Opus M

agnum: Th

eatrum Chem

icum Britannicum

Originally planned in 1998, O

pus Magnum

: Theatrum C

hemicum

Britannicum

is a project developed to install an architectural artwork at

Mildred’s Lane in rural Pennsylvania. The project explores em

erging relationships betw

een poetic visual and conceptual languages encountered in alchem

ical literature and considered in relation to contemporary

discourses. The first Mildred’s Lane session for w

hat has become know

n as the Alchem

ist’s Shack took place in 2009. The project is envisioned to be a physical m

anifestation of Elias Ashm

ole’s 1554 compendium

of alchem

y, Theatrum C

hemicum

Britannicum. The project provides,

on an international stage, the opportunity to extend the contemporary

debate into the relationships between art, science, hum

an enquiry and the building of epistem

ological structures, both metaphoric and actual. The

installation comprising collections of objects and tableaux, takes the form

of a built and inhabited space. It is a vernacular building constructed to reflect the rural architecture indigenous to Pennsylvania and referential to sim

ilar buildings in the counties of Lancashire and Cum

bria in the North

West of England.

Alchemist’s Shack 2. July 13th – A

ugust 5th 2012. Robert W

illiams w

as the resident artist at M

ildred’s Lane in Pennsylvania, with H

ilmar Schäfer

as resident theorist. The project included presentations by Mark D

ion, A

lison Pebworth, H

ilmar Schäfer, R

obert William

s and Bryan W

ilson. A

visiting speaker programm

e also included: Brian C

onley, Moyra D

avey, M

atthew Friday, Thyrza G

oodeve, Heide H

atry, Silvia Kolbow

ski, Eve A

ndrée Larameé, C

layton Lewis, Iris Priest, Jam

es Prosek, Alison Sm

ith, C

hen Tamir, Peter W

arny and Am

y Yoes. The 2012 Fellows w

ere: Maris-

sa Lee Benedict, H

eather Donahue, B

etsy Huete, C

hristina Joseph, Luke K

nox, Liz Morrison, C

orey Riddell, Leslie R

ogers, and Natalie W

ilkin; w

ith support from Paul B

artow, Bobby B

edford, Bryan W

ilson and Aron

William

s.

ww

w.mildredslane.com

Published by INFO

RMATIO

N A

S MATERIA

L. York. 2013 w

ww.inform

ationasmaterial.org

With support from

the University of Cum

bria w

ww.cum

bria.ac.uk

Leslie Rogers is a visual and perform

ance artist from Philadelphia. She received

her MFA

in Sculpture & Extended M

edia from V

irginia Com

monw

ealth Univer-

sity and her BFA

from M

aryland Institute College of A

rt. Exhibiting widely in

the USA

, Rogers has directed and perform

ed as a founding mem

ber of Pup-peTyranny, a D

IY theatre collective and has acted as an organizer of touring

performances w

ith Philadelphia-based Puppet Uprising.

Dr. H

ilmar Schäfer is a cultural sociologist at Europa-U

niversität Viadrina,

Frankfurt (Oder), G

ermany. A

mongst his research interests is the relationship be-

tween artistic and scientific m

odes of knowledge production. H

is areas of study include social theory, sociology of art and cultural theory, and he has published on Pierre B

ourdieu, Michel Foucault and Pragm

atism. H

is current work centres

on the social significance and the specialized and vernacular practices of cultural heritage.

Natalie W

ilkin graduated with a B

achelor of Design degree from

the Queens-

land College of A

rt in 2003. A m

ultidisciplinary installation artist, Wilkin uses

historical narratives as a reference point to create detailed environments to

inhabit and explore. She is interested in the notions of transformation, ritual, and

identity within the context of history and the A

ustralian environment.

Professor Robert W

illiams is an artist and academ

ic. He has been leader of

the Fine Art Program

me at C

umbria Institute of the A

rts, now the U

niversity of C

umbria since 1998. H

is interdisciplinary practice and collaborations encom-

passes interests in epistemology and system

s of knowledge from

the hermetic to

the scientific.

Acknow

ledgements

Special thanks to: J. Morgan Puett, M

ark Dion, Paul B

artow, Aron W

illiams,

Bobby B

edford, Bryan W

ilson, Am

y Yoes, Iris Priest and the staff and supporters of M

ildred’s Lane, PA; also to D

r. Simon M

orris and Nick Thurston of IN

FOR

-M

ATION

AS M

ATERIA

L for all their encouragement and support. Finally,

thanks to Dr. A

ndrew R

amsey and R

achel Lowthian of the U

niversity of Cum

-bria.

Biographies

A native of Southern C

alifornia, Marissa Lee Benedict is currently based in

Chicago, IL. She is a sculptor, researcher, w

riter with a practice deeply rooted in

research and experimentation. She received a B

FA from

the Rhode Island School

of Design (R

ISD) in 2007 and an M

FA in Sculpture from

the School of the Art

Institute of Chicago (SA

IC), w

here she currently teaches in the Sculpture Depart-

ment.

Heather D

onahue was born in B

altimore, M

D. She received her B

FA from

M

aryland Institute College of A

rt, where she studied painting, perform

ance and queer theory. H

er research focuses on comm

unication and the power of social in-

teractions. Donahue is currently an M

FA candidate in Portland State U

niversity’s A

rt and Social Practice Program.

Betsy Huete is an installation artist and uncreative w

riter living and working in

Houston, TX

. She received her BFA

in Sculpture from R

ice University in H

ou-ston in 2006 and is currently undertaking an M

FA in Sculpture from

the Univer-

sity of Houston. H

uete mines the archive, the library, books and other repositories

of knowledge, she builds fractured prose poem

s using found language.

