Paranormal Picture Study

Flash Used

No Flash Used
Low-light/Night Setting Used

Hey, spooky friends! I thought for today's blog post I'd do something a little different. As part of my commitment to do a few more educational-type posts concerning paranormal investigating and paranormal theory, I wanted to share a set of photographs that I personally took on a recent investigation. 

The subject of the photo is Spectral Research and Investigation's own investigator and co-videographer, Beth. Beth is hooked up to a set of headphones, connected to an SB-10 spirit box and is actively engaged in a modified Estes Method of communication. She cannot see or hear the rest of the team, who was asking various questions of the resident spirit of this particular location. She is simply listening to the frequencies being scanned and responding to what she hears. 

While this was going on, we did have some interesting responses that seemed to answer direct questions, and some information did come through that seemed to mesh with what we knew of the history of the location. As part of the documentation process (we were also videoing the session) I took two photographs of Beth, back to back.

I didn't use anything fancy; just my Google Pixel 6a phone. The two photos were taken approximately 30 seconds or so apart, but as you can see, they look quite different. I just recently got this phone, so I was playing with the different picture settings to see how they looked. The top photo was taken with the flash on.

The bottom photo was taken without the flash, but used my phone's night setting, which I'm really impressed with! But, you'll notice that in this photo, there seems to be a strange light anomaly behind Beth's chair, and a hazy figure, almost standing behind her. If you zoom in, you can even make out a face.

Pictures like this are unfortunately misidentified as paranormal all the time. I would have loved to have caught something anomalous, but the truth is, that spooky haze and light anomaly has a perfectly logical explanation. When the night or low-light setting on a camera (or camera phone) is used, you're going to have a long exposure, or long shutter speed. While the photo was being taken, one of our investigators (Beth's husband, Michael!) walked into the shot and back out. The light anomaly is his flashlight, which you can see is illuminating the ground. 

It only took half a second for him to walk through the shot, leaving a ghostly impression. I've seen this kind of shot fool plenty of people, especially when taking photos with a camera/phone that they may not be super familiar with. It's easy to get confused on what settings are being used, and it's even easier to get confused about one's surroundings. Time and time again, we hear the photographer of these types of photos swear that no one else was around. Most of these people are being sincere; they truly don't remember anyone else being near the shot, but witnesses are not infallible. When we're focusing on photographing a subject, we're usually not paying much attention to what is going on around us. And as fast as this can happen, we might not even realize it. 

Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to compare these two pictures and let you all see just how easy it is to capture something that APPEARS anomalous, but is actually a pretty common misidentification. If you get the chance, take out your own camera/phone and just play around a little with different settings, and what happens when the camera is bumped/moved or when someone walks through the frame during long exposure times. It's a neat little experiment that will help you more quickly and easily identify those ghost photos that might just be a little too good to be true! 

The Electric Chair Ghost

Happy Weird Wednesday! Today, we'll be looking at an alleged ghost photo with a REALLY WEIRD story behind it. I mean, all alleged ghost photos are inherently weird, but there's just something rather intriguing about this one and the potential explanations behind it. Without further ado...

In the autumn of 1983, Watford, UK resident, Karen Collett, took a daytrip to London with her family. While traveling the Bakerloo Line of the London Underground, her young nephew asked her to snap a photo of him. She complied, and thought nothing more of it, until several months later. When she finally got that roll of film developed, she didn't even take a look at them before handing them off to her father and her sister's boyfriend to peruse. As the two men were going through the photos, Karen says she heard her dad say something along the lines of, 'well, that isn't very nice.' She asked what he meant, and he showed her the photo in question. 

Behind her nephew was the VERY clear image of a man in an electric chair, complete with little blue lightning bolts flying from his fingers. Obviously, Karen nor her family remember seeing the image in or outside of the moving subway train while the photo was being taken, and could not explain how the image got there. In an effort to uncover the mystery, the photo and negatives were sent to a couple of different people for analysis. 

Maurice Grosse of the Society for Psychical Research examined the photo and made a rather...shocking...discovery (see what I did there?).  The image in the photo was an exact replica of an exhibit in Madame Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors, located in the wax museum's London location. The man portrayed in the exhibit is Bruno Hauptmann. Hauptmann was found guilty in the kidnapping and death of the Lindberg baby. Hauptmann was sentenced to death for these alleged crimes, and was electrocuted by electric chair on April 3, 1936 in Trenton, New Jersey. 

The question then arises as to WHY would a man executed nearly 50 years before in another country show himself to a young family on the London Underground? Robert Cox believes he has the answer. Cox, who worked for the National Museum of Photography, Film, and Television, examined the photo and the negatives and concluded that the amateur camera was so cheap and so simple that any sort of photo manipulation or trickery could be ruled out.  However, Cox believes the answer behind the 'ghost' in the photo is a simple misidentification. He believes that the image is a poster or advertisement of some kind!

Hauptmann Wax Figure

Mystery solved, right? Maybe, but maybe not. When Maurice Grosse investigated the matter further, he found that advertisements would have only been located in various stations, not in the trains themselves, nor along the line. Also, when Madame Tussaud's was contacted, they claimed that they never had any advertising campaigns featuring that particular image. To me, that doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility of a poster/advertisement. My first thought was that a local band used the altered image as a flyer to advertise an upcoming show. If something like that was the case, Madame Tussaud's wouldn't know about it and it could have been put up in the train or outside of it without the permission/knowledge of the Underground. 

