Portsmouth's Haunted House

 

Today's blog is another vintage newspaper article that I've stashed away. It comes from the May 11, 1868 edition of the Wheeling Daily Register, and made the front page of the paper!  In this tale, a man suspects that the ghost plaguing his family may not necessarily be sent from the grave. He sets a trap for the ghost, and in a twist straight out of a Scooby Doo episode, finds out that the entity is none other than his own shady neighbor, who has been trying to underhandedly depreciate the value of the property so he can buy it for an optimal price. You know I love a good antique ghost story, but I also have a soft spot for these debunking tales of old.  Here's the story as it appeared in the newspaper:

A gentleman living near Portsmouth, Ohio, has identified a ghost. His family had been often annoyed by ghostly visitations during his absence. He concluded to "possum" absence, but watch at home for the spook. The Tribune says: "About midnight his ghostship appeared and commenced his 'spiritual manifestations.' The watcher, with revolver in hand, slyly slipped to the door, opened it suddenly, and laid violent hands upon his visitant. Bringing him into the house, a light was struck, the "winding sheet" torn off, and there stood revealed, to his astonished gaze, the form of one of his neighbors, who had long been anxious to purchase the 'haunted house,' and had taken this course to depreciate its value. He went down upon his knees and begged his captor not to expose him, and he, after a judicious application of cow-hide, turned the rascal out. The house has not be 'haunted' since."

I hope you enjoyed that humorous lil' tale as much as I did! And on a serious note, Spectral Research and Investigations (SRI) is currently looking to expand into Ohio and Kentucky! If you own or have access to a building YOU think may be haunted, we'd love to come check it out! We'd prefer to focus on businesses, historic homes, museums, hotels/inns, and similar locations. We are also willing to accept private residences on a case by case basis. If you'd be interested in speaking to my team about possibly setting up an investigation of your location throughout the tri-state area of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, please see our website, or send us a message on Facebook! 

A Spooky Case of Mistaken Identity

I love today's Throwback Thursday vintage news article. It's a funny story about mistaken identity, and is even illustrated! The story was published in the September 6, 1907 edition of the Daily Telegram, a Clarksburg, WV newspaper. (The original is available on Chronicling America.) However, the incidents took place in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Since the text is a little hard to see, here's the full transcription:

GHOST ON A BICYCLE
Turns Out to Be a Girl Asleep in Her Nightgown

The ghostlike apparition of a girl astride a bicycle flitting about the streets after midnight will not startle residents in the east end of Fort Dodge, IA any longer.  For weeks pedestrians abroad late at night have been scared.

On a recent night a policeman, attracted by a crash and a scream, ran around a corner and solved the mystery.  He found a young and pretty girl clad in a thin nightdress, which had suffered severely when the wheel she riding struck a brick.  The girl was dazed, but told the policeman where she lived.  He escorted her home and startled her father, a well known merchant, who thought his daughter was safe in bed.

The girl said she had no recollection of her midnight rides.


*Theresa's Note:  I found this story especially interesting because my own mother is a huge sleepwalker, or somnambulist, if you want the fancy title. My biggest fear is that she will attempt to drive off somewhere while in her sleep, but luckily that hasn't happened. The worst she's done so far, to my knowledge, was sleep-order a bunch of crap off a home shopping channel. Usually she just walks around, mumbles about some weird stuff, and eats. Thank goodness she doesn't own a bicycle!

So tell me, are you a sleepwalker or is someone in your family prone to these nighttime escapades? What is the weirdest thing YOU'VE ever done while asleep? What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen a sleepwalker do? Let me know below!

The Infamous Its a Small World Photo

Sorry for the weird sizing of the image below, but I wanted to make sure it was big enough for you to not only read the text, but to SEE the image of the 'hanging.' 

As you can see, this is the infamous ghost photo taken from Disneyland's It's a Small World ride. Now, to many people, this ride was already super creepy. According to Undercover Tourist, the version found at Disneyland dates back to 1964 when it premiered at the World's Fair under the name Children of the World. It contains at least 240 animatronics and a soundtrack that is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. 

That many weird, moving dolls would be a nightmare to all you pediophobic people out there---those with a fear of dolls. But, it gets even scarier. I've heard that the ride legitimately malfunctions quite often, resulting in riders having to be evacuated. That doesn't surprise me given the age of the ride and amount of trips it takes daily. 

However, some aspects of the It's a Small World mythology are less believable.  Apparently there are a LOT of conspiracy theories out there about the dolls coming to life, riders and staff members going missing, and general creepiness experienced by visitors to the attraction. No doubt most of these are pure fiction, just like this photo below.

The photo and accompanying story were uploaded in August of 2012 to the IMGUR site. However, the poster states that the photo is from a 1999 trip to the park.  During what appeared to be a normal malfunction, the poster and her family were escorted off the ride. Her mother decided to take the opportunity to use up the last of the roll of film in her camera. Upon exiting the attraction, the family noticed that there was an ambulance and police cruiser parked outside.

It is theorized that the photo captured from the ride shows either a suicide or accidental death by hanging. Some say the victim is one of the Disney cast members, and others believe it to be the body of a child. 

Based on the size of the 'body,' I would automatically rule out the possibility of it being a cast member. And, honestly, as creepy as a story it makes, I don't think its a real person at all. I think it is one of the animatronic dolls. It is about the same size, for one thing, but another clue is its position. When one hangs himself, either on purpose or by accident, the arms and legs generally don't assume that position. The toes don't appear to be pointing down, as gravity would cause a real person's feet to react. Gravity would also not allow the arms to be slightly raised like that, either.

So is the original poster lying? Is the photo a fake? Did an unrelated accident occur that day to cause them to have to evacuate the ride? I cannot answer those questions, but I can confidently say that I don't believe this photo is either paranormal OR evidence of a deceased person. But, I'm curious to know what YOU think! Read the story below and then hop on over to Facebook and let me know what YOU think!

Stay Spooky.

Monday Meme: Victorian Graves

Ugh!!!!!!!  I am so sick of seeing this posted on different paranormal-themed Facebook pages/groups. I'm even more concerned when I see scores of people who actually BELIEVE that this metal cage is actually intended to trap a reanimated corpse. Our Victorian ancestors were not stupid. What they were afraid of was much more terrifying than zombies and vampires.  These metal cages were not intended to keep the ghouls from getting OUT....they were intended to keep the monsters from getting IN.

The photo above depicts a device known as a mortsafe. It was used in protection against grave robbers. Back in Victorian England, a couple of things were happening....

Before that time, medical students could only dissect and otherwise use cadavers 'donated' by criminals who had been sentenced to death. And, just about any offense could lead to hanging, lol. However, during the mid to late 1800s, social justice reform was leading to less offenses being punishable by death, and thus creating a huge shortage of corpses available to medical students. Medical science was making great strides throughout this time period, so a good supply of fresh corpses was EXTREMELY important. To help meet the demand, 'ressurectionists' would steal the bodies of the newly buried and then sell them to medical schools, generally with no questions asked.

As the practice became more and more of a threat, mortsafes and other devices were invented as a way to safeguard the bodies against theft.

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.

 

 

Frozen Urine

History is full of weird, unexplained happenings and spooky, strange coincidences.  With all this 'truth is stranger than fiction' fodder to explore, it always amazes that people still try passing off completely fictitious stories and photos as the real deal.  Some have said that social media has ruined the paranormal field---for me, CreepyPasta has ruined the paranormal field!  (I actually love CreepyPasta, but there are just too many folks out there who cannot distinguish fact from fiction, and are constantly posting CreepyPasta works as truth.) But its not just CreepyPasta stories that keep getting passed around as real....

I've written about several false infographics---photos with a little bit of text---before on Theresa's Haunted History, and now its time for another!  This photo shows a very unfortunate accident involving a woman in England who was killed when a large spear of frozen urine leaked from an airplane and impaled her from above.  Just by looking at the photo, we can already see that things aren't quite right.  Wouldn't the urine spear have melted by the time she was found? Judging by the angle of the spear, she would have already been lying down on the ground when it hit her.  Oh, and isn't that stuff that leaks out of planes usually BLUE?

A tad of authenticity seems to go along with this tall tale, which may be why people are so quick to believe it.  While to date no one has been killed (except in various television shows, movies, and other pop culture references) it IS possible to be hit by a chunk of ice falling from an airplane. Even MythBusters said that part was true!  But, does that mean this photo is proof of such?  Of course not...and all it took was a 3-minute Google search.