Christina Joseph w

as born in Los Angeles, C

A. R

e-locating to Baltim

ore, she undertook a B

FA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture from

the Maryland Institute

College of A

rt. Her w

ork has grown to include conceptually based sculpture,

installation and performance, dealing w

ith issues of mem

ory, history, identity and the environm

ent in which they coexist.

Born in Iow

a City, IA

, Luke Knox’s w

ork focuses on the relationship between

society and nature by examining parallel and reoccurring m

otifs in mythology,

ritual and cultural iconography. He graduated in 2012 w

ith a BFA

in Draw

ing from

the University of A

rkansas’ Fulbright College of the A

rts and Sciences. He

lives and works in Fayetteville, A

r.

Liz Morrison w

as born at Ann A

rbor, Michigan. R

eceiving her bachelors from

Oberlin C

ollege in 2004, the Classics w

ere of special interest and came to inform

her practice. She lived and w

orked in Fairchild Cooperative from

2005-2008 and as an intern at Firelands A

ssociation for the Visual A

rts in Oberlin, O

H. Liz is

currently an MFA

candidate in the New

Projects program at C

olumbus C

ollege of A

rt and Design.

Alison Pebw

orth has been making a series of interactive nom

adic projects created in the spirit of the 19th century A

merican travelling show. In 2006, she

developed Looking for Lost America, a research project linked to roadside show

and tell activities. This w

ork led to Beautiful Possibility, her travelling exhibition and research project currently touring the northern U

nited States and southern C

anada.

Corey R

iddell received his MFA

in Visual A

rts from C

olumbia U

niversity in 2012. H

e is a photographer challenging his medium

to fail - working w

ith photo-chem

ically and photo-mechanically based processes, his ongoing body of w

ork centres around shadow

y images of caves, cliffs and sea, places w

hich continue to inspire aw

e and a sense of the sublime.

Text ©R

obert William

s and Hilm

ar Schäfer 2013Photographs by C

orey Riddell and N

atalie Wilkin

Graphic design by N

atalie Wilkin

ISBN 978-1-907468-19-3

Ref

eren

ces

Pete

r Ack

royd

. 201

0. T

he E

nglis

h G

host

. Cha

tto &

Win

dus.

Kin

gsle

y A

mis

. 196

9. T

he G

reen

Man

. Jon

atha

n C

ape.

John

Aub

rey.

169

6. M

isce

llani

es –

rep

rinte

d in

John

Buc

hana

n-B

row

n (e

d). 1

972.

Joh

n Au

brey

: Thr

ee P

rose

Wor

ks. C

enta

ur.

Den

nis B

arde

ns. 1

965.

Gho

sts &

Hau

ntin

gs. Z

eus.

Deb

orah

Blu

m. 2

007.

Gho

st H

unte

rs: T

he V

icto

rian

s and

the

hunt

for p

roof

of l

ife a

fter

deat

h. A

rrow

.J.H

Bro

wn.

186

4. S

pect

ropi

a. G

riffin

& F

arra

n. L

ondo

n. 1

993

Pryo

r rep

rint.

Alis

sa B

urge

r. 20

10. C

h.12

:162

-174

. Gho

st H

unte

rs: S

imul

ated

par

ticip

atio

n in

tele

visu

al

haun

tings

. In

Mar

ía d

el P

inar

Bla

nco

and

Esth

er P

eere

n (e

ds).

Popu

lar G

host

s: T

he

haun

ted

spac

es o

f eve

ryda

y cu

lture

. Con

tinuu

m.

Ric

hard

Cav

endi

sh (e

d). 1

970-

71. M

an, M

yth

and

Mag

ic. P

urne

ll.R

oger

Cla

rke.

201

2. A

Nat

ural

His

tory

of G

host

s. Pa

rticu

lar B

ooks

.C

rista

Clo

utie

r. 20

04. M

umle

r’s G

host

s. pp

. 20-

28 in

C. C

héro

ux e

t al.

(eds

). Th

e Pe

rfec

t M

ediu

m: P

hoto

grap

hy a

nd th

e O

ccul

t. Ya

le U

nive

rsity

Pre

ss.

Cat

herin

e C

row

e. 1

848.

The

Nig

ht S

ide

of N

atur

e: o

r Gho

sts a

nd G

host

-see

rs. N

ewby

.O

wen

Dav

ies.

2007

. The

Hau

nted

: A S

ocia

l His

tory

of G

host

s. Pa

lgra

ve/M

acM

illan

.R

.C. F

inuc

ane.

198

2. A

ppea

ranc

es o

f the

Dea

d: A

cul

tura

l his

tory

of g

host

s. Ju

nctio

n B

ooks

.M

iche

l Fou

caul

t. (1

970)

200

2. T

he O

rder

of T

hing

s. R

outle

dge.

Mar

ia F

usco

(ed)

. 201

0. W

ho is

this

Who

is C

omin

g? In

scri

ptio

n as

met

hod

in

cont

empo

rary

art

wri

ting.

Vol

. 2. A

rt-W

ritin

g-R

esea

rch.

Koe

nig

Boo

ks.

Oliv

er G

olds

mith

. 176

2. T

he M

yste

ry R

evea

led;

con

tain

ing

a se

ries

of t

rans

actio

ns a

nd

auth

entic

test

imon

ials

, res

pect

ing

the

supp

osed

Coc

k-La

ne g

host

: whi

ch h

ave

hith

erto

be

en c

once

aled

from

the

publ

ic. B

risto

w. E

CC

O O

n-lin

e Pr

int E

ditio

ns.

John

Har

vey.

200

7:49

. Pho

togr

aphy

and

Spi

rit.

Rea

ktio

n.B

rian

Ingl

is. 1

977.

