The Prophet and the Pendulum: Sensational Science and Audiovisual Phantasmagoria around 1848

The phantasmagoria: From ghostly apparitions to multisensory fairground entertainment

“…Although first introduced, explained, and patented by one Prof. Pepper (at that time, the director of London's Royal Polytechnic Institute), they were subsequently extensively promoted by a number of international fairground showmen including the original "King of Showmen", Randall Williams. While the original meaning/reference of the term phantasmagoria (as visual apparition) may have been replaced by the term's use to describe an overstimulation of the senses, one with a possibly negative valence [hinting at sensory deception/disorientation; Lynn (2006), Tresch (2011], there is also a sense that technology is involved in the realization (e.g., Adorno, 2005), be it of people, ghosts, or actors. This then links to the use of the term when describing Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk (Daub, 2009;Joe and Gilman, 2010).…”

“…It can, then, perhaps be suggested that what really helped to elevate this form of entertainment over earlier unisensory (visual) lantern shows was the incorporation of an auditory, or multisensory, element into proceedings. By adopting a broader definition of the term, Tresch (2011) suggests that such audiovisual phantasmagoria were not altogether unheard of in France in the middle of the 19th Century. Given the growing interest in multisensory experience design (see Velasco and Obrist, 2020), one might also Barber, 1989, p. 78-79;Barnouw, 1981, p. 23), though, according to Barber, the show started in late 1801.…”