This image comes from a satirical news story featured on the comedic (and completely made up) news broadcast, The Day Today.  Airing in 1994, The Day Today is a series of six half-hour episodes full of utter hilarity.  Hosted by Chris Morris, the show has long been off the air, originally being shown on BBC2, but all six episodes can be found on Youtube!  In fact, if you'd like to see this story as it aired, you can find it in Episode One, about 23 minutes and 24 seconds into the 'broadcast!'

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.

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!

Book Review for "Is your House Haunted?"

Title: Is Your House Haunted? Poltergeists, Ghosts or Bad Wiring

Author: Debi Chestnut

Published: 2011 Llewellyn Publications

Amazon Order Info: Also available on Kindle

Debi Chestnut is no stranger to the paranormal world. Growing up with psychic abilities, she's been actively involved in paranormal investigation and research for 25+ years. Is Your House Haunted is just one of several books on the subject of ghosts and hauntings.

As a paranormal investigator myself, I'm always reading and of course, always looking for additions to my ever-growing paranormal library. I was intrigued by this title's somewhat skeptical connotations--I thought it would be a great resource to share with clients, showing them that not every little bump in the night is necessarily paranormal.

I can't say that I'm disappointed in the book. There were a few times where I felt the author's claimed psychic abilities were discussed a little too much for a book of this nature and there were one or two times where the author presented seemingly contradictory viewpoints, but overall it was a nice little introduction. Amazon reviewer, Sheri Newton, summed up my feelings on this book exactly with her quote: 

"It doesn't go too much in depth on any certain subject, but that is okay because it wasn't meant to do that."

Anyway, the intended audience of this book really is the layperson experiencing possible paranormal activity; even a novice investigator will probably find this book a little simple for their liking. However, the author does a wonderful job of sprinkling in some interesting anecdotes and personal experiences among the much drier, mundane information. Therefore, it is pretty readable and even though there are a few times where it gets repetitive, chapters tend to be short, and to the point.  I would definitely recommend adding this one to your own shelf, if only for the purpose of having a tangible reminder to look at ALL possible explanations to gift to a client who is experiencing unexplained phenomena.

Video: Spirit Leaving Car Accident Victim's Body?

Another video has taken the paranormal social media scene by storm.  The video allegedly shows First Responders working the scene of a horrific head-on collision.  As a news commentator makes note of the lack of information to the extent of the injuries suffered, a shadowy figure can be seen ascending from the red vehicle, raising its arms, and shooting up towards the heavens.  The overwhelming consensus on so many of Facebook's notorious paranormal groups is that this is either the soul of the deceased leaving the body....or perhaps something supernatural coming to collect that soul.  Watch the video below:

Did you see it?

This horrific accident took place in late April of 2012 near Brattleboro, VT.  32 year old Dustin North was driving his black Audi with a passenger.  Before the crash, witnesses had reported seeing North swerving back and forth at high speeds along Route 30.  Richard Kenyon (58), was heading in the opposite direction when he swerved into the opposite lane to avoid North's car, which was in the wrong lane at the time.  North swerved back into the correct lane and hit Kenyon's red Jetta head on.  The accident happened north of Grafton Village Cheese, near the I-91 overpass.

Fortunately, North and his passenger walked away with only minor injuries.  Richard Kenyon also walked away with only minor injuries.  However, his passenger, 65 year old Joseph Chagnon, had to be cut out of the vehicle and airlifted to UMass Medical Center with a host of severe injuries.  He spent four days in ICU in critical condition, suffering from a broken back, broken ribs, a broken clavicle, broken neck, broken leg, and internal bleeding from lacerations of the liver and kidney.  Fortunately, Chagnon survived and was released from the hospital to continue his healing at home.  The following November, North was sentenced to 3.5 to 7 years prison for the accident.  At the time, he had been under the influence of pain killers, Xanax, and methadone.

Okay...so no one died from this accident.  Does that mean the video is necessarily a fake?  Perhaps it was a Guardian Angel or spirit guide, watching over and keeping all four men involved in the crash relatively safe.  I'd like to believe that...as I'm sure many others would like, as well.

