The Halloween Library

Ghosts, Magic & Spirit Shows

13 historic pictures in the Ghosts, Magic & Spirit Shows collection, part of Library of Congress. Each one can be ordered as a print or licensed, and the collection is a starting point for telling stories about the past.

Open the interactive board

Spirit mediums, magic lanterns, Houdini's campaign against fake seances and the midnight spook shows of the theater circuit.

Houdini And The Ghost Of Abraham LincolnHoudini And The Ghost Of Abraham Lincoln (c. 1920-1930)The Haunted LaneThe Haunted Lane (c. 1898)[Heathcliff haunted by faces; illus for Wuthering Heights][Heathcliff haunted by faces; illus for Wuthering Heights] ([no date recorded on)[Producing ghostly illusion by use of magic lantern. 18th c.][Producing ghostly illusion by use of magic lantern. 18th c.] ([no date recorded on)Raising a Ghost by the Magic LanternRaising a Ghost by the Magic LanternYe ghost shipYe ghost ship ([no date recorded on)The Great European Ghost Mystery. Something New Under the Sun!The Great European Ghost Mystery. Something New Under the Sun! ([no date recorded on)Lucky GhostLucky Ghost ([no date recorded on)Haunted CastleHaunted Castle (c. 1856-1907)KellarKellar (1894)Newmann's Wonderful Spirit Mysteries posterNewmann's Wonderful Spirit Mysteries posterOriel Theatre Glencoe Mel Roy Spook Party posterOriel Theatre Glencoe Mel Roy Spook Party posterMel Roy on the Stage: Mid-Nite Spook Party, 1935Mel Roy on the Stage: Mid-Nite Spook Party, 1935 (1935)