A century ago it was widely believed that the image of a killer was forever imprinted in the eyes of the victim. Sort of stamped on their retinas. This has been termed Optography and was a fiction staple in the 1800s and early 1900s. Of course, this isn’t the case. Not possible. Not yet, anyway but who knows what the future will hold.
However, in some situations a photo of the victim just might retain the killer’s image and this might be useful in tracking down the bad guy.
The Crime Fiction Writer's Blog 
Leslie S. Klinger
January 6, 2014 at 10:49 am
I love “optography” and wrote a long footnote about it in “The New Annotated Dracula.” In the manuscript, unfortunately excised from the published version, it is reported that the police will study the eyes of a dead dog mysteriously killed in Whitby (we know that Dracula himself was the killer).
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D.P. Lyle, MD
January 6, 2014 at 10:57 am
Too bad it was axed. It would have been a great addition to the manuscript. But editors do what editors do.
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Nina Kaytel
January 6, 2014 at 11:16 am
Well I learned something new.
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Susan Elizabeth (@SuebethSays)
January 6, 2014 at 3:24 pm
I’d never heard of Optography and now want to know more!
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Karen Tintori
January 7, 2014 at 10:43 am
Absolutely fascinating.
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