History of Phantasmagoria

Phantasmagoria was a form of theater used to portray larger objects in a frightening way. The magic lantern helped to project these objects on to the walls of the theater to frighten the audience. the projector was able to move around the set, which allowed for objects to be in motion as well as changing in size. The concept was created in France around the middle of the 17th century by Athanasius Kircher and Christiaan Huygens, by the 19th century the device gained popularity around majority of theaters in Europe. Athanasius Kircher would use candle light and a concave mirror inside to illuminate the images on the screen. Christiaan Huygens created magic lantern by painting on glass slides. By the mid 19th century photography would be used as his technique would inspire generations towards motion picture projector. The first true Phantasmagoria show is believed to be in 1722 as a combination of seance tricks and special effects created by the magic lantern. This show created by Paul Philidor and was very successful in Europe at the time. In the age of Romanticism and Gothic characteristics such as a wide interest from the audience towards the realms of mystery and psychological understanding phantasmagoria became easily widespread around Europe for decades.