Nat

ural

and

Sup

erna

tura

l. H

odde

r and

Sto

ught

on.

Lew

es L

avat

ar. 1

572.

Of G

host

s and

Spi

rite

s Wal

king

by

Nig

ht. R

eprin

t of t

he 1

929

editi

on J.

Dov

er W

ilson

and

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Yar

dley

(eds

). Pr

inte

d fo

r the

Sha

kesp

eare

Ass

ocia

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xfor

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nive

rsity

Pre

ss. K

essi

nger

Rep

rint.

Eric

Map

le. 1

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Sup

erna

tura

l Eng

land

. Rob

ert H

ale.

Sidg

wic

k, E

lean

or; J

ohns

on, A

lice;

et a

l. 18

94. R

epor

t on

the

Cen

sus o

f Hal

luci

natio

ns.

Lond

on: P

roce

edin

gs o

f the

Soc

iety

for P

sych

ical

Res

earc

h, V

ol. X

.Fr

ank

Smyt

h. 1

971.

Fro

ntie

rs o

f Bel

ief i

n C

aven

dish

(ed)

Man

, Myt

h an

d M

agic

. No.

105

. Ir

ene

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ik. 1

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d Be

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ries

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ubik

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C T

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ries

. Pe

ngui

n.G

. Tyr

ell.

1943

:49.

App

ariti

ons.

Duc

kwor

th.

Pete

r Und

erw

ood.

197

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host

s of N

orth

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t Eng

land

. Fon

tana

.Li

onel

A. W

eath

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J.N

. Mas

kely

ne. 1

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The

Sup

erna

tura

l? A

rrow

smith

. 201

2 K

essi

nger

Leg

acy

Rep

rint.

Col

in W

ilson

. 197

1. T

he O

ccul

t. H

odde

r & S

toug

hton

.

Tele

visio

n:

Beas

ts: N

igel

Kne

ale.

Bab

y. D

ir. Jo

hn N

elso

n. 1

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(DV

D 2

006)

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wor

k/G

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da

Vent

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host

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hris

tmas

: The

Defi

nitiv

e C

olle

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n. 2

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ish

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the

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ye. H

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d by

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in W

ilson

. Lea

p in

the

Dar

k. S

erie

s 3. N

o.6.

Feb

ruar

y 19

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pe. D

ir. P

eter

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001)

. Brit

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Inst

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.

Web

sites

:

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cel D

ucha

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pers

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22.1

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list i

s im

porta

nt to

o in

set

ting

the

tem

plat

es fo

r con

tem

pora

ry id

eas

of g

host

s an

d gh

ostly

ex

perie

nces

, rel

ated

as

it is

to

the

supe

rnat

ural

ised

lan

dsca

pe o

f R

enai

ssan

ce a

nd p

ost-

Ref

orm

atio

n th

ough

t whi

ch fi

nds i

ts e

xpre

ssio

n in

the

popu

lar i

mag

inat

ion:

“Of g

host

s and

spiri

tes w

alki

ng b

y ny

ght,

and

of st

rang

e no

yses

, cra

ckes

, and

sund

ry

fore

war

ning

s, w

hich

com

mon

ly h

appe

n be

fore

the

deat

h of

men

ne, g

reat

slau

ghte

rs, &

alte

ratio

ns o

f ky

ngdo

mes

.”

In m

uch

of th

e lit

erat

ure

post

-mor

tem

gho

sts

appe

ar fo

r som

e pu

rpos

e, fo

r ven

gean

ce o

r re

solv

ing

earth

ly i

ssue

s un

finis

hed

at d

eath

, as

harb

inge

rs t

hem

selv

es o

r as

mes

seng

ers

with

goo

d ad

vice

for t

he li

ving

. Per

haps

the

first

maj

or m

oder

n ha

untin

g to

be

desc

ribed

, in

vest

igat

ed a

nd d

ebun

ked

was

the

Coc

k La

ne G

host

of 1

762.

Oth

er c

eleb

rate

d fr

audu

lent

gh

osts

mig

ht a

lso

incl

ude

the

Ham

mer

smith

Gho

st o

f th

e m

id-n

inet

eent

h ce

ntur

y, w

here

w

e ca

n al

read

y se

e al

l the

acc

umul

ated

app

urte

nanc

es a

nd a

ppea

ranc

e of

the

goth

ic g

host

–

the

win

ding

she

et,

glid

ing

mov

emen

t, th

e da

rk s

torm

y ni

ght,

gibb

ous

moo

n, w

hite

co

unte

nanc

e. In

deed

, all

the

usua

l ing

redi

ents

whi

ch d

escr

ibe

the

mod

ern

ghos

t and

whi

ch

appe

ar in

Cat

herin

e C

row

e’s T

he N

ight

Sid

e of

Nat

ure11

(184

8).

Follo

win

g th

e em

erge

nce o

f Spi

ritua

lism

in th

e USA

and

Euro

pe (I

nglis

197

7:20

4; F

inuc

ane

1982

:178

), th

ere

was

a ri

se in

pop

ular

ity o

f par

lour

gam

es li

ke ta

ble-

tippi

ng (W

eath

erly

&

Mas

kyle

ne 1

891:

182;

Blu

m 2

007:

20),

whi

ch g

aine

d m

omen

tum

thro

ugho

ut th

e ni

nete

enth

ce

ntur

y in

priv

ate

hom

es a

nd g

athe

rings

acr

oss t

he d

evel

oped

wor

ld. O

f cou

rse

Gho

sts fi

nd

thei

r way

into

mor

e fo

rmal

ised

ent

erta

inm

ents

, not

leas

t of w

hich

are

the

sort

of th

eatri

cal

pres

enta

tions

of t

he p

erio

d su

ch a

s Dr.

