ABSTRACT
On the day before Christmas 1862, Professor John Henry Pepper delivered his 'Strange Lecture' at London's Royal Polytechnic Institution as part of the annual seasonal celebrations. Pepper's lecture, according to the Times, consisted of 'a series of the most wonderful optical delusions ever placed before the public' and culminated with a performance 'intended to illustrate Charles Dickens's idea of the haunted man'. Scrutinizing scientific performances has become an increasingly important focus of research in the history of science and Victorian performances have attracted particular attention in this respect. In June 1898 the scientific periodical Nature published an article on 'Science in the Theatre'. Scientific spectacle could be right at the heart of theatrical performance. Scientific topics themselves do not appear to have had a very significant role to play in nineteenth-century theatre.
