The fact that Parisians refer to the Phantom of the Opera by his real name, Erik, says it all. Fairies are out of fashion, levitation has fallen flat and ectoplasm is not emanating from mediums like it used to. In this era, in which ghosts have a negative effect on property prices, it is years since anyone admitted to attending a good séance.Yet this city hosts the Père Lachaise, possibly the world's most eerie cemetery. In August police discovered a private horror cinema, set up by "cataphiles" in the rabbit warren of limestone quarries under the French capital. Don't believe the Cartesians - mystery, illusion, telekinesis and even the odd ghost still account for the occasional cold draft and slamming door.Under the respectable and mainstream banner of the capital's annual Photography Month, one gallery has assembled 250 prints from the 19th and early 20th centuries that show what happens when technological progress meets irrational thought.

Called Photography and the Occult, the exhibition at the Maison Européenne de la Photo celebrates the fantastic in a series of montages and double-exposure prints.They date from a time when poltergeists were milling about in Paris, the world capital of spiritualism. After a rush on the ever-after during the First World War, eminent scientists, including Pierre and Marie Curie, became fascinated by telepathy and clairvoyance. At dinner parties, guests compared their best ghost stories.

View: Full Article | Source: The Independent