William Mumler- The Spirit Photographer

In the Victorian world, technology and spiritualism worked hand in hand. Spiritualist enthusiasts looked to new discoveries to shed light on the unknown, or fool the gullible. Typifying both sides of this phenomenon is Willliam H. Mumler, the spirit photographer. Mumler is the sort of historic character that cries out to be made into a Victoriana NPC.

In the 1860’s Mumler produced portraits of his subjects accompanied by the spirits of deceased loved ones. Originally a jeweler, he became a full-time photographer after developing a self-portrait with what appeared to be the spirit of his dead cousin in the picture. He soon became famous as a “Spirit Photographer”, and took numerous commissions from the grieving relatives of Civil War casualties.

In 1869 he was brought to court for fraud. He was acquitted but enough evidence was brought forth to ruin his reputation.

Nothing needs to be changed to bring Mumler into a Victoriana campaign. If Mumler is a conman there are some interesting stories to tell. The player character’s may need to discredit him, or something is accidentally caught in one of Mumler’s photos and he needs the player’s help to save his neck, but the stories really start flowing if Mumler is a genuine spirit photographer.

Mumler’s Methods
The method Mumler uses to photograph the dead will change the way he is used as an NPC.

If he is a genuine medium he has some Magnetic ability. He could simply able to use a variation of the ability “See the Supernatural”, with a +3 difficulty to be able to capture the spirits he sees in a photo.

Perhaps he has to add special ingredients to his developing process. The collodion mixture he uses to make photographic plates, may have an entheogen (a drug used in religious rituals) mixed in. The fumes of the collodion and the extracts of an Amazonian vine may put Mumler in a trance like state when he takes his spirit photographs.

Since Undead Creatures do not show up in mirrors backed with silver or photographs, the silver nitrate the photo plate is dipped in may have some other additive to make it usable for living and unliving subjects.

Mumler may have no magical abilities or processes. Maybe his camera lens is a scrying glass, a seer stone, or a material that give his camera the ability to photograph beyond the physical plane. He may not understand how it works, or even what is going on.

If a near overdose of irony is acceptable, maybe his photographs are faked. They are simply double exposures, but Mumler is a necromancer and he uses the reanimated corpses of the departed to make his fakes.
This is a bit overcomplicated, but he may need money badly or he learned a flawed raising spell so the process of photographing the dead may be how he gains control over them. Maybe the act of taking a picture of their corpse really is stealing the departed’s soul. This could make the undead portrait sessions very dangerous.

Stats:
William H. Mumler (Spirit Photographer)
Physical: 6 Initiative: 7
Mental: 9 Health: 8
Social: 8 Quintessence: 17
Complications: Bad Reputation
Damage: Punch (3),

Possible Special Traits:
Entropy 3
Clairvoyant or Spiritualist (See the Supernatural and one other ability)
Necromancy (Raise Lesser Undead, Requietum, and Séance)
Huckster+2, Photography Enthusiast +2