Wheeling UFO?

AAAAHHHH!!! Is that an....unidentified flying object?  Back in mid-September of this year, this photo was making its rounds on Facebook, particularly among groups dealing with West Virginia-related paranormal phenomena.  It seems as if it was uploaded by a user named 'Phil T. Rich,' and was allegedly taken in the Highlands area of Wheeling, WV by the father of Phil's unnamed friend.  It ended up being shared by another person to the WV Mutual UFO Network Facebook page.

The photo was shared to my personal Facebook page by a friend and before I even had a chance to SEE it, the mystery had been solved!  Unfortunately for those in the ufology community, this picture IS too good to be true. 

Les O'Dell of WV Cryptids and Strange Encounters shared the photo on his page and almost immediately a sharp-eyed fan named Rebecca Slaughter Boyer was able to debunk it!  As it turns out, there wasn't a mother ship flying over Wheeling, WV.  Instead, the image of the giant UFO comes from a smart phone app called Camera 360.  The image featured here goes by the title of 'End of the War--Starship.' 

Same UFO

The semi-cloaked appearing UFO has been showing up in photographs since at least 2015 (according to this article on Above Top Secret) and can trace its origins back to a composite art piece by Jukka Korhonen called "V for Victory."

As we enter into the spooky season, be prepared to see a LOT more of these phone app hoaxes featuring ghosts, UFOs and other creepy critters flooding social media.  It seems like each October, people try to scare the crud out of their friends and family members with these smart phone apps and many of those photos ended up being posted under the assumption that they are the real deal.  If you are presented with a paranormal photo that seems too good to be true and you suspect it may be a ghost app, there's a couple of great sites featuring a database of ghost app images and information.  Two of my favorites are:  1. There's a (ghost) App For That and 2. Ghost App Ghosts. 

Hope you're having a wonderfully spooky week so far! Keep checking back for new blogs every day throughout October, and don't be afraid to keep your eyes on the skies---just because this particular image isn't an actual UFO doesn't mean that they aren't out there....