Etienne Gaspard Robert

Gothic Soul Mind & Heart ARCHIVES: Phantasmagoria / Wednesday, 20 ...

Phantasmagoria  was a form of theatre which used a modified magic lantern to project frightening images such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts onto walls, smoke, or semi-transparent screens, frequently using rear projection. The projector was mobile, allowing the projected image to move and change size on the screen, and multiple projecting devices allowed for quick switching of different images. Invented in France in the late 18th century, it gained popularity through most of Europe (especially England) throughout the 19th century. The magic lantern has been credited to both Athanasius Kircher[1] and Christiaan Huygens[2] in the early to mid-17th century, respectively. Kircher’s device consisted of a lantern with a candle and concave mirror inside. A tube was fitted into the side of the lantern and held convex lenses at either end. Near the center of the tube, a glass slide of the image to be projected was held. Huygens’ magic lantern has been described as the predecessor of today’s slide projector and the forerunner of the motion picture projector. Images were hand painted onto the glass slide until the mid-19th century when photographic slides were employed. Though Huygens’ magic lantern was often used for amusement by projecting quaint and pastoral imagery, phantoms, devils, and other macabre objects were also sometimes projected, thus giving rise to phantasmagoria. In the mid-18th century, in Leipzig, Germany, a coffee shop owner named Johann Schröpfer began offering séances in a converted billiards room which became so popular that by the 1760s he had transformed himself into a full-time showman, using elaborate effects including projections of ghosts to create a convincing spirit experience. In 1774, he committed suicide, apparently a victim of delusions of his own apparitions[3].

Rich dad, poor dad, what the rich teach their kids about money that the poor and middle class do not!

In retrospect, the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam

Restoring the American Dream, The Defining Voice in the Movement for Liberty

Supercapitalism, the transformation of business, democracy, and everyday life

In an Uncertain World, Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington