Johann Georg Schröpfer

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Johann Georg Schröpfer was a German showman, Freemason, and self-made “necromancer” who lived in the 18th century. He led ghost-seeing sessions that used tricks and special effects. These séances helped inspire later phantasmagoria shows that toured Europe.

What little is known about him is mixed and often doubtful. Schröpfer and his supporters said he had great powers, while his enemies said he was a fraud who made up stories about himself. He was baptized in 1738 in Nürnberg, and his family ran inns. His father later ran another inn but went bankrupt. Schröpfer’s past is full of contradictory claims: some stories say he served as a soldier, while autopsy records later showed no wounds or scars.

Schröpfer came to Leipzig in 1759 and worked at a hotel, then became a citizen in 1761 and a waiter. He married Johanna Katharina Herr in 1761, and they had children. In 1769 they bought a coffee house in a central part of town. The nearby era of hunger and debt did not help him, and his family’s finances were often tight. He lived a flashy life with his followers, sometimes drinking and spending.

He started his own lodge and called it “true Masonry.” He claimed to know the real secrets of Freemasonry and to be able to talk with spirits. He also claimed connections with English Freemasons, though those claims were not supported by them. He told many tall tales, including that he was a Catholic priest and the son of a French prince. Schröpfer often carried loaded pistols, saying he would shoot himself if he fell under evil spirits.

Schröpfer’s séances combined a mix of symbols from Freemasonry, Catholicism, and Kabbalah. The rituals took place in a dark room with a black altar, bells, holy water, incense, and crucifixes. A robed Schröpfer supposedly summoned three ghosts: a good white spirit, a neutral white spirit, and an evil brown-black spirit. The “ghosts” often appeared as pale, vapor-like figures with recognizable features and eerie cries. Onlookers swore they were real, and some even claimed they could hear voices from the spirits.

Over the years, many spirits were said to appear during his séances, including famous historical figures. People reported hearing strange sounds, such as a wet-sounding noise like fingers on glass. Schröpfer’s followers were sometimes asked questions, and the ghosts would allegedly answer.

In Dresden, Schröpfer staged a notable event where a spirit was asked to bring a message to a companion in Frankfurt. The spirit supposedly returned with an answer signed in Frankfurt. This and other feats made him famous and drew powerful listeners, including princes and nobles.

Schröpfer clashed with Leipzig’s established Freemason lodge, Minerva. He tried to recruit members and stirred controversy by claiming he possessed true secrets of the craft. The lodge’s leaders warned him and even sought help from powerful patrons. In 1773 he distributed a pamphlet that claimed the lodge’s secrets and warned that more would be revealed, which led to political pressure and a confrontation in which Karl von Sachsen ordered his arrest. Accounts differ on what happened, but Schröpfer was punished in some reports, fled Leipzig, and later appeared in Dresden under a fake name.

After a time Schröpfer returned to Leipzig and continued to mix with nobles and clergy. He also became involved in a major scam. A Saxon minister, Friedrich von Wurmb, was persuaded that Schröpfer could access a treasure—securities and a royal patent—that would bring huge wealth to Saxony. Large sums were advanced, but the treasure packages opened in Leipzig contained mostly worthless papers, boxes of sand and other junk. Schröpfer was not there, and many believed the whole thing was a deliberate swindle. The affair touched high places, and even Karl von Sachsen was somehow drawn into it.

Shortly after this, Schröpfer and a small group walked into the Rosenthal forest early one morning. He wrote farewell letters, gave companions sealed notes, and then some heard a shot. His body was found and autopsied the same day, and he was buried quietly. Whether his death was suicide, murder, or something else remains debated. Some witnesses suggested he had been killed or helped to die; others thought he used a dramatic occult exit. The episode was never fully explained, and many people kept secrets to protect those involved.

Schröpfer’s name lived on. His methods and claims sparked debate about magic, illusion, and the power of belief. He became a symbol of ghost-raising and the kind of stage magic that later moved into phantasmagoria shows in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Publications and stories about his life appeared across Europe, and the idea of conjuring spirits influenced writers and performers, including connections believed to inspire later works of art and fiction.