Mike Conley's Tales of the Weird: Frenchman captures soulful image

Back in 1978, the new McDowell Twin Cinemas opened for business near the Pizza Hut on the five lane, replacing the old House Theater in downtown Marion. The first movie I saw there was "Beyond and Back," a documentary about the mysteries of life after death.
"Beyond and Back" told about people who have had near-death experiences and have seen "the other side." In some stories, their visions of the afterlife were beautiful and comforting. Many people who were briefly declared dead but came back to tell about what they had experienced described seeing peaceful images of heaven and even Jesus. They also told about seeing those loved ones who had gone on before.
Other stories dealt with those who had experienced terrifying scenes of torment and everlasting despair.
The documentary also speculated on the existence of an immortal soul. This is the foundation for many faiths and the concept of life after death is perhaps the greatest mystery of them all. But for some, there is no mystery. I know many folks who are convinced that they know where they will spend eternity.
In the 19th and the early 20th centuries, the religious movement of spiritualism was very active in both North America and Europe. The Victorians were greatly fascinated with the concept of life after death and whether or not you could contact those who have passed on. Some sought to prove scientifically the existence of an immortal soul.
One of them was a French psychical researcher named Hyppolite Baraduc. Like many spiritualists, he was interested in the idea of "thought photography." It was the belief that some people could capture in photographs the images that they formed in their minds. In 1895, he gave a lecture on the subject to the French Academy of Medicine.
He constructed an instrument, called Baraduc's biometer, which indicated the action of a nervous force and unknown vibrations that exist outside the human body. His writings about the "vital force" were published widely and his experiments in psychic research are described in his book "The Human Soul," released in 1913, according to a Web site.
Baraduc also claimed to have proof that the spirit leaves the body at the very moment of death. And the way he got that proof is truly weird.
One day in 1907, Baraduc was waiting by the bedside of his dying wife. He was waiting there with a camera for the moment of her death. According to Baraduc's account, as his wife breathed her last breath, a strange mist rose out of her body and floated away. He quickly took the photograph of the weird mist. Baraduc believed that he had caught on film the soul of his wife departing.
The movie "Beyond and Back" featured a re-enactment of that incredible scene. The photograph supposedly showing Baraduc's wife's soul leaving her body can be found on the Internet. It is certainly a haunting image.
But it makes one wonder. What kind of man would calmly and rationally stand by and wait for his wife to die so he could prove a point about the hereafter? Was he that cold and uncaring? And did he really take a photograph of Mrs. Baraduc's soul?
In his book "Ghosts: Caught on Film," British paranormal expert Melvyn Willin suspects that Baraduc's photo might have been faked or an accident. Tiny pinholes in the bellows behind the lens could have produced the same effect. That would be especially true for an early camera like the one Baraduc used.
His photograph shows the lengths that some people were willing to go through to prove their ideas about what lies "beyond and back."

Contact Mike Conley at 652-3313, ext. 3422 or e-mail nconley@mcdowellnews.com.