Pepp

er’s

Gho

st a

nd o

ther

stag

e m

agic

and

illu

sion

s. B

row

n’s S

pect

ropi

a of

186

4 w

as a

n ex

traor

dina

rily

popu

lar p

ublic

atio

n cr

eate

d as

a m

eans

to

scie

ntifi

cally

deb

unk

ghos

t-see

ing

and

supe

rstit

ion.

The

pam

phle

t use

d co

lour

theo

ry an

d op

tics t

o cr

eate

vis

ions

of p

hant

oms t

o or

der.

In a

dditi

on t

o th

e co

nsid

erat

ion

of t

he i

mag

e of

the

gho

st f

rom

his

toric

al, l

itera

ry a

nd

anec

dota

l so

urce

s, th

ere

is a

lso

the

impa

ct o

f te

chno

logi

cal

influ

ence

s on

the

sub

ject

. W

ith th

e ad

vent

of s

pirit

pho

togr

aphy

in A

mer

ica,

fam

ousl

y ex

ploi

ted

by W

illia

m M

umle

r (C

lout

ier 2

004)

in B

osto

n in

the

1860

s, th

e ic

onog

raph

y se

en w

as re

info

rced

and

add

ed to

. C

lear

ly th

e pr

oduc

tion

and

rece

ptio

n of

thes

e im

ages

has

a g

reat

dea

l to

do w

ith lo

ss a

nd

mou

rnin

g. It

is n

o su

rpris

e th

at th

ose

bere

aved

by

the

carn

age

of th

e A

mer

ican

Civ

il W

ar,

early

dea

ths

beca

use

of d

isea

se a

nd th

e hi

gh in

fant

mor

talit

y ra

tes

of th

e pe

riod,

wou

ld

leap

at t

he o

ppor

tuni

ty to

reta

in so

me

vest

ige

of th

eir l

oved

and

lost

one

s. N

ot su

rpris

ingl

y M

umle

r m

ade

a fo

rtune

with

his

ver

y cl

early

fak

ed im

ages

, onl

y to

lose

it a

ll in

cos

tly

and

dam

agin

g lit

igat

ion

that

exp

osed

the

frau

d (C

lout

ier 2

004:

22).

How

ever

, the

se im

ages

cl

early

brin

g to

geth

er t

he a

bidi

ng a

nd p

erva

sive

ide

as s

urro

undi

ng t

he a

ppea

ranc

e an

d di

spos

ition

of g

host

s tha

t had

bee

n bu

ildin

g at

leas

t sin

ce th

e ea

rly m

oder

n pe

riod

(Har

vey

2007

:49)

.

The

Fello

ws

had

an o

ppor

tuni

ty d

urin

g th

is s

essi

on t

o ut

ilise

vin

tage

pho

togr

aphi

c eq

uipm

ent p

rese

nt at

Mild

red’

s Lan

e, in

ord

er to

mak

e aut

hent

ic ti

n-ty

pe p

hoto

grap

hs u

sing

th

e sa

me

tech

niqu

es a

vaila

ble

to M

umle

r for

the

man

ufac

ture

of h

is sp

irit-p

hoto

grap

hs. W

e w

ere

luck

y to

hav

e th

e te

chni

cal e

xper

tise

in p

hoto

grap

hy p

rovi

ded

by C

orey

Rid

dell

and

the d

esig

n sk

ills o

f Nat

alie

Wilk

in, w

ho h

elpe

d to

stag

e-m

anag

e and

com

pose

thes

e im

ages

. Fu

rther

, the

pho

togr

aphi

c pr

ojec

t gav

e us

the

oppo

rtuni

ty to

ena

ct a

nd e

mbo

dy so

me

of th

e tro

pes t

hat w

e ha

d en

coun

tere

d in

vis

ualis

ing

ghos

ts d

raw

n fr

om th

e m

ater

ial t

hat i

nfor

med

th

e se

min

ar se

ssio

ns a

nd sc

reen

ings

.

In th

inki

ng a

bout

gho

sts i

n th

e co

ntex

t of a

rt (n

ot si

mpl

y as

subj

ect b

ut a

lso

we

are

min

ded

to c

onsi

der c

onte

mpo

rary

pra

ctic

e its

elf)

we

are

rem

inde

d of

the

fam

ous s

peec

h by

Mar

cel

Duc

ham

p in

195

7 on

The

Cre

ativ

e Ac

t. H

ere,

con

trove

rsia

lly a

t th

e tim

e, D

ucha

mp

cons

ider

s tha

t the

Arti

st (t

he m

odel

cle

arly

bei

ng h

imse

lf) b

ehav

es ra

ther

in th

e m

anne

r of

a sp

iritu

alis

t med

ium

, in

that

he

is la

rgel

y un

cons

ciou

s of

his

act

ions

whi

lst i

n th

e ac

t of

mak

ing

art.

He

is m

erel

y a

chan

nel t

hrou

gh w

hich

art

beco

mes

, som

ewhe

re in

bet

wee

n an

in

tent

ion

and

a re

alis

atio

n. W

hat c

ompl

etes

the

wor

k if

we

acce

pt th

e dy

nam

ic, i

s th

e ro

le

and

enga

gem

ent t

hat t

he v

iew

er b

rings

to w

hat m

ay b

e co

nsid

ered

a re

latio

nal e

xcha

nge,

w

here

a d

isco

urse

can

be

ente

red

into

. Und

er th

ese

circ

umst

ance

s the

wor

k is

not

a p

uzzl

e to

be

solv

ed a

nd it

doe

sn’t

nece

ssar

ily h

ave

a m

essa

ge, o

r a s

peci

fic m

eani

ng. R

athe

r it i

s a

trans

actio

nal v

ehic

le th

at w

hils

t it h

as a

con

text

, als

o ac

cum

ulat

es ‘l

ayer

s of

dis

cour

se’

thro

ugh

repe

ated

inte

rpre

tatio

n an

d re

-inte

rpre

tatio

n fr

om d

iffer

ent p

ersp

ectiv

es. N

ot u

nlik

e co

nven

tiona

l hau

ntin

gs in

gho

st st

orie

s and

not

unl

ike

the

dyna

mic

at w

ork

in e

stab

lishi

ng

our T

axon

omy.

