Englishman William Hope worked as a carpenter until he realized that there were scams to be performed and money to be made in fooling grief-stricken individuals and families who were desperate for a supernatural sign that their deceased loved ones were at peace. By 1905, Hope's career in "spirit photography" was in full swing, as he shot portraits and double exposed the sitters with the "ghosts" of their family members.
Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a fan, and he wrote The Case for Spirit Photography in support of Hope’s duplicitous business. In the end, Hope's trickery was exposed in 1922. I know they're hoky, but there's still something unsettling and creepy about them to me. Read more about Hope and see the rest of this photo collection here.