| The other night I happened to catch Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi Channel. It’s an hour-long show that follows the members of TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) as they investigate reputedly haunted locations, in an attempt to document and de-bunk supposed ghostly infestations. I'd never seen the show before but I came away very impressed by these guys: they're regular working joes – the founders are Roto-Rooter plumbers by day – who do their investigations on nights and weekends in a completely professional and ethical manner. They scrutinize everything and make thorough reports to the proprietors of the sites they look into. If there's nothing that can't be explained, they say so. If there is bizarre stuff going on that doesn't fit on the charts, they report that too, without embellishing it for what it might or might not be. It made me recollect a night a little over five years ago, when I was part of a ghost hunt. There were about seven or eight of us – two reporters (myself included), a professional photographer, and a selection of other responsible individuals – that a newspaper sent in to spend the night at what is said to be one of the most famously haunted hotels in America. It was meant to be "part Scooby-Doo and part Blair Witch", my editor said. We were supposed to treat it seriously, but also have some fun while we were there: not to take it TOO seriously. 'Cuz then we might fall into the trap of believing things that our subconscious minds wanted us to believe. Our editor worked it out with hotel management for us to have what was supposed to be the most haunted room in the entire place to use as our homebase: we'd meet back every hour and swap notes. In the meantime we were free to go wherever, just so long as we didn't bother the guests. We didn't have anything like electro-magnetic field detectors or night-view videocameras, but we did have several photographic cameras (including one loaded with infrared film) and my audio tape recorder that I used to speak notes into and record whatever else. Long story short: we came away from that night with more than we expected. A lot more. There's a photograph taken that night that I wish I could post here, but the copyright belongs to someone else, so it wouldn't be right for me to do that. I made myself look at it again after watching Ghost Hunters, even though five years later it still gives me the freezing willies. We took several pics with the infrared film: in four of the photos (including two from the "haunted" room) there are unexplained signatures that show up. It's the one in the hallway that's really disturbing: it was the day after we got the photos back that we realized there was a woman's face hanging neck-high in mid-air down the hallway. There was nothing there when we took the photo, and don't ask me why we chose to take a picture at that exact moment: the whole story is coming someday from another venue, and I don't want to steal their thunder by talking about it here. There was also the matter of my tape recorder: it picked up some very spooky sounds – a voice whispering – while we were in another building on-site. There were two people in that room at the time, and this wasn't a voice from either of us. Do I believe in ghosts? Well, given the evidence we collected firsthand that night, I now admit to believing that there's something we can’t explain in terms of the normal world that’s at work here. My own personal theory? If there are such things as ghosts, I don't believe they're "spiritual" in nature at all. My thinking is that they are some kind of "recording" left in a place that sometimes replays itself: a recording in time and space. It might have something to do with quantum physics. Or this might all be a little too wacky anyway. But you tell me: would you say you don't believe in spooks if your tape recorder picked up a weird voice saying "Let me out..."? Anyway, at the time I wound up doing a lot of research into real-life hauntings, including the many apparent photographs of ghosts taken over the years. Some I'd seen before and others were brand-new to me. It's been something I've made an occasional study on in the years since. A number of them "stuck with me". Since we're now getting into the Halloween season, I thought it might be fun (and maybe even horizon-broadening) if I shared here what I thought were the top ten ghostly photographs taken to date. So far as I can tell, these are the real deal. Meaning that they've been sifted through with a fine-tooth comb by people who know photography and have withstood all scrutiny. These are the pictures that simply can't be explained, or at least haven't yet according to anything we can explain currently. That doesn't leave very many photos for serious consideration: there are tons of professed ghost photos. Most of them are explained away with extreme ease: Too many "ghosts" are simply camera straps that got in the way of the lens. Ghostly "orbs" are probably nothing more than light scintillating off of dust particles. Some ghostly images are mere double exposures (an example of which is glimpsed in the movie The Godfather). Occam's Razor applies bigtime here: the simplest explanation tends to be the correct one. Tends to be, that is... So with all that in mind, for your viewing pleasure (and excluding the one photo that I've already said I can't show here, even though it's really unsettling to look at) and just in time for Halloween, here are what I consider to be:
10. "The Brown Lady" of Raynham Hall
This photo was taken in 1936 at Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, by two photographers of Country Life magazine. Raynham Hall was long reputed to be haunted by the ghost of Lady Dorothy Townshend, who died in 1726. The ghost had been seen on many occasions throughout the years when it was spotted descending these stairs by the Country Life photographers, who quickly took a snapshot. This is considered by many to be the most highly regarded and reputable photograph by a ghost yet made.