There's an interesting postscript to this story that may offer further insight. Karen states later on, she accompanied a friend to a psychic reading. After the friend's reading, the psychic came out and said that he had a message for Karen. She was flabbergasted, since she wasn't there for a reading, and didn't know of anyone on the other side that may have a message for her. The psychic stated that the message concerned her photo and that there was a man who wanted to say, "I'm accused of something I didn't do." Interestingly, recent investigation into the Lindberg kidnapping case suggests that Hauptmann might actually be innocent. 

This isn't your typical photo with a 'ghost' in it. It's a photo seemingly with the ghost of a wax figure in it, or perhaps even the ghost of a poster of a wax figure??  And further, what's more mysterious than HOW the image got into the photo is WHY. If the spirit of Bruno Hauptmann wanted to clear his name, why use an image of his wax likeness to communicate to a seemingly random woman in another country? Why not manifest as himself...his non-wax self? Anyway, if you have any insights on this weird photo, let me know in the comments below, or join us over on Theresa's Haunted History Facebook.  Stay spooky, ya'll! 

Want MORE ghost stories from the London Underground? Check out the awesome 2005 documentary, Ghosts on the Underground, available to view free at YouTube. Most of the information for this post came from this documentary!

Eleanor Cooper's Ghost

On January 28, 2012, Stuart Cheveralls and his partner Natalie visited London's Dominion Theater. They were there to see the We Will Rock You show, and after settling into their seats to wait for the show to start, Stuart used his iPhone 4 to snap a quick selfie of himself and Natalie.

While going over the pictures the next day, Stuart noticed that he and Natalie weren't alone! At the time of the photo, the couple was sitting at the end of a row of seats. The two seats directly behind them were unoccupied---they'd be filled later on by two men who arrived late to the show. But what showed up in the photo was definitely not an empty seat, nor was it a dude arriving late to the show!

What Stuart saw made the hair on his arms stand up. What showed up directly between him and Natalie was the ghostly pale image of a young girl! Intrigued, Stuart began doing some research on the theater, and found that it had a haunted reputation.

The Dominion Theater was built atop the site of the old Meux Brewery. On October 17, 1814, tragedy struck when a vat of beer burst. Over 3500 barrels of liquid were released, collapsing a wall and part of the roof, and reigning terror among the nearby citizens.  One of those citizens was a 14 year old girl named Eleanor Cooper who was a servant of Richard Hawes.

According to the British Library's Untold Lives Blog, "Richard Hawes gave evidence at the coroner’s inquest held on Wednesday19 October that he was in the tap room of the Tavistock Arms at 5.30pm on the previous Monday when he heard a crash. The back part of his house was beaten in and everything in his cellar destroyed. Beer was pouring into his pub and across the street. Eleanor Cooper was in the yard washing pots and her body was dug out from the ruins nearly three hours later. She was found standing by the water butt."

In total, 8 people lost their lives, many of them children. It's no wonder that staff and visitors to the Dominion Theater have reported the phantom sounds of a giggling child and the apparition of a brew-master! But the big question is...

Does this photo really show a ghost and if so, is it the ghost of Eleanor Cooper? Although Stuart claims that there was no trickery involved, many people don't agree. What about you? Do you think this is the real deal, or not?


Source:
Matthew Tucker: 'Theatre Ghost Picture Is Real' Insists Photographer Stuart Cheveralls - Are You Convinced?  (HuffPost, 31 October 2012)

Throwback Thursday: 2016 Mothman Photos

On November 20, 2016, a man driving down Route 2 in the Point Pleasant area spotted something strange in the trees. He pulled over, grabbed his phone, and snapped several pictures. 

The cryptozoological and paranormal world was delighted when a local television station, WCHS, ran the story the next day. Although he turned down an on-camera interview with reporter Fallon Pierson, the man who took the photos shown above swore that they were not doctored in any way.  And, due to the close proximity of Pt. Pleasant, WV and the fact that the creature looks slightly humanoid with long legs bent at an angle, many assumed that Mothman had returned to the area, almost 50 years to the day of his original sightings in Pt. Pleasant.

It's really fun to think that West Virginia's most famous cryptid has made a return and the proof was caught on camera. However, almost immediately, some very knowledgeable people presented some logical explanations. For example, many believe that this is a large bird of prey, possibly a type of owl. The 'legs' that make the creature appear humanoid are actually caused by a snake being held in the bird's talons. 

To me, that explanation makes the most sense...but there's another theory that emerged that I actually find kind of comical---intriguing, but definitely amusing to look at!  That theory states that the man who captured the anomalous photos managed to capture a rare moment when a bald eagle (or similar bird) was flying upside down!  There have been documented cases of eagles briefly flying in this manner, as evidenced by the photos below by Pam Mullins.

No matter what caused these strange photos, it was definitely a really fun thing to see covered by the local news, who also consulted Jeff Wamsley at the Mothman Museum and other Pt. Pleasant locals and visitors for input.  ( The video segment can be found here on YouTube .) I certainly followed the story as it was developing at the time, but never got around to blogging about it, until now. The reason why I chose now as the right time was because for some strange reason, this past week or so, I have stumbled across those photos above no less than 5 times! I thought that must be a sign to finally give this crazy, wacky story a place of its own at Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State! Stay spooky, stay weird, and keep your eyes to the skies---you never know what you might see!