The

cha

lleng

e fo

r thi

s gr

oup

of M

ildre

d’s

Lane

Fel

low

s w

as to

enc

ount

er

and

to b

egin

an

iden

tifica

tion

of t

he m

any

trope

s su

rrou

ndin

g gh

osts

as

they

app

eare

d w

ithin

our

sour

ces a

nd to

dra

w th

e th

read

s tog

ethe

r fro

m th

e m

ater

ial i

n an

atte

mpt

to b

oth

unde

rsta

nd a

nd to

inte

rpre

t the

ir m

eani

ng. T

here

is a

lread

y a

huge

and

bur

geon

ing

body

of

liter

atur

e de

alin

g w

ith s

uch

aspe

cts

of g

host

s as

cul

tura

l ent

ities

, but

man

y ar

e fo

cuse

d on

so

ciol

ogic

al a

nd a

nthr

opol

ogic

al a

naly

ses.

Hith

erto

we

have

yet

to s

ee a

sim

ilar

brea

dth

in t

he c

ritic

al a

ppro

ache

s12 t

o th

e su

bjec

t be

yond

dis

cuss

ions

of

icon

ogra

phy.

Per

haps

th

is m

odes

t wor

k, th

e re

sult

of a

ser

ies

of d

iscu

ssio

ns, d

ebat

es, t

he s

harin

g of

idea

s an

d sp

ecul

atio

ns, m

akes

a sm

all c

ontri

butio

n to

that

dis

cour

se.

Rob

ert W

illia

ms a

nd H

ilmar

Sch

äfer

Ju

ne 2

013

11

For

exa

mpl

e, V

ol.1

has

cha

pter

hea

ding

s tha

t ide

ntify

the

hist

ory

and

the

diffe

rent

sp

ecie

s of u

ncan

ny e

xper

ienc

e: O

racl

es; a

ltere

d st

ates

; dre

ams;

war

ning

s; tr

ance

; wra

iths;

do

ppel

gäng

ers;

app

ariti

ons;

pre

sent

imen

ts. T

he li

st is

itse

lf an

ech

o o

f the

con

tent

s and

de

scrip

tions

of s

uper

natu

ral c

ateg

orie

s in

Aub

rey’

s 169

6 M

isce

llani

es. R

eprin

ted

in Jo

hn

Buc

hana

n-B

row

n (e

d). 1

972.

Joh

n Au

brey

: Thr

ee P

rose

Wor

ks. C

enta

ur.

12

Alth

ough

we

are

min

ded

to re

cogn

ise

the

sign

ifica

nce

and

influ

ence

of M

aria

Fu

sco’

s 201

0 an

thol

ogy

Who

is th

is W

ho is

Com

ing:

Insc

ript

ion

as m

etho

d in

co

ntem

pora

ry a

rt w

ritin

g as

a si

gnal

exa

mpl

e of

insi

ghtfu

l, cr

itica

l eng

agem

ent w

ith

both

the

subj

ect o

f Gho

sts a

nd A

rt w

ithin

a c

onte

xt o

f the

exa

min

atio

n of

mea

ning

and

in

terp

reta

tion

beyo

nd c

onve

ntio

nal f

orm

s of r

esea

rch

and

prac

tice.

The

task

for t

he M

ildre

d’s

Lane

Fel

low

s w

as to

look

at t

he tr

opes

, im

ager

y an

d na

rrat

ive

stru

ctur

es th

at s

hape

pop

ular

acc

ount

s of

gho

sts

in d

iver

se m

edia

. In

tryin

g to

mak

e se

nse

of th

e m

ater

ial a

nd to

gra

sp th

e re

latio

ns b

etw

een

diffe

rent

cul

tura

l for

mat

s, so

me

kind

of

orde

r ne

eded

to b

e es

tabl

ishe

d. A

taxo

nom

ic s

chem

a is

a w

ay o

f w

orld

mak

ing

whi

ch is

pr

edom

inan

tly p

ract

ised

in th

e na

tura

l sci

ence

s. It

requ

ires

an a

naly

tical

sta

nce

and

a hi

gh

degr

ee o

f abs

tract

ion.

