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Ghostly Apparitions
Stefan Andriopoulos
2013
Introduction
9
II
GHOSTLY APPARITIONS
10
iTLY APPARITIONS
INTRODUCTION
resentation of the "night of the world" contend that their theories were solely or primarily determined by
l readings, it has not been linked to the optical media and spiritualism. Each of these authors draws on the
e introduced the word "phantasmago- same set of ghostly and medial figures, but they do so in various ways,
md English in the 179os. 3 Tracing the surreptitious or overt, and for different argumentative purposes.
Ural use of media technologies and new Kant emphasizes the structural affinity of philosophical meta-
ollowing explorations juxtapose ideal- physics and spiritualism in an early, precritical treatise entitled
magorical projections and a scientific ef ef
Dreams a Spirit Seer, Elucidated by Dreams Metaphysics (1766).
( spiritual apparitions. For it is not only There, he develops the surprising "metaphysical hypothesis" of genu-
is invocation of "phantasmagorical pre- ine apparitions that arise from a "real, internal spiritual impression."6
~ence of German idealism to optical In certain persons of unusual sensitivity, these internal impressions
:ult that gained widespread currency in could be transposed to the external world, Kant suggests, thereby
[mmanuel Kant's critical epistemology creating "the outer appearance of objects corresponding to them." 7
ions when conceiving of Erscheinung as Yet immediately after establishing how genuine appearances might
>n" that is constituted by our forms of be conceptualized, Kant develops a second, diametrically opposed
,ted to a supersensory thing in itself. At explanation. In order to expose spiritual visions as a sensory delusion,
1e of transcendental illusion described Kant compares the "brain phantoms" (Hirngespenster) of an inflamed,
teculative metaphysics by invoking the enthusiastic imagination to an optical "spectre" (Spectrum) created by
~e magic lantern, which are real, even means of a concave mirror. 8 This skeptical account of ghostly appari-
ind to them. This recourse to contem - tions anticipates Kant's doctrine of transcendental illusion, for in his
>ecomes even more pronounced in the critical writings, he repeatedly draws on contemporaneous optical
1uer, who described our perception of media in order to describe the fallacies of speculative reason. Kant
bral phantasmagoria."• characterizes speculative metaphysics as a "magic lantern of brain
ersection of the ghostly with various phantoms."9 In doing so, he transforms the optical instrument into
etween 1750 and 1930. The opening an epistemic figure for the limits of philosophical knowledge.
: of the magic lantern and of spiritual- The ghostly apparitions from this period also intersect with an
1t, Hegel, and Schopenhauer. Shifting emerging popular print culture that gave rise to the Gothic novel and
lture, the book then examines ghost immersive reading practices, an interrelation analyzed in Chapters 3
11d Romantic representations of clair- ef
and 4. In Dreams a Spirit Seer, Kant deplored the "haunting circula-
1ore recent visual medium from the tion" of ostensibly authentic ghost narratives. 10 In a criticism similar
inal chapter centers on the dynamic to current indictments of the Internet, he responds to an explod-
I and the emergence of television. By ing print market and the concomitant proliferation of nonscholarly
th a historicist reading of phi.Josophi- writings by warning against "rumor" and "hearsay" as undermining
erman idealism highlights previously critical reasoning and scientific judgment. At the same time, the new
e thinking Kant's, Hegel's, and Scho- literary genre of the Gothic novel adapted spiritual apparitions as a
ments possible. 5 However, I do not serial narrative device of shock and terror. The immersive appeal of
10
ll
I~
GHOSTLY APPARITIONS
these popular tales even raised concerns about "reading addiction" the 1980s and 1990s by pro
(Lesesucht) as leading to a pathological loss of reality. tory of new information te
Literary, scientific, and philosophical representations of animal Yet ultimately, Kittler consi
magnetism and clairvoyance also blurred the boundary between the than the discourses and im,
factual and the fictional in the first half of the nineteenth century. and shape its contingent re,
Adapting an allegedly factual German case history about a somnam- on a technological a priori It
bulist clairvoyant who was for seven years arrested between life and between spiritualism and te,
death, Edgar Allan Poe published a fictional tale about a mesmerist that "from the very beginni1
experiment that was reprinted as an authentic news item in various pose d teeh mca· 1 ones."14 Ac
newspapers and popular-science journals. Finally, in the concluding of the Morse alphabet that
chapter, I will explore a reciprocal interaction between occult- specters" of American spiri1
ism and engineering in the early twentieth century. At that time, fantasies" as "irrelevant" fo
spiritualist research into the psychic "television" of somnambulist television. 15 In short, Kittle1
clairvoyants enabled the gradual invention and implementation of over culture. Technologica
electrical television. but not vice versa.
