The phantasmagoria’s themes were frightening, gruesome, and spooky. Sudden approaching and rising specters (ghosts, skeletons, graveyard scenes, but also other topics) were projected from the backside onto a half-transparent – from the point of view of the spectators unseen – screen and on the smoke that rose from boxes distributed within the spectator’s area in a completely dark room with an advanced magic lantern mounted on rails. The show was complemented by an unsettling atmosphere and the narration of a master of ceremonies. I would have been extremely worried because if the video wasn’t popular back then, it’d be like present times when we’d be frightened of something that couldn’t be verified by science. When comparing the current time to back then, because there are many horror films in modern time, but when comparing it to back then, you can readily see why people were afraid due to a lack of experience. I’m not a big fan of horror movies, so it’s probably any of them. The show was heavily influenced by earlier ghost-raising and projection cultures and practices. It was also a product of the Enlightenment’s heightened interest in the unusual, ostensibly providing instruction and entertainment by displaying the science of optical illusion.
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