Not

onl

y is

it a

use

ful t

ool i

n pu

tting

the

mat

eria

l int

o pe

rspe

ctiv

e, it

al

so cr

eate

s a v

isua

l and

ver

y co

mpe

lling

syst

em o

f rel

atio

nal n

etw

orks

. In

the e

xper

imen

tal

proc

ess

of d

evel

opin

g th

e Ta

xono

my,

we

not o

nly

had

the

oppo

rtuni

ty to

lear

n ab

out t

he

ingr

edie

nts

and

patte

rns

that

mak

e up

gho

st s

torie

s, bu

t we

wer

e al

so a

ble

to q

uest

ion

the

way

s kn

owle

dge

is o

rder

ed. I

n a

serie

s of

dis

cuss

ions

led

by H

ilmar

Sch

äfer

, Fou

caul

t’s

repo

rting

of B

orge

s’ C

hine

se E

ncyc

lopa

edia

in T

he O

rder

of T

hing

s (19

70) w

as a

foca

l poi

nt

to lo

ok a

t the

con

tinge

ncie

s of c

ateg

oriz

atio

n an

d to

ask

how

they

shap

e ou

r per

spec

tive

on

the

wor

ld. D

raw

ing

on th

e na

tura

l and

eve

n th

e so

cial

sci

ence

s w

hils

t mim

icki

ng th

em a

t th

e sa

me

time,

the

Taxo

nom

y re

mai

ns a

fanc

iful e

xerc

ise

that

righ

tly b

elon

gs to

the

real

m

of a

rt. In

man

y w

ays,

the

oppo

rtuni

ty w

ithin

the

dyna

mic

of t

he s

emin

ar d

iscu

ssio

ns w

as

anal

ogou

s with

the

telli

ng o

f gho

st st

orie

s the

mse

lves

.

It se

ems t

hat a

con

side

ratio

n of

the

narr

ativ

e st

ruct

ures

, pat

tern

s of b

ehav

iour

and

imag

ery

of g

host

ly t

rope

s of

fers

the

opp

ortu

nity

for

a p

artic

ular

ins

ight

int

o a

cons

tella

tion

of

cultu

ral m

ores

, bel

iefs

, exp

ecta

tions

, mod

es o

f thi

nkin

g an

d im

agin

ing.

Thi

s als

o pr

ovid

es

for t

he m

anife

stat

ion

of p

artic

ular

form

s of

soc

ial e

ngag

emen

t, w

hich

whi

lst s

uppo

sing

a

spiri

tual

or s

uper

natu

ral d

imen

sion

, may

spea

k ra

ther

mor

e of

idea

s con

cern

ing

the

limin

al,

mem

ory,

her

itage

, his

tory

and

con

tinui

ty. T

his i

s exp

ress

ed in

a ra

nge

of c

ultu

ral c

onte

xts:

re

ligio

usly

, soc

ially

, with

in a

sha

red

disc

ours

e; w

ithin

the

pop

ular

im

agin

atio

n, c

inem

a an

d te

levi

sion

(W

e ha

ve i

n m

ind,

for

exa

mpl

e, L

ivin

g TV

’s o

xym

oron

ic g

host

hun

ting

serie

s M

ost

Hau

nted

9 ) an

d w

ithin

bod

ies

of l

itera

ture

tha

t en

com

pass

iss

ues

of e

thic

s, ph

iloso

phy,

his

tory

, arc

haeo

logy

, sci

entifi

c en

quiry

, and

so

on. I

n m

any

way

s gh

osts

and

th

eir

narr

ativ

es m

edia

te b

etw

een

the

soci

al, t

he c

ultu

ral a

nd th

e pe

rson

al. T

here

is o

ften

a ra

nge

of c

onfli

ctin

g re

spon

ses

to e

ncou

nter

s w

ith g

host

s –

fear

and

dre

ad, a

mus

emen

t, in

trigu

e, la

ught

er a

nd th

e ab

surd

. The

opp

ortu

nity

for j

okes

is e

norm

ous –

we

are

rem

inde

d of

the

very

cel

ebra

ted

1762

Lon

don

haun

ting

‘Scr

atch

ing

Fann

y of

Coc

k La

ne’,

in te

rms o

f En

glis

h ba

wdy

hum

our t

his i

s a g

ift (G

olds

mith

. 176

2). I

ndee

d, in

stru

ctur

e th

e gh

ost s

tory

an

d th

e jo

ke m

ay b

e sa

id to

follo

w a

com

mon

traj

ecto

ry a

s par

t of a

n or

al fo

rm. T

hey

each

ha

ve a

bui

ld u

p, a

repe

ated

nar

rativ

e st

ruct

ure

and

of c

ours

e th

e pu

nch

line,

for e

xam

ple

‘… a

nd th

ere

was

nob

ody

ther

e…!’

Like

joke

s, gh

ost s

torie

s tak

e on

a li

fe o

f the

ir ow

n an

d ca

n tra

vel f

rom

loca

tion

to lo

catio

n, w

hils

t stil

l ret

aini

ng th

e fu

ndam

enta

l pat

tern

of

the

stor

y. In

deed

, if o

ne th

inks

of t

he o

ften

repo

rted

1971

cas

e of

The

Pha

ntom

Vic

ar o

f Rat

cliff

W

harf

whe

n a

haun

ting

was

del

iber

atel

y an

d m

etho

dica

lly m

anuf

actu

red,

we

can

see

how

su

ch n

arra

tives

are

pas

sed

on, e

mbr

oide

red

and

built

upo

n as

muc

h as

any

oth

er c

ultu

ral

disc

ours

e. T

he s

tory

was

pla

nted

by

Fran

k Sm

yth,

the

edi

tor

of t

he F

ront

iers

of

Belie

f se

ctio

n of

the

sem

inal

per

iodi

cal M

an, M

yth

and

Mag

ic (N

o. 1

05. 1

971)

as

an e

xper

imen

t (o

r hoa

x, fo

r tha

t mat

ter)

to s

ee w

heth

er it

cou

ld in

sert

itsel

f int

o th

e fo

lklo

re o

f the

are

a.

App

aren

tly it

did

unt

il Sm

yth

reve

aled

the

hoax

in T

he S

unda

y Ti

mes

in 1

97110

.