While not the central focus of individual chapters in this book, This book adopts a more
other media that emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, does not claim to reconstf'
such as photography, telegraphy, cinema, and radio, were also closely tural or technological. Its <
connected with the occult. This striking proximity between differ- the various cultural and te<
ent waves of spiritualism and the rise of various new technologies philosophical, literary, ani
has been noted by several scholars. 11 Among the first to highlight the 1800 and for the emerge1
double sense of the term "medium" was the influential media theorist vein, I establish late ninet,
Friedrich Kittler, who at one point went so far as to suggest that there · . the psychic television of sor
is "no difference between occult and technical media." 12 Jacques Der- construction and impleme
ef
rida's Specters Marx (1993), by contrast, adopts an exclusive focus on ning from the 1890s into t1
language as a source of spectrality. In his reading of Marx, Derrida television's gradual emerge1
disregards the cultural use of the magic lantern in phantasmagorical tors immanent to technolo:
projections, and he subscribes to a common, but incorrect etymology and physical knowledge th,
of "phantasmagoria" as describing a public speech act. 13 The follow- broadcasts in the late 192oi
ing explorations, however, do not privilege either language or tech- cultural contexts. Psychic;
nology as a sole, determining cause; instead, they seek to preserve the (Fernsehen), carried out in 1
historical specificity of these various conjunctures of media and the lated the rules and proced1
occult by analyzing the complex and reciprocal interaction between for the technological inve1
technological innovation and cultural change. The archaeology of televi
Kittler's work has shaped the field of German media studies in hardware or culture, but a
12
TLY APPARITIONS
INTRODUCTION
~d concerns about "reading addiction" the 1980s and 1990s by providing important insights into the his-
bological loss of reality. tory of new information technologies and their cultural impact.
,hilosophical representations of animal Yet ultimately, Kittler considers "hardware" to be more important
also blurred the boundary between the than the discourses and imaginations that allow for its emergence
i1e first half of the nineteenth century. and shape its contingent realization and appropriation. This focus
German case history about a somnam - on a technological a priori led Kittler to reintroduce the distinction
r seven years arrested between life and between spiritualism and technology by making the one-sided claim
shed a fictional tale about a mesmerist that "from the very beginning occult media have necessarily presup-
d as an authentic news item in various posed technical ones." 14 According to Kittler, it was the invention
ice journals. Finally, in the concluding of the Morse alphabet that "was promptly followed by the tapping
:iprocal interaction between occult- specters" of American spiritualism, and he dismisses "literatures or
arly twentieth century. At that time, fantasies" as "irrelevant" for the conception and implementation of
psychic "television" of somnambulist television. 15 In short, Kittler asserts a general primacy of technology
lual invention and implementation of over culture. Technological innovation may generate spiritualism,
but not vice versa.
IS of individual chapters in this book, This book adopts a more nuanced, post- Kittlerian approach that
1e nineteenth and twentieth centuries, does not claim to reconstruct a comprehensive a priori-be it cul-
y, cinema, and radio, were also closely tural or technological. Its chapters examine several, but not all, of
1is striking proximity between differ- the various cultural and technical materialities that allowed for the
the rise of various new technologies philosophical, literary, and medial invocations of ghosts around
11
ars. Among the first to highlight the 1800 and for the emergence of television around 1900. In this
1m" was the influential media theorist vein, I establish late nineteenth-century spiritualist research into
1int went so far as to suggest that there the psychic television of somnambulist clairvoyants as crucial for the
t and technical media."12 Jacques Der- construction and implementation of the technical medium. Span-
contrast, adopts an exclusive focus on ning from the 1890s into the first decades of the twentieth century,
lity. In his reading of Marx, Derrida television's gradual emergence in no sense relied exclusively on "fac-
le magic lantern in phantasmagorical tors immanent to technology." 16 The slow accumulation of technical
>a common, but incorrect etymology and physical knowledge that led to the first experimental television
ng a public speech act. 13 The follow- broadcasts in the late 1920s cannot be separated from its contingent
ot privilege either language or tech- cultural contexts. Psychical research on telepathy and "television"
ise; instead, they seek to preserve the (Fernsehen), carried out in the same period by spiritualists who emu-
rious conjunctures of media and the lated the rules and procedures of science, played a constitutive role
: and reciprocal interaction between for the technological inventions and developments of the medium.