Photo Fright Bite: Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthplace

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Today is a day to reflect on the words of Dr. King, and a day to remember how his message of peace and equality is still being fought for today. However, I'd like to take a brief moment from the serious tone of the day to share a fun photo!

The photo on the left was submitted to the Angels and Ghosts website by a contributor named Miya and became that site's Ghost Photo of the Month for February 2006.

It depicts the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and seems to show a strange, unexplained light anomaly in front of the home where King spent the first 12 years of his life.

The home, located 501 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta Georgia, was originally built in 1895. In 1909, the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church bought the property and moved his family in. Rev. Adam Daniel Williams, along with his wife, Jennie Celeste, raised their young daughter, Alberta Christine, in the home.

On November 25, 1926, Alberta Christine married Michael Luther King. She and her new husband continued to live in the family home, raising three children there, including Martin Luther King, Jr., originally named Michael Luther King, who was born in 1929. The family stayed in the home until the deaths of both Williams and his wife.

Today, the home is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. Guided tours are available of the home, free of charge, and from what I can tell there are no ghost stories or paranormal activity associated with the home itself, despite several documented deaths occurring in the house. At least, there are no published reports of a haunting.  So, what could this anomaly be? Is it simply a camera malfunction? A reflection? Or did the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. reach out to a visiting family?

Theresa's Note: I personally don't think this photo is indicative of paranormal activity. There are a number of natural explanations that could account for the light anomaly, including the photo being taken through glass, such as car window, or it being a reflection from taking a photo of the original photo. There's also a noticeable finger or other object that creeped in front of the lens; the rest of the light anomaly may also be something physical that got too close to the lens, such as fiber or plant fluff. Either way, its a fun picture of an important subject matter...I just don't think it's paranormal. But, if you disagree, let me know why in the comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

More Info:
Angels and Ghosts
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Park

2017 Ghost Tour Photo

Original Photo by Melissa Stanley, HPIR

Last Saturday, Huntington Paranormal hosted Haunted and Historic Guyandotte's Cemetery, River and Rail Tour. Despite the bad weather, we had a great turnout! Plenty of people braved the cold and the rain for a chance to learn a little about Guyandotte's haunted history and to possibly see a ghost!

Unfortunately, I don't believe anyone saw anything paranormal that night...at least with the naked eye. However, when our President and Tour Creator, Melissa Stanley checked through her photos from that night, one in particular caused her to do a double take! Behind one of our historic re-enactors there appears to be a hazy white humanoid shape. If you look closely, the shape seems to be walking behind our 'soldier,' almost in the same posture even. 

Below the original, (which is property of Melissa Stanley and may not be used without express written permission!) is a more zoomed in view. We're pretty sure our anomaly is nothing more than a combination of pareidolia and a light reflection from a nearby streetlamp....but I'd love to hear YOUR opinion!  Let me know down in the comments what you think. Is this photo easily explained away, or do you think it may actually show an otherworldly being wanting to be a part of the show?

This isn't the first strange photo that has been captured on our tours---and hopefully it won't be our last either! If you're interested in the chance to experience your own ghost and potentially capture some photographic evidence, make sure you keep up with the Haunted and Historic Guyandotte Tours Facebook page!

Cropped version, property of Melissa Stanley, HPIR

Ghost Photo Analysis: Staircase Apparition

This photo was recently posted to a Facebook paranormal interest group to which I belong. The original poster did not post any accompanying information on the photo, and as of 16 hours after the original posting, had not returned to answer any questions or pose any type of clarification.

When I'm perusing Facebook groups, I tend not to focus too much on the ghost pictures submitted by others. Most often, its just not worth it, lol. That sounds harsh, but its true. Either there is just not enough information or photo clarity to give a good, accurate analysis....or the photo is a natural glitch. Sometimes, the photo is outright fraudulent. These I hate the most because I'm one of those who believe that people are inherently good. I don't think the majority of people posting ghost app photos and other fraudulent photos and/or information are doing so maliciously. Rather, I think people have a tendency to find something cool on the internet and want to share. Unfortunately, some are the victims of pranks by friends who realize their gullibility.

I tend to think this photo is just one of those, 'Hey, cool! Look what I found!' photos. When I first scrolled by and paused, what caught my attention was that I knew I had seen this image somewhere before. Further, while looking at the photo, it certainly didn't look like an image taken with a camera---it had that look of 'film,' like it was a still shot from a movie.  A simple reverse-image search later, and I had my answer.

This image IS a still shot, and it was probably taken directly from the documentary, The Best Ghost Cases Ever Caught on Tape, which aired as a Fox TV special in the early 2000s. This show specializes in taking film footage of alleged ghosts, and explaining or debunking them. While I highly recommend watching the whole thing, I want to bring your attention to the clip at hand. If you fast forward to 26:16, you'll see the clip in question....and the confession that it is the product of a student filmmaker! Oh, and what looks like a robot ghost is actually the mist pausing in front of the refrigerator, lol.