But...that is not the case with this video.  If the cartoonish appearance of the apparition didn't alert you to its lack of authenticity, then perhaps this video will convince you.  This is the original video footage; notably absent is the black apparition:

Sources:
Man Sentenced For Causing Near-Fatal Crash While High on Prescription Drugs, by Susan Smallheer.  From Vermont Today (November 15, 2012)

Brattleboro News Youtube Channel, Info from the Brattleboro Informer

The Cleveland, TX Ghost Photo

Original

I just wanted to preface today's blog by saying I definitely learned something...I had no idea there was a Cleveland, Texas.  Anyway, I have another post dedicated to a fraudulent ghost photo.  Unfortunately, the boom in popularity for Facebook groups and pages ran and frequented by people with very little experience in the paranormal research field has led to a boom in fraudulent and fictional stories and photos to flood the web. Just recently this one popped its head back up.

Zoomed In

The photo in question was taken in by Marcella Davis on April 15, 2013.  Marcella took the photo around 4pm at Cleveland High School in Cleveland, TX.  According to her, she attempting to photograph her nephew.  She took one photo, but since her nephew turned, and didn't want his picture taken, she gave up.


Marcella was using a smartphone to take the photo, but admitted that she knew very little about how it worked.  Her teenage daughter was showing her how to zoom in on the photo and noticed the ghostly image of a man in a white suit with bell-bottoms.

Does this guy look familiar?  Yep, its a ghost app! I'm guessing that Marcella's daughter, before showing her mom how to zoom in on a photo, doctored it up a lil' to play a prank.

From the Facebook page, Ghost App Ghosts

The Spirit Photography of Edouard Buguet

 This photo, titled Effet Fuidique, or, The Fluidic Effect (1875) is by the famous French spirit photographer, Edouard Buguet.
It's one of those photos that are hitting the social media scene hard.  I've seen it on both Facebook and Pinterest in the last week or so.  And, as most people have already assessed, this image is a hoax; it does not show an actual levitating chair.

Nevertheless, intrigued by such images and the history of spirit photography, I decided to dig a little further into Edouard Buguet's work.  What I found was that Buguet was well known for faking more than this early example of telekinesis (well, in this case, just a levitating chair, since the term 'telekinesis' wasn't coined until 1890 by Frederick Meyers)!

Born presumably in France in 1840, Buguet really hit the spirit photography circuit in 1874.  Influenced by the French Spiritualist movement that emphasized Mesmerism, before conducting a spirit photography session, Buguet would have both his camera and himself mesmerized.  The resulting photos were routinely featured in Revue Spirite, a French Spiritualist magazine published by M. Leymarie. One such photo that at the time was deemed one of the greatest spirit photographs of the time was the 1874 Woodbury carte de visite,  Mons. Leymarie and Mons. C. with Spirit of Edouard Poiret.

And, as early as 1874, Buguet came under the suspicion of fraud. However, it wouldn't be until a year later that he would actually be arrested for fraud, a crime that he originally confessed to.  The arrest came following a raid on Buguet's photo studio produced two shrouded dummies and 299 photographs of heads mounted onto cardboard.  At the September 1875 Spiritualist Congress held in Brussels, however, Buguet recanted this story, and said that the props were only used by his assistants when he was out sick...and that 2/3 of his spirit photographs were completely legit.

Even the testimony of several prominent clients combined with those statements couldn't keep Buguet out of jail for fraud, though.  He AND M. Leymarie were both sentenced to a year, and despite Buguet's claims that he was innocent and only made his confession in exchange for leniency, he never again took up the business of spirit photography.  He passed away in 1901.


Sources:
Beyond the Grave: A Brief History of Spirit Photography
The Spirit Archive
The American Museum of Photography

The Demon Clouds of PinkPop

Last week, the annual Dutch music festival, PinkPop, came to a close in Limburg.  It ended a little later than planned, thanks to a heavy storm that popped up right as closing act, Metallica, was about to take the stage.  The 70,000 strong crowd got soaked, but everyone followed organizers' instructions and no one was injured during the downpour.

It wouldn't take long, however, before a photo taken of the storm clouds rolling in hit social media and are STILL being posted.  What appears to be a skeletal and/or demonic face can clearly been seen on the left and was thought by many to be an ominous sign.  Several years earlier at another music festival in Belgium, five people were killed and over a hundred more injured during a storm.  Was the face a warning to concert organizers that they should have cancelled the show...or was it a sign of something more sinister.  Immediately certain members of the religious commentary community warned of the Satanic implications of metal music, impending end times, and anything else you can think of.

Apparently these people have never seen Harry Potter!!

As some have suggested, this photo is not the best example of pareidolia ever...its a flat-out hoax.  The image in the clouds is none other than that of Lord Voldemort as he can be seen in the 2009 movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  Check out the opening seconds of the video below for proof. 