ltural change. The archaeology of television reveals not a one-sided primacy of
e field of German media studies in hardware or culture, but a reciprocal interaction between the newly
12
13
IN
GHOSTLY APPARITIONS
14
TLY APPARITIONS
INTRODUCTION
,iritualist research. Electrical and psy- lantern into an epistemic figure for the limits of philosophical
uppose each other. knowledge. Kant thus describes an empirical appearance as consti-
I and its cultural and epistemic condi- tuted by our forms of intuition. Nonetheless, Kant still insists that
ly in my analysis of ghostly apparitions an appearance can be conceived as linked to an unknowable thing
neteenth centuries. Yet in exploring in itself. In doing so, he adapts his early metaphysical hypothesis
,m that period, I also avoid a simple of genuine apparitions and defines Erscheinung as "an indication
rce culture to a mere epiphenomenon. of a supersensory substrate."20 In addition to tracing this tension
~· epistemology with the cultural use . between skeptical and metaphysical arguments in Kant's philosoph-
:asmagorical projections, I conceive of ical writings, the opening chapters contrast Schopenhauer's and
material object in an arrangement of Hegel's response to Kant's critical epistemology.
·sive figure within philosophical texts. Schopenhauer's "Essay on Spirit Seeing" (1851) explicitly com-
athan Crary's account of the camera pares a spirit apparition to an appearance in the normal, empirical
tical instrument and epistemological world. In The World as Will and Representation, he furthermore intro-
· Observer (1990). At the same time, I duces optical categories into his summary of Kant's critical episte-
: description of the magic lantern as mology, praising Kant for "disassembling ... the whole machinery
1e epistemological model of the cam - of our cognitive faculties that brings about the phantasmagoria of
~d on a paradigm of disembodied and the objective world." 21 Schopenhauer thereby foregrounds medial
ef
Techniques the Observer describes an concepts in an altogether aggressive manner. Similar to Schopen-
in the early nineteenth century and hauer, Hegel concedes a "kinship" of speculative philosophy and
ice of optical instruments such as the ef
magnetic clairvoyance in the third volume of his Encyclopedia the
>scope. My interpolation of Kant and . Philosophical Sciences (1817/i830). But whereas Schopenhauer openly
has its focus on the second half of the cites spiritualist notions and media technologies, Hegel seeks to
e, the magic lantern's open display in conceal the material conditions of his ostensibly universal theories
;radually supplanted by its use for the of absolute knowledge. Striving to suppress his reliance on occultist
:orical images. 18 Concomitantly, the terms, Hegel also avoids acknowledging his appropriation of con-
:ame an important discursive figure temporaneous phantasmagorical projections.
, about the unreliability of sensory The differentiation between the various surreptitious or overt
losophical knowledge. Kant's critical adaptations of the ghostly and the magic lantern in the work of Kant,
:t that projects its forms of intuition Hegel, and Schopenhauer reveals the crucial role of spiritualism
1at is inclined to mistake subjective and optical media for the emergence of German idealism. But the
ances. 19 specific philosophical theories of these authors alter and transform
1poraneous optical media and spiri- the medial and spiritualist notions they draw upon, adapting them in
>wing two opposite impulses. His different ways. Schopenhauer highlights his reliance on physiology
ion adapts his early account of false and media technologies by describing our intellectual faculties as a
the visual instrument of the magic ef
material apparatus of cognition. Hegel's Phenomenology Spirit, by
14
15
It
GHOSTLY APPARITIONS
16
TLY APPARITIONS
INTRODUCTION
lsmagoric projection of spiritual shapes But in drawing on a shared set of ghostly and phantasmagorical
dative philosophy without naming the notions, they responded to and molded the cultural use of optical
pter describes "absolute spirit" appre- technologies and print.
