ended, right?
Not quite. Although Edison himself never completed the device, some say he did and was 'dissuaded' by some in power to suppress his work. Like the electric light, Edison's efforts are still in the field of parapsychology with the idea of EVP...Electronic voice phenomenon. Originally the idea was to place a radio reciever in a section of 'white noise' and with electronic recordings you could pick the voices of places and things from other places, other times. This idea moved into recording sessions where an interviewer would ask to the spirits in haunted locations and with special playback, you could confirm that there was a reply from otherworldy sources. While still not embraced by the scientific community, EVP is a step in the right direction of gathering evidence of the beyond, and perhaps with new technology and more methods to ferret out fraud, perhaps we can discover the answer the timeless question, what is the next world?
A news segment about EVP
Edison Death Machine
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Edison Death Machine by ZP films. I mentioned the Edison device to filmmaker George Bonilla, I was pushing a story called spooky action...that never got anywhere, but George really liked the idea of Edison's machine and came up with the script for Edison Death Machine. I got to help out as the assistant director on the film, and it was a fun experience working on the film. It's available at various stores right now, and worth a look.
for more info go to ZP international website.
www.zpmovies.com
edison death machine trailer
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