The Best Ghost Cases Ever Caught on Tape Documentary

Facebook's NEW Ghost Girl

Move over, sweetie! There's a new ghost girl in town!

It's the Halloween season and that means everyone is in the mood to get scared! Luckily for some, there seems to be no shortage of people out there willing to do whatever it takes to scare others---even if it means employing tactics that aren't exactly....legit.

In the paranormal field, Halloween season is the peak of ghost app season! Social media and even mainstream media is filled with submissions of ghost photos that seem too good to be true, and in almost all cases, they are too good to be true! Instead of the Holy Grail of apparitional photography, the overwhelming majority of these photos are nothing more than ghost apps. Sometimes the photo is a complete and utter hoax, submitted with the full intention of fooling as many people as possible. Other times, it's a joke that's gone too far---someone uses the app to alter a photo, shows it to a gullible friend or loved one, and boom! It's now being posted EVERYWHERE. Whichever the scenario, its extremely frustrating, especially for paranormal investigators.

Axe Girl?

Several years ago I posted about what I believe to be the absolute most prolific ghost app image ever used. If you've been on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter or anywhere else on the internet in the last five years, you've probably seen the little girl in plaid. She has made her appearance on trail cams, in mirrors, and on staircases. And while her image is freely available in the Ghost Capture app, she's actually based on a REAL photograph of a real little girl. Whenever she pops up, I like to joke that her descendants should be receiving royalties for her image...but over the past few months it seems like another ghostly app girl is quickly moving to the front of the pack.

While she still is no where near the popularity level of our previous ghost girl, "axe girl" has popped up in at LEAST four different photographs in recent history, including one posted on a local paranormal page, claiming it to be from West Virginia. Once I showed the image in its app menu, it was quickly removed. However, she would make an appearance in ANOTHER photo shortly after. May I please introduce you to the little lady I call Axe Girl?

Axe Girl definitely has the potential to go far, as her image is available in at least TWO different app programs. I originally found her in the app, Ghost in Photo, by Next Generation Technology for Android, but another researcher found her in Ghost Camera-Photo Editor. She even receives top billing, being shown in the app's home screen, lol!

But where did this girl originally come from? That's a question I'm not entirely sure I can answer. Obviously, the image was pulled from this photo below. You can even see the light coming in from the window, as it wasn't properly cropped out of the app image! But where did this photo come from? When I conducted a reverse-image search, I found TONS of hits. Many websites are using this image, especially websites for Halloween haunted house attractions! The earliest use of the image that I could find was for one such place in Wisconsin from 2011---but I still haven't been able to track down exactly why this photo was taken and by whom. If you have an answer, hop on over to Facebook and let us know!

The Ghost of Mary Lee at Waverly Hills

Honestly, I was pretty hesitant to post today's blog as there is so little information on this particular photo, and what information there is seems pretty contradictory and changes dramatically from website to website.  Still, I thought it was interesting enough to at least start the research process on, share what little IS known, and just keep this particular entry as a work in progress. Anyway...

This photo was taken on September 10, 2006 at the famous Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky. It was taken by Tom Halstead during an overnight investigation of the facility by Missouri Paranormal Research. The photo was taken on the 4th floor of the main hospital building around 7am.

The camera used was a Pentax K1000 35mm film camera with a Pro-Master 5600 extendable flash. ILFORDHP5 black and white 400 ISO film was used. According to team data, the camera settings were at a 1/60 second speed and F-stop of 5.6.

With Mary Lee inset

As one can pretty plainly see, on the right of the frame there appears to be the apparition of a young woman with dark hair and a white nightgown or dress. But who is this woman? With the death toll well into the thousands, there seems like there could be a never-ending pool of potential suspects.  But, a few theories have prevailed.

She is commonly believed to be a young girl named Mary Lee, based on a photograph that was found of a similar looking girl signed, "Love, Mary Lee" on the back. But who was Mary Lee? One website claims that SHE is the legendary nurse who allegedly hung herself in room 502 after either learning that she was pregnant by a doctor or had TB or both. Others say that Mary Lee was the daughter of a doctor who often visited the patients and tried to cheer them up. Unfortunately, she herself contracted TB and passed away. And others just simply believe she was one of many of the patients who lived and died in the facility over the years. 

Sources:
Paranormal Task Force
Waverly Hills History and Legends
Paranormal Association
Michael Phillip Cash's Blog 

Pearl Harbor's Ghost Photo

Way back in September of 2011, the internet was abuzz with a new 'ghost' photograph taken at Pearl Harbor's USS Arizona Memorial. The popular image was even picked up by CNN...but what WAS it?

When an Australian family visited Hawaii in 2001, one of their stops was the USS Arizona Memorial. Located in Pearl Harbor, the memorial, which was built in 1962 and sees over 1 million visitors a year, straddles the sunken wreckage of the USS Arizona. The USS Arizona was the victim of the Japanese attack of December 7, 1941...the attack that plunged the United States into World War II. 1177 sailors and marines were killed during that attack, and 1102 of them, for various reasons, claim the wreckage as their final resting place.

Susan De Vanny was with her family visiting the memorial when she snapped a photo of the wreckage that can be seen below the water. It wasn't until she got home, however, that she began looking through her vacation photos and came across this startling image! The combination of the ripples of the water and the sun shining through the leaking oil created a near-perfect image of a young man's face! The face, which many think represents one of the fallen sailors from the attack, is said to appear as if it is crying or even screaming. Susan states, "It just looked sad, really sad and young."