f images" that presents a "slow motion By interpolating canonical philosophical texts with visual media
and popular print culture, this book also differs from most of con-
1odes in which Kant, Hegel, and Scho- temporary academic philosophy. The aim of my reading of Kant,
illism and optical media the following Hegel, and Schopenhauer is not to resolve contradictions or ambi-
end the kind of historical epistemology guities in their thought. Rather than reformulating these authors in
the Observer and Lorraine Daston and a way that would make their arguments "rigorous" or consistent, my
fiche! Foucault's Archaeology ef Knowl- goal is to historicize their texts in a manner that takes note of the
otion of a "historical a priori" whose strangeness of their theories and terminology, thereby transforming
:ranees at a given historical moment-a our understanding of the philosophical canon. The juxtaposition of
liscursive to the technological by Kitt- spiritualism, phantasmagorical projections, and Kant, Hegel, and
ian replicating the assumption of an Schopenhauer may seem frivolous or crude to a specialist in German
iori, this book reveals specific cultural idealism. It is, however, suggested by a reading of these texts. Kant
>ns that rendered possible the emer- ef
himself decided to give his treatise Dreams a Spirit Seer the subtitle
:uments. The juxtaposition of idealist Elucidated by Dreams ef Metaphysics, and in 1767, Moses Mendelssohn
.re, phantasmagorical projections, and reviewed the book as leaving "the reader somewhat unsure as to
macy to any of these cultural spheres. whether Mr. Kant would rather render metaphysics risible or ghost
uanced, close readings of philosophi- seeing plausible." 25
~ation of cultural and medial practices ef
Derrida's Specters Marx was crucial for establishing the rheto-
theories without determining them. ric of ghostliness as a subject worthy of serious critical study by
gly marginal cultural and technical highlighting the constitutive role of ghostly and phantasmagorical
I this account of ghostly apparitions
figures in Marx's writings. 26 Yet the historicist approach adopted
ideas. Traditional intellectual histo- in the following chapters differs not only from Kittler's notion of
~alm of academic discourse, thereby a technological a priori, but also from Derrida's poststructuralist
change across the permeable bound- mode of reading. In analyzing "The Communist Manifesto" (1848),
ought and contemporaneous media "The Eighteenth Brumaire" (1852), and The German Ideology (1845),
inadvertently replicate Kant's wish Derrida reveals the role of Max Stirner's philosophy in the prolifera-
between philosophy and other cul- tion of the spectral in Marx's early writings. In a footnote, Derrida
vell-researched and comprehensive also mentions Schopenhauer's "Essay on Spirit Seeing." 27 He does
tualism upholds this segregation by not, however, engage in a reading of any contemporaneous spiritual-
tism had "nothing to do ... with the ist texts, and his preoccupation with language as the only source of
2
,phy." • It is of course true that Ger- spectrality leads him to disregard the cultural and medial conditions
>nstituted distinct cultural spheres. of Marx's invocation of ghosts. In his reading of Marx's chapter on
16
17
GHOSTLY APPARITIONS IN
18
.LY APPARITIONS
INTRODUCTION
18
19
GHOSTLY APPARITIONS
INTRODUI
sequels and spin-offs by other authors sought to emulate the com- i,period- "arrested by some
mercial success of Schiller's novel as one of the most widely read and death." 35 Edgar Al
literary texts of the eighteenth century. mar" (1845) appropria 1
But the immersive appeal of these popular tales also caused ant somnambulist in
considerable alarm. One extreme episode of "reading addiction" an ostensibly real s,
(Lesesucht), analyzed in more detail-in Chapter 3, was Ludwig Tieck's '11nd undermines Kerner'
recitation of a popular Gothic novel that Tieck and two of his friends literary fiction. Yet even
read aloud to each other, taking turns for the duration of ten hours. ional mode of producing
When Tieck had finished reading the novel's second volume at two Ila was reprinted as an
in the morning (his friends were asleep by then), he suffered a ner- s and popular-science jc
vous breakdown marked by intense and frightening hallucinations ·of ghost narratives in ei
in which he almost killed his companions. Warning against the I chapter reveals a reciJ
harmful effects of "reading addiction" and "reading rage" (Lesewut), h and the gradual e1
conservative critics drew on similar anecdotes to invoke a patho- ;Pineteenth and early t,
logical loss of reality as the inevitable consequence of reading too spiritualist Carl du J
many Gothic novels. According to these conservative indictments of in a curious manner th
new media in the late eighteenth century, print's dissemination of in time and space" as c1
nonscholarly writings and the Gothic novel's appeal to the imagina- ;Jn addition to present
tion of addicted readers paralleled the mirage of contemporaneous technology," du Prel i11
optical technologies. "organ projection" ii
Chapter 4 extends the analysis of literary representations of the .· Prel even imagined ar
marvelous to the first half of the nineteenth century, when Roman- Id draw on this expe
tic texts about animal magnetism and clairvoyance also blurred .transmission of movi
the boundary between fact and fiction. E.T. A. Hoffmann's "The this fantasy may have
Magnetizer" (1814) transforms its representation of the magnetic alist William Croo
rapport between mesmerist and somnambulist into a poetologi-
cal model for an immersed reader who is mentally and physically
affected by Hoffmann's novella. Justinus Kerner, by contrast, pres-
ents his treatise The Seeress ef Prevorst (1829) as a purely factual
account of the somnambulist Friederike Hauffe, who remained for
the duration of seven years in a state of magnetic clairvoyance. Yet
by giving a peculiar explanation of Hauffe's ability to see into the
beyond, Kerner's case history lent itself to a sensational literary
adaptation. According to Kerner, the seeress perceived the mate-
rial as well as the spiritual realms because she was-for the whole r the title "The W,
20 2
.Y APPARITIONS
INTRODUCTION
authors sought to emulate the com - extended period-"arrested by some fixation in the moment of dying
1ovel as one of the most widely read between life and death." 35 Edgar Allan Poe's "The Facts in the Case
century.