It m

ay b

e in

tere

stin

g to

sign

post

the

imag

e of

the

ghos

t em

ergi

ng fr

om su

ch c

onte

xts w

ithin

W

este

rn c

ultu

re –

alth

ough

in n

o w

ay is

this

an

atte

mpt

to o

ffer a

‘his

tory

’ of t

he s

ubje

ct

– th

at h

as b

een

deal

t with

adm

irabl

y of

late

by

Cla

rke

(201

2), A

ckro

yd (2

010)

and

Dav

ies

(200

7) fo

r exa

mpl

e; F

inuc

ane

(198

2), I

nglis

(197

7) a

nd M

aple

(197

7) b

efor

e th

em. W

ith

the

idea

of T

he G

host

as a

con

cept

that

exi

sts a

s an

in-b

etw

een

or li

min

al c

ateg

ory

it se

ems

that

we

are

pres

ente

d w

ith a

n op

portu

nity

to e

xplo

re it

s im

age

and

beha

viou

r si

gnifi

cant

in

the

popu

lar

imag

inat

ion

sinc

e at

leas

t the

mid

dle

ages

and

pro

babl

y be

fore

then

. The

fr

ontis

piec

e to

the

Engl

ish

trans

latio

n of

the

first

ded

icat

ed a

ntho

logy

of g

host

sto

ries

by

Lew

es L

avat

ar in

Eur

ope

datin

g fr

om 1

572,

list

ing

as it

doe

s the

rang

e of

phe

nom

enon

that

m

ight

be

thou

ght o

f as g

host

ly. D

espi

te th

e cl

ear r

elig

io-p

oliti

cal e

mph

asis

of t

he te

xt, t

his

9 F

or a

n ex

celle

nt d

iscu

ssio

n of

the A

mer

ican

equ

ival

ents

see A

lissa

Bur

ger.

2010

. C

h.12

:162

-174

. Gho

st H

unte

rs: S

imul

ated

par

ticip

atio

n in

tele

visu

al h

aunt

ings

. In

Mar

ía d

el P

inar

Bla

nco

and

Esth

er P

eere

n (e

ds).

Popu

lar G

host

s: T

he h

aunt

ed sp

aces

of

ever

yday

cul

ture

. Con

tinuu

m.

10

Sub

sequ

ently

the

even

t bec

ame

dram

atiz

ed in

a 1

977

epis

ode

of L

eap

in th

e D

ark,

In

the

Min

d’s E

ye, h

oste

d by

Col

in W

ilson

- Le

ap in

the

Dar

k. S

erie

s 3. N

o.6.

Feb

ruar

y 19

77.

Dis

Man

ibus

: A T

axon

omy

of G

host

s fro

m P

opul

ar F

orm

s

This

doc

umen

t em

erge

d as

a co

nseq

uenc

e of a

serie

s of w

orks

hops

, sem

inar

s and

dis

cuss

ions

w

hich

took

pla

ce d

urin

g th

e 20

12 M

ildre

d’s

Lane

ses

sion

for

Opu

s M

agnu

m:

Thea

trum

C

hem

icum

Bri

tann

icum

. For

the s

essi

on th

e the

me o

f Gho

sts a

nd G

host

-see

ing

was

sele

cted

as

a m

eans

to e

xten

d th

e di

scou

rse

surr

ound

ing

soci

al a

nd c

ultu

ral t

rope

s as

soci

ated

with

id

eas o

f the

lim

inal

to b

e fo

und

in su

bjec

ts e

ncom

pass

ing

alch

emy,

the

supe

rnat

ural

and

the

unca

nny.

A ra

nge

of p

opul

ar fo

rms

wer

e se

lect

ed b

y R

ober

t Will

iam

s dr

awn

from

Brit

ish

Tele

visi

on,

film

, an

d lit

erar

y gh

ost

stor

ies

from

the

cel

ebra

ted

Engl

ish

acad

emic

M.R

. Ja

mes

and

pre

sent

ed fo

r the

Fel

low

s of M

ildre

d’s L

ane

to c

onsi

der a

nd to

deb

ate.

Whi

lst t

he s

elec

tion

of th

e so

urce

mat

eria

l was

a p

erso

nal o

ne it

refle

cted

a b

road

sam

ple

of a

par

ticul

arly

Brit

ish

view

of t

he su

bjec

t for

con

side

ratio

n by

a la

rgel

y A

mer

ican

gro

up

of a

rtist

s. Th

is p

rovi

ded

an o

ppor

tuni

ty f

or a

diff

eren

t an

d nu

ance

d se

t of

refl

ectio

ns,

refe

renc

ing

as it

did

a p

artic

ular

ly ri

ch p

erio

d of

sup

erna

tura

l fict

ion

and

popu

lar i

nter

est

in th

e un

cann

y w

ithin

Brit

ish

cultu

re w

hich

foun

d its

apo

gee

in th

e la

te 1

960s

and

197

0s1 .

Dur

ing

this

per

iod,

for

exa

mpl

e, w

e fin

d re

-wor

king

s of

M.R

. Ja

mes

’ gh

ost

stor

ies

by

dire

ctor

Law

renc

e G

ordo

n C

lark

e2 , un

cann

y sc

reen

play

s by

writ

ers s

uch

as N

igel

Kne

ale3 ,

the

BB

C s

erie

s Le

ap i

n th

e D

ark

and

The

Min

d Be

yond

4 , th

e sc

hola

rly m

agaz

ine

Man

, M

yth

and

Mag

ic (C

aven

dish

(ed)

. 197

0-71

) and

wor

k by

writ

ers

such

as

Kin

gsle

y A

mis

5 (1

969)

, Col

in W

ilson

(197

1), D

enni

s Bar

dens

(196

5) a

nd P

eter

Und

erw

ood

(197

8).

All

of

whi

ch a

nd m

uch

mor

e (th

e lis

t is n

eith

er e

xhau

stiv

e or

com

preh

ensi

ve) s

erve

d to

est

ablis

h a

parti

cula

r un

cann

y fla

vour

to th

e de

cade

and

a h

alf

that

was

par

ticul

arly

for

mat

ive

for

Will

iam

s’ in

tere

sts a

nd a

rt pr

actic

e.