9. The Hampton Court Ghost
This one became fairly well known after it was released in December of 2003. Hampton Court, near London, was one of Henry VIII's favorite hangouts (it's because of him that Anne Boleyn is now a headless ghost roaming the Tower of London). A fire door inside the castle kept being opened when no one was supposed to be around. Guards checked the security cameras' videotape... and spotted this figure in period costume walking through the door. Castle personnel swear they don't know who did this, noting that they don't even have a costume that looks like this. 'Course this could be some prankster at work, but I felt this was yet worthy of including in my top ten list... until we ever find out otherwise. It might turn out to have just been some tourist in an overcoat. Anyway if you want to watch the actual footage of the specter opening the door L.E.M.U.R. Investigations has it on their website.
8. The Newby Church Monk
Reverend K.F. Lord took a picture of the altar at his church in North Yorkshire, England (why are the GOOD ghosts always found in England?) and this is what came out. The picture and the negative are said to have been thoroughly examined by photographic experts and they can't find any evidence that this was either a double exposure, or artificially altered. The "thing" is calculated to be standing nine feet tall, and no one's found any record of a monk that humongous ever being at Newby Church. Who is it? What is it? Trick of light or something else? Either way it's way too creepy to not mention on this list.
7. The Bed-Ridden Boy
I found this one at the L.E.M.U.R. website also. The photo was taken in 1999 at the Historic Worley B&B Inn in Dahlonega, Georgia (YES finally ghosts in our neck of the woods!). It wasn't until four years later that this photo – which seems to show a figure resting on a bed – was really given notice. It's thought that this might be the ghost of a young man who died in the house in the 1800s after being struck by a train, and if you go to L.E.M.U.R.'s page you can find a picture of the lad (when he was still alive) to compare this photo with.
6. Freddy Jackson's Comeback
Freddy Jackson was a mechanic in the Royal Air Force in World War I. Freddy Jackson's squadron served onboard the H.M.S. Daedalus. Freddy Jackson was killed in 1919 when an airplane propeller hit him. Two days later when the squadron assembled for a group photo, Freddy Jackson faithfully showed up, grinning behind the ear of a fellow comrade. Guess nobody bothered to tell Freddy Jackson that he was dead. His face was widely recognized in this photo by members of the squadron.
5. His Favorite Chair
Remember how Archie Bunker liked his recliner so much that he never let anyone else sit in it? Well, ol' Archie doesn't have anything on Lord Combermere. After being ran over by a horse-drawn carriage he died in 1891. A photographer set up a camera with its shutter open for one hour in the manor's library while the entire staff was off at Lord Combermere's funeral, some four miles away. When the plate was developed, the startling image of what looks to be a man's head and arm sitting in the chair was immediately noticed. Many of the staff said that the image looked very much like the late lord, and it happened to be sitting in Combermere's favorite chair in the library.
4. Darn Backseat Drivers!
In 1959 Mable Chinnery went to the cemetery to visit the grave of her mother, as any devoted daughter is apt to do. She took some photos of the gravesite and then turned and took this picture of her husband sitting alone in the car's passenger seat. The film was developed and this came out: somebody sitting in the backseat wearing glasses, clear as day. Mrs. Chinnery swore that the "backseat driver" was none other than her own mother... whose gravesite she was standing next to when she took the picture! Hmmmm... a live husband and a deceased mother-in-law looking over his shoulder: there's a joke here, I just know it.
3. What Do You Want On Your Tombstone?
Ike Clanton is from the same family that produced the Clanton gang of O.K. Corral fame. He’s obviously proud of his heritage, and he shows it on his website TombstoneArizona.com. Back in 1996 Ike Clanton took this photo of a friend wearing western duds, in the middle of Tombstone's Boothill Graveyard. They swear that nobody else was in sight when they made this picture. Furthermore, some time later they tried to restage this picture with someone standing at the spot where the "mystery man" appears in the background. Ike Clanton says that it was impossible to take such a picture and not show the rear person's legs. Clanton said he wasn't so sure about Tombstone being haunted, but this photo made a believer out of him. There's so much ghostly activity going on in the famous town that Clanton's set up a special section of his website dedicated to Tombstone's population of yesteryear. Well worth checking out, if nothing else than for the sense of history that this excellent website conveys.
2. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it..."
I first saw this photo over twenty years ago. It was the first "ghost photo" I ever came across and it still wigs me out to look at it. In 1924 James Courtney and Michael Meehan, two crewmen of the tanker S.S. Watertown, were accidentally killed by gas fumes while cleaning a cargo tank. The crew of the Watertown - on its way to the Panama Canal from New York City – buried the two sailors at sea off the Mexican coast. That was on December 4th. On December 5th the first mate reported that the faces of Courtney and Meehan were appearing in the water off the port side of the ship. Over the next several days every member of the crew witnessed the faces appear and disappear, including the ship's captain. When he reported this to his supervisors after docking in New Orleans it was suggested that he try to photograph the faces. Captain Keith Tracy bought a camera and the ship was soon underway again. Sure enough, the faces appeared, and Tracy took six pictures, then secured the camera in the ship's vault. The camera was not removed until it was taken to a commercial developer after docking in New York City. Five of the photos showed nothing unusual, but the sixth clearly showed what was said to be the faces of the two dead crewmen. No evidence of forgery or tampering of the film was ever discovered. The faces stopped appearing after a new crew was brought aboard the Watertown.
1. Come On Baby, Light My Fire
Of all the ghost photos I've seen (well, except for that one that I can't show at the present time), this one is hands-down the most eerie. Probably the most disturbing too. I didn't know about this one until a few months ago. Almost ten years ago, on November 19th, 1995, Wem Town Hall in Shropshire, England was engulfed in flames and burned to the ground. As firefighters tried to stave off the inferno a town resident, Tony O'Rahilly, took pictures from across the street using a telephoto lens on his camera. There, rather clearly in one of the photos, is what looks very much to be a small girl standing in a doorway, with the brightness of the flames behind her. No one ever remembered there being a small girl present on scene, much less in that close a proximity to the fire. The photo and the original negative were turned over to a photo expert who decided that the picture was 100% authentic: "The negative is a straightforward piece of black-and-white work and shows no sign of having been tampered with." Okay, so what's a girl ghost doing in such a big fire? Well in 1677 a fire destroyed many of Wem’s wooden houses. The fire was said to have been caused by a 14-year old girl named Jane Churm, who had been careless with a candle. Churm died in the fire along with several others, and her ghost is said to still haunt the area. Whether there's such a thing as ghosts or not, it must be said: if this is just a trick, an illusion of smoke and fire that happened to be captured on film, it's a zillion-to-one coincidence that it just so happened to appear in the form of a girl who also died in a terrible fire at the same location. But hey, stranger things than that have happened in this world, right?
And there you have it, my personal list of the best ghost photographs (or not) taken so far. But before I close out this article, I want to make mention of just one more photograph: one that I found while doing some research ("The Best Ghost Photographs Ever Taken" at About.com’s Paranormal Phenomenon site was a HUGE help, as was the website for L.E.M.U.R. Paranormal Investigations). This photo is, ahhh geez what else can I say about this: if this is the real deal, then there's something cosmically sweet about this picture. Some people say that love is forever... well, this might be the first time ever that we've got documented proof of that. I’ll let Denise Russell take it from here, courtesy of About.com’s Paranormal Phenomena:"The lady in the color photo is my granny," she says. "She lived on her own until age 94, when her mind started to weaken and had to be moved to an assisted living home for her own safety. At the end of the first week, there was a picnic for the residents and their families. My mother and sister attended. My sister took two pictures that day, and this is one of them. It was taken on Sunday, 8/17/97, and we think the man behind her is my grandpa who passed away on Sunday, 8/14/84. We did not notice the man in the picture until Christmas Day, 2000 (granny had since passed away), while browsing through some loose family photos at my parents' house. My sister thought it was such a nice picture of granny that she even made a copy for mom, but still, nobody noticed the man behind her for over three years! When I arrived at my parents' house that Christmas day, my sister handed me the picture and said, "Who do you think this man behind granny looks like?" It took a few seconds for it to sink in. I was absolutely speechless. The black and white photos show that it really looks like him." I don't need what might be a ghost's photograph to attest to this truth: when you're in love with that one special someone, nothing will stop you from being with that person. But it's still pretty nice to get a tangible confirmation of that every once in awhile... |
Comments on "The Top Ten Best GHOST PHOTOGRAPHS Ever Taken"
There seems to be another figure showing up in the last picture of the grandmother. If you look to the left facing the grandmother, you will see some sort of dark figure. He looks as if he is wearing a black hood and his arms are crossed. Just thought you might want to check it out.