Dutch News
Boinnks

Freaky Flowers

Photo by Todd Terwilliger

There's just something about skulls and roses that seems to go together, and they're two elements that creepy artists, metal bands, and tattoo aficionados all over the world have been drawing inspiration from for years.  But what happens with life imitates art?  You end up with the rosa calvaria, or "Death Rose."  This photo above, as shared multiple times on social media sites, is often found with the accompanying description:

"The Death Rose (Rosa calvaria) is a rare and mysterious plant species.  Beautiful when blooming, the buds form skull like faces when wilting.  Biologists still don't understand how the Death Rose forms these shocking designs as they are impossible to grow in lab experiments."

Perhaps they are impossible to grow in lab experiments, because there is NO SUCH THING AS THE ROSA CALVARIA! 

Research into this photograph reveals nothing about this species in any type of scientific journal or plant databases.  In fact, most of the information is simply given as a cut and paste of the blurb above.  So if there is no such thing as a rosa calvaria, what the heck is this thing?

The photograph was taken by photographer Todd Terwilliger and posted to his Flickr account back in June of 2010.  According to the description, this was taken in the garden by Notre Dame.  In fact, a similar photo of the same flower around the same time was taken by a Flickr user named Shawna, which shows the flower just slightly more opened up.

And, as cool as the image is, its nothing more than a wonderful example of pareidolia in the wilting pattern of a normal rose.  Pareidolia (or matrixing to you Ghost Hunters fans) is simply our mind trying to make sense out of random patterns.  We're designed to visually try to put together random stimuli into an organized and known image, most often, a face.  And...in this case, a skeletal face is what seemingly pops out to most people!  However, according to one Tumblr user who analyzed the photo using error-level analysis software, the image seems to have had some digital manipulation to help it along the way.  Since this is an art photograph, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a certain level of digital enhancement and photo editing, but I honestly do not believe that the actual skeletal face was significantly  augmented...especially after seeing Shawna's very similar photo.

But don't be sad...even if this photograph isn't what it seems to be, there are plenty of other creepy and scientifically recognized plants out there with similar attributes!  Check out the seed pods of a snapdragon plant!  Those definitely resemble little, creepy alien skulls!

Truly terrifying snapdragon seed pods

And if you're more into horror from an olfactory point of view, the corpse flower (in addition to looking like it could suck your body dry of your soul) gives off the odor of rotting flesh in order to attract insects to pollinate it.  This particular beauty is the very large variety of corpse flower known as the Amorphophallus Titanum.  (Yes. You read that right. PHALLUS.)

Sources:

Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait

Ghost in a Wheelchair

I recently joined a few new paranormal-themed Facebook groups and LIKED a few new pages...and was surprised to see the photo above being shared over and over as a possibly paranormal photo!  It's definitely creepy, and arguably, even a little sad.  However, its not what it appears to be...

The earliest date that I remember seeing this photo was in 2012.  That May, a Brazilian website claimed that the photo was taken at an Argentinian Hospital near Rosario.  A staff member of the Clemente Alvarez Emergency Hospital going by the name of Diego took the photo and promptly posted it on Facebook.
Allegedly, multiple staff members, including doctors, nurses and cleaning staff, all had seen the wheelchair move down the hall on its own.

Several months later, in September, the same Brazilian website posted a photo of ANOTHER Argentinian ghost sighting.  Enzo Guillermo used his cell phone to capture an image of a woman sitting on a bench in the Plazoleta de los Immigrantes, in the city of Lules.  Locals claimed that the area was home to strange, paranormal noises observed in the early morning hours, and a woman had recently passed away in the park.

Hopefully you can spot the obvious similarities of the figures in both photos.  It looks like this particular ghost is traveling all over Argentina!  Or...there could be a much simpler explanation.  The two photos from South America are a hoax.

In July of 2012, a controversy arose when the group Ghosts of New England Research Society (G.O.N.E.R.S.) posted ANOTHER photo of the seated woman, seen below. Shortly after, they were called out, and posted a retraction stating that another group had claimed the image of the woman was copyrighted to a photo THEY took in 1991...and that they were trying to sue a popular smart phone application called Ghost Cam for copyright infringement.

