oa ‘Hidden Lanterns’ in fin-de-siècle France and Belgium. (Dis)Belief in Spiritualist Apparitions at the Fairground, Music Hall, and Artistic Cabaret

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By focusing on three popular fin-de-siècle ‘apparitions’, metempsychosis, serpentine dances, and ombres chinoises, this contribution unveils the complexity of fin-de-siècle illusionist spectacle in Belgium and France. By analyzing their ‘hidden lantern’ technology and iconography in relation to its historical context and reception, a complex ‘crisis of faith’ will be demonstrated. Even though Catholicism was by far the most popular religion in Belgium and France, spiritualism and occultist societies gained considerable popularity during the fin-de-siècle. By analyzing fin-de-siècle ‘phantasmagoric illusions’ performed by ‘hidden lanterns’ at various locations such as the fairground, theater, cabaret, and even the living room, this contribution demonstrates the complexity of spectatorship and (dis)belief(s).