Sleeping Beauty

 Post-Morteum Photography or Death Photography. This type of photography peaked in popularity in the early 19^th century. It was a way for a family to have a keepsake of a loved one that had passed, especially with infants and children due to the high mortality rate in the Victorian Era. With the invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 families that could not afford to sit for a painting portrait could far more afford a photography session.  When carte de vista was invented, which allowed multiple prints; families were able to send relatives photos of ones that had passed. There eventually became a shift in how Death Photography was viewed, death became viewed as a social discomfort and taking photos of the deceased became vulgar and taboo. 

The earlier Death Photos were of a loved one propped up in a casket, later it became more of an art form and the subject would be posed in various positions with their loved ones to look lifelike, or the subject looking as if they were in a deep sleep. Many of the photos of children were taken with their mothers or placed in a crib or bed with a favorite toy. Siblings were often photographed together. To get the effect that the subject was lifelike they would paint pupils on the photographic print, or propping the subjects eyes open.  In some photos a rosy tint was added to the cheeks. Sometimes the only way a person can tell the living from the dead in these photos are that the images of the living are sometimes blurred because of how long a photography session would last, this can be seen in many photo collections.

There are museums and private collectors that display these throughout the world. One of the most famous collections is called “Sleeping Beauty” which is housed at the Burns Archives in the United States http://www.burnsarchive.com/ another collection is from the Thantos Archive in Seattle Washington. http://thanatos.net/

What caused the shift of the dead being shown as something vulgar and not to be seen or talked about? The media shows us death every day. Being in the paranormal field and investigating the possibilities of life after death puts our type of research to some people as just that. On a few occasions I have had prospective clients say that they did not want people in their locations to research the possibility of ghost because they felt it was disrespectful. For example do you feel that investigating a location that a murder had occurred disrespectful? Would it be disrespectful to the surviving family members? Is it that they just want to forget?

-Raven

Trespassing and the Paranormal Investigator

I know that as a paranormal investigator it can be difficult to get into locations. I spend hours and hours on the internet and sometimes at the local library doing research on Historical locations in Washington State. There is a lot involved being a case manager for a team.  It can be also very hard to make those calls to business owners. You have to know the history of their location and figure out the right way to “pitch” an investigation to them. Every place is different so every call is not the same and its own challenge. I have learned over the years that you cannot take no personally. But I have also learned to ask why. When you ask why some of the answers may amaze you.  But because you might find it difficult to call or talk to a client in person and get the proper permission doesn’t mean you should trespass on their land late at night. This only makes us in the paranormal field look like we are willing to break the law. 

The one no this week that made me more angry than amazed was when a potential client said the historical committee said no of a filming and investigation  because of people in our field trespassing on their land. The location has a church with a cemetery next to it, so you can only imagine the temptation. She had told me that the local authorities spend too much of their time having to go and kick people off the land late at night for trespassing.  And on two occasions the property has even been vandalized. She never accused people in our field as being the culprits but the committee was just afraid that if more attention to their location was given that more people would trespass. I then spent the next twenty minutes trying to assure her that not everyone in the paranormal field trespasses, that most of us try and get the proper permission.  Luckily I was able to convince her to go and speak to the historical committee one more time and assure them that our team would be willing to sign release forms and respect their property. 

I will admit that when we first started out we went to cemeteries late at night.  Going to a cemetery or abandoned building late at night is a quick fix for your investigation itch. But after having to hide in bushes from police cars patrolling the area made me realize that what we were doing was breaking the law. Most cemeteries have signs posted that there is to be no trespassing after dark. Abandoned buildings are owned by someone, and trespassing on their land without permission is illegal. You might get lucky and find a place that is owned by the City or Parks Department and you are able to call them up and ask if you can be there after dusk and explain to them what you are doing. 

When White Noise did the anniversary investigation of the Everett Massacre I called the local authorities and asked if we could be at that location. The officer in charge saw no problem with it since it was city property, plus I explained to him exactly what we were doing. He was even nice enough to tell the officers on patrol that night that we would be there. You would be amazed how people react to what you are asking and a conversation about the paranormal and their experiences with it starts. More people than you think are interested in this field than you know. 

I have seen many teams post photos of cemeteries and abandoned buildings on their webpage or Facebook page and I always wonder if they have gotten the proper permission. My guess would be no. So once again PLEASE if you are going to go to a cemetery or abandoned building or property do the research and find out who owns the land or is in charge of it and get the proper permission. And please for your own safety and your teams make sure that you have gone to this location during the day and scout it out. Not all places are free of squatters or even worse. You should be aware of your surroundings especially in abandoned buildings that could be very unstable. 

Be safe and be legal! Let’s not give the paranormal community a bad name.

-Raven