G.O.N.E.R.S photo on left, Original 1991 photo on right

That original 1991 photo is the infamous and widely know (albeit controversial) "Madonna of Bachelor's Grove" photo!  In August of 1991, members of the Ghost Research Society were on site at the small Bachelor's Grove Cemetery near Midlothian, Illinois. This cemetery has had a long reputation of being haunted.  Strange lights, unexplained sounds, and even full-bodied apparitions have all been observed there.  There is some confusion as to who exactly took the photograph, but its largely attributed to GRS member, Mari Huff, who was shooting with high-speed infrared film.  Here's the photo again:

I'm not sure whatever happened with the lawsuit, but I couldn't find this particular image on the updated Ghost Cam 2 app, and no new forgeries seem to have popped up since 2012.  But, as the recent activity on social media has shown, even older, previously debunked photos can come back to fool people.

Sources

Brazil Weird News
ParaFraud
History and Legends o Bachelor's Grove from GRS

Creepy Family Photo

 

This looks like a nice, family photo!  Until...you look a little closer.  Eagle eyed viewers have spotted a disembodied hand clutching the arm of the child on the left.  Do you see it?  Creepy, right?

This photo has been on the internet a LONG time, and has recently enjoyed another round of being passed off as a ghost photo.  To some, the image is nothing more than a 'photoshopped' forgery.  I'm in the latter camp...sorta.

I don't think this photo is paranormal in anyway, but I don't think it was an intentional hoax, either.  What I believe happened is just some simple photo editing.  Obviously, this is a staged family photo; all members are dressed similarly and are posed nicely in a scenic area.

  But, this family has two very young little girls.  They also have a baby and a dog.  Can you imagine how hard it would be for even a professional photographer to get all the kids smiling, looking at the camera and NOT blinking?  Can you imagine how hard it must have been to get the dog to stay still long enough and to keep the baby calm and not crying?

I believe that the photographer took several shots of the family in this similar pose, and then combined two or more shots together to get the best possible result overall.  Obviously, in one shot, the older sister had her arm around her younger sibling and the photographer missed it.  If you look closely, the hand does appear to belong to a small child.

This kind of thing actually happens more than you'd think, especially in print advertising.   Check out the phantom hand on this catalog model:

52 Worst Photoshop Mistakes in Magazines

The Creepy in the Window

I love Reddit; someone posted my article about the Mountain Octopus on there and it brought in a HUGE amount of traffic to my blog!  But, there's a dark side to everything...and sometimes people use this awesome social networking site for ::gasp:: EVIL!  Hehe, well, maybe not evil, but a lot of misinformation comes out of there, either intentionally or unintentionally.

One such example is the rather creepy photo above.

Aaaugh!  I don't know what's creepier...the childlike doll, or the doll-like child?  What about the slightly off-kilter perspective?  And then, once you're adequately creeped out by all those elements, you notice the face in the window, which is eerily reflected in the mirror. Is it an alien?  Is it a serial killer wearing a mask?  Is it a ghost?  WTF is it!?

 Like many similar photographs, this one is being passed around in paranormal-themed Facebook groups.  And, in nearly all of them, this is being represented as a REAL photograph, with plenty of commentators eager to support that claim without anything to back up those opinions.  There were a few dissenters, but their opinions were largely ignored or dismissed and without any type of documentation to back up THEIR opinion, it was one camp's word against the other.

Lucky for us, someone finally DID take the time to track down the origins of this photo and not surprisingly, was able to prove that it is NOT paranormal.

The author of the wonderful blog, Skeptic's Boot, who also runs the Facebook page, The Rational Paranormal, recently posted his findings after conducting a simple Google Images search for the photograph in question. What that search led to was a thread listed under Reddit's "Creepy" subreddit.  Reddit user "tiffyyffit" submitted a photograph with a request for other users to help her "make a creepy in the window."

Several members met the challenge, but it was the image created by "phubans" that essentially "won," meaning, that's the image that was hoarked and passed around the web.  The Skeptic's Boot has provided a screenshot and a link to the original thread, where it clearly shows "tiffyyffit" posting the original photo (sans creepy faces), asking for help, and other members submitting their creations.  Personally, I prefer the subtlety of "MikeyBakes" creation much better, but that's just me!  Check out the link below to check them all out and see a photograph of the original, unaltered image.  And a huge thank you and shout out to the Skeptic's Boot for his work in making the paranormal field a little more intelligent!  Go check out the blog and give his Facebook page a LIKE!

Reddit's Creepy Subreddit Thread