New-York tribune., 1921-10-30
Woman Is Driven to
Divorce and Death
BY 'Chost Picture
Believer in Spiritual
ism Takes Own Life After
Likeness of Husbands
First Wife Reappears

TOPEKA, Kan, Sept. 80 (By MaiD.
How a ghost picture" was the cause
of domestic separation and subse-
quent suicide, an example of the dis
turbing effect often produced by a
freak practice frequently engaged in
by professional photographers, is re-
lated in an article in "The Topeka
Daily Capital" F. G. Willard, pho
tographer, tells the following:
Early in his experience as pho
tographer, said Mr.. Willard, he was
working in big establishment in the
East which made a speciality of re-
touching and reprinting old photo
graphs or chromos
One day middle-aged Irish woman
came to the shop. AS was the custom
of the establishment, the manager
called the photographer, who was to
90 the work to talk to the woman and
ret IN mind exactly what she wanted
done.
She had been married recently. she
ald, TO an Irish ward politician whose
rst wife had been dead for some
nd high strung" All efforts TO get
good picture OF her husband had met
with Ill fortune, she complained What
sne wanted was copy of an earlier
photograph of her husband, which was
q remarkable Likeness of the way he
appeared in his most handsome days.
Arm Fastened to Brides Neck
There was one drawback. The early
n h tnty -t,- -..+1.
her husband had been married the
first time. In common with the pic
lures of that time it portrayed hand
some, mustached man standing stiffly
beside young woman with pompa-
doured hair and bell sleeves. His arm
was fastened about his brides neck.
with one of the old time brackets used
to obtain poses" by photographers.
She explained that she wanted the
bride removed, her husbands arm
brought back in front of him, with no
suggestion of enfolding another wom-
an in its embrace. However, she
couldn't afford to pay very much for
the work, she said
The photographer pondered a mo-
ment and decided to use chloride of
lime instead of formula of cyanide,
which is more expensive.
for you
He set to work and in few days
sent the woman very good print of
her husband-withou out the first bride
and with q new arm cleverly painted
into the picture in an attitude which
forbade the suggestion OF the original
caress -
In about six months he read with
astonishme ent that the woman had left
her husband, who later secured a di
vorce. Then, on the heels of the sep
aration and divorce, he read Of the
suicide of the woman.
He did not know for several weeks
what was the cause of the suicide
Then he saw the lrishman and asked
him about it.
at was all caused by that picture
you made for her" the politician ex-
planned. Fright after the picture was
made my wife became interested in
spiritualism. She attended seances,
talked with mediums and became excit-
able over the least suggestion of the
possibility Of creatures from another
world influencing those Of this one.
Believed She Was Coming Back
"Then one day she came screaming
into the living room and dragged me
into the parlor.
'Look,'' she cried, she's coming
backl She's coming back
Il looked and there on the picture
which reposed on the parlor easel was
the faint outline of another form sit
ting beside me.
every day she watched the picture.
It was uncanny. AS each day passed
the outline of my frst wife became
more distinguishabe. / sprouted an
other arm in the picture, which seemed
to reach out toward my first wife.
my wife declared it was a vista
tion Of the spirit of my first wife re-
turning from another world to point
out the sin of remarrlage.
"Well, matters went from had to
worse. As time passed the picture Of
my first wife became more plain, until
she seemed to be there beside me as
she was eefore the photograph was
changed.
my wife ran from one medium to
another. She tried to get them to talk
with my first wife, and ask her if she
times she tried to gather courage to
destroy the picture, but her fear of the
spirits possessed her so she couldn't.
Then ! took it into my own hands to
destroy the picture, but she wouldn't
allow me-
"'It's cursed, she said.
"Then she left me- After that it was
succession of weird spiritualstic
seances with her until she became un-
balanced on the subject. Time passed
and | obtained divorce.
"Then one night l learned that she
had been attending a seance, during
which she believed my first wife ap-
peared and condemned her for marry
ing me. As an upshot of this seance
she killed herself. That's the story
except that l burned the picture"