One of the most obvious explanations for the ghostly appearance of the photo is the phenomena of pareidolia.  Pareidolia, also known as matrixing, describes how our brains take random stimuli and patterns and try to make sense out of them.  Our brains are hard-wired to see faces in random objects and while this sounds like as good an explanation as any...you have to admit this is still a pretty striking image!

Info from The Stir

Leeds General Infirmary Ghost Hoax

It isn't even Halloween season, yet there seems to be an explosion of people trying to pass off photos that have been digitally altered with the help of any number of ghost cam applications as the real deal.  Several times a day I find myself posting screen shots of different app menus trying to show people that the 'ghost' is nothing more than a prank.

One of the more prolific photos being shared all over social media was featured recently on a British news website, The Mirror.  The article claims that Andrew Milburn, a 21 year old employee of Leeds General Infirmary sent a Snapchat photo to his girlfriend.  The photo was taken at the hospital's Clarendon wing, which is the children's ward, and Milburn claims that he didn't realize the photo contained what appears to be the ghostly image of a young girl until later.

Even after numerous people wrote in, proving that the image is from a ghost app, Milburn maintains that he did not alter his photo or is otherwise trying to hoax anyone.  However, it is clear to MOST people that the image is indeed a ghost app.  As you can see from the photo below, the image used is in the first small box.  It has been transposed in the photo, but is clearly the same image of a young girl in a white dress posed at an angle.  I say MOST people realize this because unfortunately, even when presented with the evidence, there have been numerous instances of people still claiming that this photo is indeed proof of an afterlife.

It seems that even complete strangers cannot accept the fact that these types of photographs aren't 'real' because admitting that they are hoaxed somehow invalidates their own experiences.  I really hope that more people start realizing that just because a particular photo (or video, or EVP, etc.) isn't proof of life after death, it doesn't mean that what they experienced wasn't real.  In fact, its my opinion that blindly believing in and accepting shoddy evidence is a drastic insult to more unexplained claims.

I also hope that by continuing to share these ghost app photos and informational resources that more people will become familiar with them and stop being so easily fooled!  Anyone claiming to be a paranormal investigator or researcher needs to study these ghost apps and become familiar with the many images...many of which are used over and over again.  There are some great resources and databases, which I've listed below:

Ghost App Ghosts
There's a (Ghost) App For That
Bust That Ghost

Following the Deer

One of the latest trends in 'paranormal photography' is the trail-cam capture photo and if you've been on any type of paranormal-related social media in the last year, you've probably come across this photo of a little girl, barefoot and in a nightgown, wandering through the forest while one deer cautiously glances at her, and another stares directly into the camera.  Why don't the deer run off? What is this child even doing out there in the first place? And, why does everything look so darn creepy?

Many have tried to say that the answer to those questions is simply that this little girl is a ghost! And hey, why not?  With all the other creepy trail-cam shots featuring 'ghosts,' including the one below of another ghostly little girl, that's a plausible explanation, right?

Well, like the other trail-cam shots I've analyzed on this blog, this one also falls into the non-paranormal category.  But, unlike those others, this one isn't a flat-out hoax, either!  It's actually a work of art!  The name of this particular shot is "runaway surveillance still 6" and is part of a 2012 photography series by Chicago-area artist, William Harper! This series features several different shots of the little girl among the deer, but the entire series, collectively known as following the deer feature a wide variety of somewhat strange woodland scenarios, including several adults frolicking in the forest nude. More information on William Harper and this series of photos, partially sponsored by the Illinois Art Council, can be found at the following link. *William Harper Photography*

Still the reigning ghost girl champ!

Trail Cam Craziness
Skinwalker Hoax (Still from the movie, Xtro)
Jersey Devil/Demon Chases Deer
Ghost App Girl Hoax

Demon Chases Deer Hoax

This photo has been around since at least 2005, but it continues to pop up every few years, each time with a new 'location' and a new back story.  It has morphed from the Jersey Devil to a chupacabra, to a regular ol' demon...most recently being caught on a trail camera in Canada. But, as you can see, this is another one of those photos that is simply too good to be true.  The bottom photo is the original as it was posted on a hunting forum.  The 'demon' version was cropped and edited to give an appearance of night-vision.

Debunked.

 

 

Cthulhu Rising!

Source: Deviant Art by DaShadeE

H.P. Lovecraft would be proud; his iconic horror creation, Cthuhlu, is still as relevant today as it was in 1928!  One example is a beautiful digitally altered photographic art piece that happens to be fooling quite a few people...

This photo is making its rounds on social media.  I saw it shared on a popular Facebook group with the description that it was taken on Interstate 40 (in Tennessee) heading toward Pigeon Forge.  It managed to fool even a staff member of an education based, scientifically-minded Facebook group, who suggested that the image was simple pareidolia.

In reality, this work was created by DeviantArt user, DaShadeE.  It is entitled Cthulhu Rising and is a digital alteration of a normal digital photograph.  In fact, the artist admits finding the original photo on Google Images and believes its from an area near Sophia, Bulgaria.

