Phrase guide

spirit photography

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like; a common practice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially using black-and-white photography and the technique of double exposure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: parapsychology, pseudoscience

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 靈異照片 /灵异照片 (língyì zhàopiàn) — the purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like
  • Finnish: haamukuvaus — the purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like
  • German: Geisterfotografie — the purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like
  • Japanese: 心霊写真 (shinrei shashin) — the purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like
  • Korean: 심령사진 (simnyeongsajin) — the purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like
  • Russian: спирити́ческая фотогра́фия (spiritíčeskaja fotográfija) — the purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like
  • Swedish: andefotografering — the purported art of taking photographs of the spirits of dead people, other spiritual entities, ectoplasm, auras, and the like