You mean just above the van? Yeah it suggests that a bit, but that's probably just trees and shadow if anything. Not that THAT explains how the other image got into the picture though :-)
This is going to sound bad, but when I first saw "grandfather" I immediately thought that it looked *exactly* like Carel Struycken. He played "the Giant" on Twin Peaks, and then Lurch in the Addams Family movies.
Regarding the backseat driver photo. The man in the front seat is not in the passenger seat but rather the drivers seat. The steering wheel is clearly in front of him.
Is the picture reversed or is it perhaps an English car?
You're right. I'm assuming this pic was taken in England then. Again, the British get the cool ghosts :-)
To me in the grandmaw pic the thing behind her looks like one of the robots from the movie I robots.
I feel like someone was playing a joke here.I REALLY don't feel like it is real.
I love sentences like "The picture and the negative are said to have been thoroughly examined by photographic experts and they can't find any evidence that this was either a double exposure, or artificially altered."
Especially the 'are said' bit is choice. Also, I love these unnamed 'experts'. Aren't they convenient?
Ghosts = hogwash + gullible people.
I agree with Anonymous above. Ghosts are nothing more than a trick of the light and mind.
Why?
Because noone has been able to produce repeatable, verifiable evidence of a ghost.
You would think that with ALL the 'haunted' places out there, and ALL the cheap camera phones, digital cameras, web cams, and camcorders, we would be awash in ghost photos.
Instead... nothing. Oh, maybe you might get some 'orbs' (dust particles) or some trick of light and shadow occasionally.
But until you can take the same picture of a ghost, with multiple cameras, in the same place, on different days, then it's all just wishful thinking.
You would not believe true evidence if you were to take or gather it yourself. The net is full of true evidence, yet your rational mind will not allow for this simple belief.
the other figure in the last picture looks just like the monk in #8!! it IS!
#8 is a photoshop of the scary character from the scream movies done by someone from the somethingawful.com forums.
I'm a ghost tour operator in St. Augustine Florida. I caught a little girl at the light house looking at our tour from inside the museum which was closed. It was at night.
www.ghostaugustine.com
Come and visit.
People are often close minded and even superstitious when offered truths as others have seen it. But the other realms are simply a "thin veil" away. Self realization is the only answer that is acceptable to skeptics. It only takes one time(one apparition) to change the closed mind. Yes, I've seen one myself, and my skepticism flew out the door, so to speak. Just wait until your turn comes. Have a good Halloween, everyone.
SO YOU SAY YOU HAVE A PHOTO OF A REAL GHOST YOU CANNOT RELEASE DUE TO COPYRIGHT REASONS. T H A T IS B U L L S H I T. HALF OF THE PHOTOS YOU HAVE SHOWN ARE OBVIOUSLY FAKE. SHOW US THAT ONE PIECE OF EVIDENCE, THEN I WILL BELIEVE YOU. COPYRIGHT MY ASS. LIAR.
Boy that "girl: in the window of the picture at www.ghostaugustine.com looks to me like...
a blurry spot on the picture. I don't buy this one at all - total BS.
As much as I would want to believe them, by opening any of these and saving them in photoshop, as is the last one with the grandmother, doesn't leave much to trust
Unpredictably the critics and skeptics sound off once again and consumed in the tech age science is their logic ?
Yet the thousands of years before this era mankind knew this was no fiction and we all worshipped with what we not only knew what we beleived !
I unfortunately have seen enough near death and and know this is not fiction ,and only when we are on the edge or end of this life ,will this majority as all of us even the most staunch allies of atheism or raffi,sm know.
That is when they Will suddenly beleive what is the all powerful ethereal reality that (allows) us a look when they deem it not science technology nor money not us!
unless it is our time to walk among them !!!3A trick of photowork or two yes but not all of them.
If we cannot look within we will never look without
Ignorance is not bliss it,s stupidity .........Dr Hoffmann
you nonbelievers really need to do more research. there is plenty of evidence out there- you just have to look.
The idea of ghost has probably been around since the first person ever to die died. The whole notion of ghosts being photographed is completely nutty, with all due respect, and nothing but a tool used to fool the foolish.
Do Space Aliens have ghosts? Now that would be something.
The ability to consistantly 'prove' or 'show' something means nothing.