of M. Valdemar" (1845) appropriates and transforms this account
of these popular tales also caused of the clairvoyant somnambulist in a ghastly and shocking manner.
eme episode of "reading addiction" In describing an ostensibly real scientific experiment, Poe's tale
:tail in Chapter 3, was Ludwig Tieck's replicates and undermines Kerner's claims to factuality within the
1ovel that Tieck and two of his friends realm of literary fiction. Yet even though Poe's text was a literary
J turns for the duration of ten hours. one, its fictional mode of producing reality effects was so compelling
ng the novel's second volume at two that the novella was reprinted as an authentic case history in various
re asleep by then), he suffered a ner- newspapers and popular-science journals-similar to the haunting
:ense and frightening hallucinations circulation of ghost narratives in eighteenth-century print culture.
companions. Warning against the The final chapter reveals a reciprocal interaction between spiri-
iction" and "reading rage" (Lesewut), tualist research and the gradual emergence of electrical television
milar anecdotes to invoke a patho- in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At that time,
:vitable consequence of reading too the German spiritualist Carl du Prel appropriated Kant's critical
to these conservative indictments of philosophy in a curious manner that allowed him to define psychic
th century, print's dissemination of "television in time and space" as a function of the "transcendental
othic novel's appeal to the imagina- subject." 36 In addition to presenting occultism as the "very phi-
led the mirage of contemporaneous losophy of technology," du Prel introduced Ernst Kapp's theory of
technology as "organ projection" into his spiritualist account of new
iis of literary representations of the media. 37 Du Prel even imagined an engineer "well versed in occult-
nineteenth century, when Roman- ism" who would draw on this expertise to construct an apparatus for
.Sm and clairvoyance also blurred the wireless transmission of moving images. 38 The closest real-life
fiction. E.T. A. Hoffmann's "The equivalent to this fantasy may have been the British physicist, chem-
its representation of the magnetic ist, and spiritualist William Crookes, who undertook research on
~ somnambulist into a poetologi- thought transference and who also invented the cathode ray tube.
ler who is mentally and physically But Crookes was not an isolated figure; under the auspices of the
Justinus Kerner, by contrast, pres- Society for Psychical Research, other renowned scientists, such as
Prevorst (1829) as a purely factual Oliver Lodge and William James, also conducted experiments in
ederike Hauffe, who remained for thought transference and telepathy.
tate of magnetic clairvoyance. Yet The various conjunctures.between the ghostly and new media
of Hauffe's ability to see into the technologies in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries would have
int itself to a sensational literary allowed for extending this book's historical range. In the Cold
·, the seeress perceived the mate- War period, Gunther Anders conceptualized the mass medium of
ts because she was-for the whole television under the title "The World as Phantom and Matrix," and
0
21
GHOSTLY APPARITIONS
CHA
the recent history of digital technologies could have served as the
subject of another chapter that examines a link between the spectral Lan
and the medial. This book, however, ends with the first experimen-
tal television broadcasts in the late 1920s, when "wireless television" Spect4
was described, somewhat hyperbolically, as "perhaps not only the
most magical, but also the m0st consequential ... of all inventions of
our time." 39
edition of Dreams ~
was published an
e ef Otranto: A Gothic
ion of a medieval Ita
book, Immanuel Ka:
authorship and chose ti
• 2 In Ars poetica, the Ro
ntation of monstrous
Horace rejected a tex1
the dreams of a sick m,
whole." 3 Anticipating :
ded maniac, the title
e almost accurately: "J
ms of a sick man."' Wal1
manner that subverted i
· ned so that head and f
By inverting Horace's ·
" affirmed a poetics <
22