The

oppo

rtuni

ty fo

r a d

iscu

rsiv

e an

d co

mpa

rativ

e ex

erci

se th

at a

rose

as

a co

nseq

uenc

e of

th

ese

wor

ksho

ps a

nd s

cree

ning

s, al

low

ed f

or a

nua

nced

per

spec

tive

in e

stab

lishi

ng a

set

of

obs

erva

tions

and

dis

cuss

ions

that

gav

e ris

e to

our

Tax

onom

y. T

he s

trate

gy w

as to

trea

t cu

ltura

l gho

sts r

athe

r in

the

man

ner t

hat a

nat

ural

ist m

ight

trea

t diff

eren

t spe

cies

of i

nsec

t. Th

is w

as t

o m

ake

obse

rvat

ions

bas

ed o

n fo

r ex

ampl

e, a

ppea

ranc

e, b

ehav

iour

, ha

bita

t, lif

e-cy

cle,

con

text

and

so

on. T

his

stra

tegy

is n

ot u

niqu

e w

ith re

fere

nce

to th

e su

bjec

t, fo

r ex

ampl

e nin

etee

nth-

cent

ury

scie

ntifi

c res

earc

hers

beg

an to

cons

ider

the s

uper

natu

ral f

rom

a po

sitiv

ist s

tand

poin

t as p

heno

men

a w

hich

cou

ld b

e ob

serv

able

, mea

sura

ble

and

repe

atab

le.

Figu

res

such

as

Cro

okes

, th

e Si

dgw

icks

, M

yers

and

Gur

ney

in t

he U

nite

d K

ingd

om

and

Will

iam

Jam

es6 i

n th

e U

SA, a

pplie

d em

piric

al m

odel

s to

thei

r st

udie

s of

gho

sts

and

haun

tings

as t

houg

h th

ey w

ere

phys

ical

phe

nom

ena,

est

ablis

hing

thei

r tax

onom

ic sc

hem

as7

as a

con

sequ

ence

of r

epor

ted

anec

dota

l exp

erie

nce.

In m

any

resp

ects

the

foun

ding

of t

he

Soci

ety

for

Psyc

hica

l R

esea

rch

in L

ondo

n in

188

2 ha

s de

eply

infl

uenc

ed t

he w

ay t

hat

ghos

ts ar

e now

imag

ined

and

inte

rpre

ted

in o

ur so

ciet

y8 . Th

is m

ay b

e why

we e

ncou

nter

the

feat

ures

that

we

do w

ithin

a v

arie

ty o

f cul

tura

l for

ms

and

why

ther

e is

suc

h an

em

phas

is,

in th

e po

pula

r im

agin

atio

n at

leas

t, on

‘pr

ovin

g’ th

e ex

iste

nce

of g

host

ly p

heno

men

a vi

a co

nflic

ting

met

hods

and

stra

tegi

es t

hat

use

tech

nolo

gy, h

isto

ry a

nd a

rcha

eolo

gy o

n on

e ha

nd, a

nd th

roug

h m

ediu

msh

ip, s

éanc

es, a

nd d

ivin

atio

n an

d su

ch ‘

para

norm

al’ p

ract

ices

on

the

othe

r. Th

e ke

y pe

rhap

s is t

o re

cogn

ise

that

we

are

not d

ealin

g w

ith e

xter

nal e

ntiti

es,

rath

er th

at th

e ph

enom

enon

is c

ultu

ral,

open

to in

terp

reta

tion,

and

mor

eove

r, av

aila

ble

for

enga

gem

ent w

ith a

criti

cal a

naly

sis a

nd d

isco

urse

. Mor

e aki

n pe

rhap

s, to

enga

ging

with

and

disc

ussi

ng a

rt.

1 F

or e

xam

ple,

see

http

://w

ebsp

ace.

web

ring.

com

/peo

ple/

th/h

aunt

edtv

/inde

x.ht

m

ac

cess

ed 2

2.1.

13.

2 G

host

Sto

ries

for C

hris

tmas

: The

Defi

nitiv

e C

olle

ctio

n. 2

012.

Brit

ish

Film

Inst

itute

.3

The

Sto

ne T

ape.

197

2. B

east

s. 19

76.

4 S

ee Ir

ene

Shub

ik. 1

976.

The

Min

d Be

yond

: Sto

ries

from

Iren

e Sh

ubik

’s BB

C

Tele

visi

on se

ries

. Pen

guin

.5

Kin

gsle

y A

mis

. 196

9. T

he G

reen

Man

. Jon

atha

n C

ape

– la

ter a

199

6 fil

m a

dapt

atio

n by

Mal

colm

Bra

dbur

y st

arrin

g A

lber

t Fin

ney.

6 It

was

Will

iam

Jam

es’ b

roth

er, H

enry

Jam

es w

ho w

rote

one

of t

he m

ost u

nset

tling

G

host

Sto

ries e

ver,

The

Turn

of t

he S

crew

.7

For

exa

mpl

e, se

e Si

dgw

ick,

Ele

anor

; Joh

nson

, Alic

e; e

t al.

1894

. Rep

ort o

n th

e C

ensu

s of H

allu

cina

tions

. Pro

ceed

ings

of t

he S

ocie

ty fo

r Psy

chic

al R

esea

rch,

Vol

. X.

Lond

on8

For

furth

er e

xam

ples

see

e.g.

G. T

yrel

l 194

3:49

. C. I

I. C

hara

cter

istic

s of A

ppar

ition

s in

App

ariti

ons.

Duc

kwor

th.