By sharing this image and mentioning the incident with the Facebook group staff member, I don't mean to put down anyone or poke fun at them. Rather, I hope to use that information as an educational springboard.  I instantly recognized this photo as a digital manipulation, not because of any technical analysis but simply because of my familiarization with the Cthulhu story and H.P. Lovecraft.  Arguably, such Lovecraftian works aren't everyone's cup of tea, but the Cthulhu mythos is a pretty widespread part of pop culture, or so I thought.  That's why I personally think that a working knowledge of pop culture, as well as history, art, literature, film, etc. is almost as important to a paranormal researcher as the basic stuff, such as scientific theory and knowledge of paranormal concepts.  To illustrate this point, I previously wrote a blog about the importance of cinematic research...and even though it sounds sort of facetious (and it is, lol) its also interesting to note that it was someone with a strong familiarization of horror movies that debunked the popular Skin Walker photo that was all over the place awhile back!

This photo also offers an example of a little research trick that anyone analyzing potentially paranormal photos needs to understand.  The reverse-image search from Google is an absolute life-safer!  You can actually take any photo that you find on the web, including those on Facebook, and either upload it, drag and drop it, or put in its url into Google Images and find other pages that have posted that photo.  This is a great tool to find out where an image came from and whether or not the story posted with it is true.  I've provided a couple of tutorial links on how to use this tool, but a little practice and patience is needed to really make the most of it.

Google Reverse-Image Links:
Wiki-How
Google Support Page
5 Ways to Use Reverse Image Search

Kith Haven Wheelchair Ghost

Today's ghost photo is sometimes referred to as either the Wheelchair Ghost or the Nursing Home Ghost.  It first appeared a couple of years ago on About.com's Paranormal Photos page and according to the person submitting it, it was taken on November 23, 2012 in the basement of the Kith Haven Assisted Living Facility in Flint, Michigan.

Allegedly, an employee working in the basement actually saw the apparition with her own eyes, and the ethereal gentleman was kind enough to stay put long enough for her to grab her cell phone and take a picture.  Unfortunately for the paranormal world, this is another image that is just too good to be true.  It is simply one in a long list of spooky photographs created with the help of a cell phone application that adds in a fake ghost image to one's own pictures.                                                                                                     

This particular ghost app is the Ghost Cam, published by Nightinart and is available for Android phones and devices.  The awesome website, Bust That Ghost, which is working on a comprehensive database of ghost app images has provided the image and app information.                                                                                                                     

Obviously, this image pulled from the menu of the Ghost Cam app is pretty proof-positive that the image was fraudulently created...but seriously, just the description that accompanied the photo on About.com is enough to cause serious doubt: 

"This photo was sent to my friend and co-worker. He received it from his ex-wife. Her cousin took it. She said she was working in the basement of the home and was walking quickly between rooms when she noticed something from the corner of her eye.  She stepped back and it was right there---and stayed there---while she took the photo with her phone! She was amazed to see the image in the center of the hall---could not believe it was real!"

So, you've got the photo being shared by someone who is three times removed from the actual photographer and the revelation that a cell phone camera was used.  I'm guessing this case follows the same pattern as so many other ghost app images---someone was playing a prank on someone else and sent them the altered photo with a bogus story.  That person, in turn, shares it with all of his/her friends who share it with their friends, each time adding a little more to the back story and not realizing that this was a simple joke.

The Shadow Man of WV State Penitentiary

This evening I'll be attending a public investigation event at the West Virginia State Penitentiary at Moundsville!  One of the ghosts I hope to encounter is the infamous Shadow Man.

Shadow Man, by Polly Gear

This iconic photo was taken by Polly Gear, co-founder of the Mountaineer Ghosts Paranormal Investigators.  It was taken around 1:30 am on May 7th, 2004, just a few hours after a severe thunderstorm rolled through the area.

The area you are seeing in the photo is the doorway to the cafeteria.  Polly was in the North Hallway walking south towards the lobby, when she heard a noise behind her, coming from the area of the doorway that leads to the cafeteria.  As she went to investigate the sound, she turned on her light and saw the shadowy figure of a man, who looked at her before darting back behind the door frame.  At the point that she saw the figure, she estimated she was about 10 feet away from him.  She began to back away from him and dropped her light in order to ready her camera for a picture.  At an estimated 110 feet from the figure, she managed to snap the famous photograph that has caused quite the stir in the paranormal world.

When TAPS filmed an episode at the prison for their Ghost Hunters television show, many believed they had solved the mystery. In episode 303, which aired on October 25, 2006, Jason and Grant attempted to debunk the Shadow Man photo. Since they were able to recreate a similar phenomenon employing the IR shadow theory, it couldn't have been a real ghost, right?

Close up of the door, taken by me on a 2017 tour

Well...that theory, while sounding good, doesn't account for the details provided by Polly about the conditions under which the photograph was obtained.  According to the awesome information provided by the Sparks Spirit Hunters, "an IR shadow occurs when there is an Infrared light source behind the investigator who is taking a photograph or video in the dark. The IR light is 'invisible' to the naked eye, so often the investigator is unaware that it is even shining on him or her. The investigator then snaps a picture with a camera that has the ability to capture this 'invisible' IR light.  The result is a shadow shaped like the investigator where they have blocked out the IR light.  It looks just like a Shadow Person!"

