Editing Magic lantern (section)

==Phantasmagoria==
{{main|Phantasmagoria}}
[[File:1867 interpretation of Robertson's Fantasmagorie.jpg|thumb|Interpretation of Robertson's Fantasmagorie from F. Marion's ''L'Optique'' (1867)]]
Phantasmagoria was a form of horror theater that used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, especially of ghosts. Showmen used rear projection, mobile or portable projectors and a variety of effects to produce convincing [[necromancy|necromantic]] experiences. It was very popular in Europe from the late 18th century to well into the 19th century.<ref name="Heard2006"/>

It is thought that optical devices like concave mirrors and the camera obscura have been used since antiquity to fool spectators into believing they saw real gods and spirits,<ref name="Heard2006">{{cite book|last=Heard|first=Mervyn|title=Phantasmagoria: The Secret History of the Magic Lantern|publisher=The Projection Box|location=Hastings, England|date=2006|isbn=9781903000120}}</ref> but it was the magician [[Paul Philidor|"physicist" Phylidor]] who created what must have been the first true phantasmagoria show. He probably used mobile magic lanterns with the recently invented [[Argand lamp]]<ref name="Grau">{{cite book|authorlink=Oliver Grau|last=Grau|first=Oliver|chapter=Remember the Phantasmagoria!|title=MediaArtHistories|publisher=MIT Press/Leonardo Books|date=2007}}</ref>{{rp|144}} to create his successful {{lang|de|Schröpferischen, und Cagliostoischen Geister-Erscheinungen}} (Schröpfer-esque and Cagiostro-esque Ghost Apparitions)<ref>Phylidor. ''Schröpferischen, und Cagliostoischen Geister-Erscheinungen'' flyer. 1790.</ref> in Vienna from 1790 to 1792. Phylidor stated that his show of perfected apparitions revealed how charlatans like [[Johann Georg Schröpfer]] and [[Cagliostro]] had fooled their audiences. As "Paul Filidort," he presented his ''Phantasmagorie'' in Paris From December 1792 to July 1793, probably using that term for the first time. As "Paul de Philipsthal," he performed ''Phantasmagoria'' shows in Britain beginning in 1801 with great success.<ref name= Rossell2001>{{cite conference|url=https://www.academia.edu/4609248|title=The 19th Century German Origins of the Phantasmagoria Show|last=Rossell|first=Deac|year=2001|conference=The Lantern Projections Colloquium|location=The British Academy, London}}</ref><ref>''Affiches, annonces et avis divers''. 1793-07-23</ref>

One of many showmen who were inspired by Phylidor, [[Etienne-Gaspard Robert]] became very famous with his own ''Fantasmagorie'' show in Paris from 1798 to 1803 (later performing throughout Europe and returning to Paris for a triumphant comeback in Paris in 1814). He patented a mobile "Fantascope" lantern in 1798.<ref name=Heard2006/>