Graphic by Sparks Spirit Hunters

While it seems like the IR shadow is a very plausible explanation--and is a concept that ALL investigators need to be aware of, especially when investigating large, open areas-- as I said earlier, it just doesn't mesh with the circumstances.  We don't know if there was an IR source behind Polly when she took the photo, but there may have been since this was presumably an investigation.  However, Polly saw the shadow with her own eyes...and she saw the figure dart behind a door, independent of her own movements!  If this were an IR shadow, technically she shouldn't have been able to see it, and it certainly wouldn't have moved on its own.  Therefore, if we take this information as being truthful and accurate, that still leaves this photograph as unsolved.

But who is the Shadow Man?  I've heard theories ranging from it being the spirit of a former prisoner, possibly the infamous RD Wall who was murdered in the 1970's, to it being the spirit of a former guard who is still wandering the halls, keeping the prison in check.  Whoever it may be, I hope to meet him tonight!

Sources:
Interview with Polly Gear

IR Shadow information from Sparks Spirit Hunters

Amy Bruni's Ghost Photo

She may no longer be a member of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, but Amy Bruni is still in the paranormal news.  On November 18, 2014 she posted a photo to her Facebook fan page with the following information:

"28 years ago I took this photo. It has been lost for probably the last decade or so, but we finally just found it in an old album stashed away in my mothers house, (it has clearly been damaged over time.)  The girl in the photo is my little sister...I was just playing with the camera and making her pose.  But, there's someone on the porch...and that person wasn't there when I took the picture...and they aren't casting any shadow.  My mother to this to our photographer neighbor at the time, who was completely dumbfounded by the photo - because before we moved into this house, the old woman who had lived there passed away in it. Every day, when her husband went to work or ran errands, she would diligently wait for him on the porch, right where this figure is standing. In all my years looking at photos, maybe half a dozen have impressed me...this is one of them.  I'm so glad we finally found it."

It certainly looks as if there is some interesting anomaly in the photograph, and certainly Amy Bruni, with her investigation skills and background, would be reasonably well-educated enough to make an assessment. However, I have to play Devil's Advocate a minute, and use this photo as a great example of one of the many frustrations myself, as well as other paranormal researchers, face when it comes to assessing another person's photograph.

A major piece of information that is needed when analyzing a photo is the owner's information on it.  Why was it taken?  When?  Where? What was going on at the time and who was present?  A visual assessment based on a knowledge of photographic principals, as well as using certain tools such as EXIF data and error level analysis software, certainly help fill in the missing pieces, but they can only give us so much.  Some mysteries, in order to solve, require that human element...and the whole thing relies on an honest and accurate description.

Unfortunately, humans are notoriously bad witnesses.  Let's use this photo for an example.  The photograph was taken 28 years ago when Amy was a child. No one even saw it for the last ten years.  There is a very good chance that certain details could have been forgotten over time...or even changed over time through each re-telling of the story of the spooky photograph.

Even if the photograph was just taken yesterday, many people simply aren't consciously aware of certain details around them. She was probably having fun with her sister, concentrating on 'making her pose.' Was she really paying attention to what was going on outside during that fleeting moment the photograph was taken?  I see this over and over again with photos submitted as paranormal proof---the anomaly turns out to be a real person who just happened to wander into the shot, un-noticed by the subject and the photographer.

Obviously, I cannot claim that this is what happened with Amy's photo, and a more thorough analysis would have to be done in order to make a more accurate assessment.  Without doing such an in-depth study, it does appear that there is something possibly paranormal in this photo!

But, please keep this in mind when you're submitting a photo for analysis or if you are assessing one and the person claims that there was no one else around....especially if they are outside or in a public place.  These people might not necessarily be giving you false information or lying to you; they might simply be telling you what they honestly perceive was the circumstance.

Ghost Boy in Tree

Another "faux-tograph" has been making its rounds on social media this week and last.  The picture in question was published last week in the UK's DailyMail online edition and was allegedly taken sometime this past August by Michelle Mason.  On a family walk near Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, Mason's children, Lee and Sophia took time out to climb a tree, and Mason snapped a photo.  It wasn't until later that the family realized that a third child had made its presence known in the photo.  What is interesting about the photo is that the ghostly Victorian-era child's most notable feature is the dark, black eyes.  For several months now, the area of Cannock Chase has been in the news multiple times concerning sightings of Black Eyed Kids, a type of paranormal being that has only been noted in the past 15 years or so. Mason claims the photo was taken with a normal camera and that she did not alter it in any way.


Unfortunately, there's overwhelming evidence that SOMEONE digitally altered the image, adding in the little boy.  The photo below was found on the Facebook page, Ghost App Ghosts, which archives a variety of smart phone ghost app images. You can clearly see that the little boy on the right hand side of the photo, with his dark eyes and hoop in hand, is an identical match to the young fella seen here in this app's extended preview section.  He's on the bottom row, middle column:

If that isn't enough to convince you of this photo's fraudulent nature, here's a side by side of the images:

Well, I'm convinced...but there are still plenty of people out there who are posting the original, looking for opinions on its authenticity.  As Halloween draws closer, we has paranormal investigators, researchers, and enthusiasts have to stay vigilant because this is the time of year that is ripe for these types of fake images  This is also a time to practice a little tact and community service.  If you come across someone posting this photo, or another obvious fake, don't be afraid to tell them that its not real--just do so in a beneficial way.  Many people who are posting fakes aren't actually making the fakes themselves.  Rather, they are being fooled by family and friends who are altering their images or, they're just simply re-posting from the other sources pictures that they find interesting.

And don't simply yell, "FAKE!" without backing up your argument.  I try to keep postings of some of the more widespread ghost app images on my blog, just so I have a handy link with all the information I need to which I can refer people to.  There are also some excellent Facebook sites solely dedicated to collecting and archiving as many Ghost App images as they can find, as well as other popular sources for digital alterations.  I've already mentioned Ghost App Ghosts, but There's a Ghost App for That is another great resource.  Let's work together and use these horribly frustrating photos as an opportunity to share knowledge and resources and hopefully keep the field of paranormal study moving in the right direction!

The Haunted Merry-Go-Round of Pawhuska

Original as submitted to GhostStudy.com

This rather creepy photo was allegedly taken with a cell phone camera on September 18, 2008 at Williams Park in Pawhuska, OK.  It was submitted to the Ghost Study website by Kimberly Pradmore, and subsequently featured on the Coast to Coast A.M. website.  Immediately, photography experts and skeptics began their analysis...and found that, well...this one just didn't really live up to its claims of being proof of the afterlife.

In fact, by December of 2008, a forum member on the Ghost Place message boards by the name of Celt1114 had pretty well debunked this one completely in my eyes.  There had already been sufficient evidence from a host of different experts that this image was digitally manipulated by combining a photo of real, live people with a night time shot of a creepy, rusty merry-go-round, but it was Celt1114 who was the first person that I've seen to have actually provided the image that was used.

 

 

Image Used to Create the"Ghost" Kids

 

 

 

 

Look at this image closely---without a doubt, it matches up with the ghost kids perfectly.  Of particular note is the boy in the middle wearing the billed cap, as well as the taller child standing up.  But, if you look closely, each child in the above photo is represented perfectly in the "ghost" photo.  Anyway, I looked to see if this particular location had a history of ghost sightings, especially at the merry-go-round and unfortunately, didn't find anything to support the tale.  In fact, the only mentions of a haunt at the park were specifically about this fraudulent photo.

Anyway, I wanted to drop a special thank you to all the photography debunkers out there, especially Celt1114, who worked on bringing the truth to light about this fraudulent photo.  As a paranormal investigator, there is nothing more frustrating than having to deal with obvious hoaxes.  This blog post wasn't intended to take credit where credit was not due, or to steal the thunder of anyone out there...but with many of these types of photos, I wanted to have one place to compile all my information so that it is easily shared.  I just saw an all-out brawl go down on a particular FaceBook group over the authenticity of this photo, so its handy to be able to refer anyone willing to listen to one link where they can get more information.

With Halloween fast approaching, I have a feeling we'll be seeing this photo, as well as many like it, many more times!

South Carolina's Forgotten Ghost Photo

The information for today's post comes from an excellent little book called The Ghosts of Charleston by Edward B. Macy and Julian T. Buxton III. While fairly short, its packed with stories from Charleston, South Carolina's many, many haunted hot spots, including a whole chapter dedicated to today's photograph:

The photograph above was taken about 11 pm on June 10, 1987 at the St. Philip's Church Graveyard.  Local resident, Harry Reynolds, had been out all day testing his new Kodak ASA-200 film camera, when he decided to end the day with a couple of shots at the nearby cemetery.  Unfortunately, the gates were already locked for the evening...so Harry cut through a nearby playground that adjoined the cemetery property, and took his photos through the wrought iron gate.

Most of the cemetery shots turned out rather dark, but the image above, which was the last on the roll, came out showing what appears to be a clear image of a shrouded woman kneeling over a grave!  Thinking it was a simple double exposure, Harry sent the photo and the negatives off to the Kodak lab, where experts ruled out that possibility, as well as the possibility of tampering.

Convinced he had caught a real ghost on film, Harry then set out with the help of his wife and a friend to discover who the ghost could be.  They learned that the grave belonged to Sue (Susan) Howard Hardy, wife of Gaston Hardy, who was the Secretary of the Treasury for the South Carolina Railroad.   She had died on June 16, 1888 at only 29 years old.  As their research would show, Sue passed away from complications due to labor.  Her stillborn baby had died six days earlier...on June 10th.

Harry had taken a photograph of what appears to be a woman in mourning, 99 years to the day, after Sue Hardy's child had died.  Is this a photograph of a mother mourning the loss of her child from beyond the grave or simply a camera malfunction?  If you're in the area, you can find out for yourself! Today, the cemetery is a favorite stop on the different Charleston ghost tours and it is reported that the mournful cries of a woman can be heard at certain times in the evening.  Some of the tours also offer a warning:  When copies of the photograph by Harry Reynolds are passed out to guests, pregnant women are warned not to touch them after several incidents have arisen where pregnant women DID handle the photographs and consequently felt as if they were being choked, felt nauseous, etc. The church, however, doesn't put much stock into these reports, and has gone as far as to issue the following signage:



Further Reading:
St. Philip's Church website
Scares and Haunts of Charleston
Find-a-Grave: Sue Howard Hardy