Try searching the hutchinson experiment on google video and watch it. There are only a handfull of times that he was able to catch sucess on film, and it's al legit, but he cannot produce the effect on demmand.
Nothing to do with ghosts, jusst the way things work.
OK, people. For one thing an open mind is always best. For another thing I believe these photos are real, and you guys useing bad launguage to prove they aren't is crud. What does that prove?
Any way, out to these person who put this together thank you. It's awesome!
There is something supernaterual going on, that has been for some time, and I think God has either let the "spirits" come down from heaven to visit or that the "spirits" are waiting for the return of Christ. That one about the Grandmother, I believe it totally and truely.
Peace out and if you don't believe it don't read up on it!!!
Anyone in doubt as to the authenticity of ghosts need only visit the Skillman Mental Institution in New Jersey. I had the chance to visit several days consecutively while on a trip to the states. I have never visited a place so laden with chaos and spiritual activity. It was only after visiting for several hours that things really crept up on me and I was needless to say caught off guard. The last time I was there required us leaving much earlier than expected as we had upset some of the inhabitants. This mental ward was shut down after decades of abuse and mistreatment. Google to inquire more.
In number 6, Freddy Jackson's comeback, where is he? The only guy I see that looks like the guy he's hiding behind is top row, fourth from the left, but I dont see Mr. Jackson there.
Is he hidden by the close-up circle or something?
Great pics...But I have to agree that there appears to be a face above the van in the grandmother shot...Can you get that part blown up? also in the shot above that one on the right (grandfather with feet up, reading a book) look on the dark panneling above and left of him...There is an image there, unless there is a portrait on that wall that is not showing up well due to lighting.
Thanks for sharing these photos.I have seen photo's no one tampered with of cemetaries where several spirit images appear where the headstones are. Each one had a distinct personality look but actually look like living people posing for a photograph. I tried to get copies of the photos but the Native woman who took them would not give me copies because
she thought they were to sacred to share,She knew I would want to publish them.She was not a skilled person with a camera or computer and the photos were developed at a
local drug store.
There is something going on between the living and the dead. I am not sure if we use the right terms to describe what that is.
I have experienced too much spirit
activity on a personal level to
to not understand that there is a reality there as well.
However it is quite evasive and we probably won't know the answers until we die.
Keep up the good work you did pick the best photos.
Your Grandma and Grampa photo's are somrthing else!!!!
Thanks for sharing Clarence G.
bub says:
I had a high school teacher named Rountree who had in her possession a photo of one or two young boys standing on a porch to a early home with a door and windows on each side of the door. I actually saw this photo and when the background was examined closely, I could see through an open window a casket with an open lid. Others had told me of this photo and Miss Roundtree told of a copy of the photo located in another state and she would call and point out new things in the photo and the person in the other location would discribe new things in their copy of the photo.
bubschumpert
Big Spring, TX
I'm reading this in the afternoon and I'm really spooked. Thanks for sharing these, I wish you could share the "scariest" one though. The picture of that 14 year old girl is so creepy, I wouldn't scroll up and look at it again.
If ghosts arent real then why did my 18 month old son start waving to the empty corner of his room and saying hi grandma ? Especially since she had died 3 days before !
There are things beyond are limited comprehension that we are taught not to believe. What is real and what isnt ? Only time will tell! The earth is round now, isnt it?
Anonymous:
Perhaps your child is retarded? That would explain it?
This isn't real: how dumb you are.
Proof is all over the internet?...
Have you just found the internet?
The internet supposedly holds proof of every fake thing out there...
You can find BigFoot websites...alien websites chupacabra websites....proof all over the internet is the most retarded comment ever...
thats why we go to the internet for entertainment.
I used to be a skeptic -- and I won't try to convince anyone here because its a wonderful thing to be that way. Until of course we started having unusual occurences in our house. Fleeting glimpses of a white figure moving down the corridor. The sensation of someone walking right behind you. Being woken up by a gentle nudge or tap.
Yeah I used to attribute all this to stress etc. Until one day I called a psychic (who I'd never met before) and the tale she told me sent shivers down my spine. She was told by one of the spirits, an old man, that he felt sorry for me and often stood behind me as I worked (on my computer) through the night. Now this woman had NO idea what I did for a living and could not possibly have known I worked nights, etc. Still creeps me out.
So yeah, I envy those of you who are skeptics. Then something like this happens and it changes you forever.
Thats cause you have demons in your house...and they will only get worse...and if you dabble in the psychic crap...its gonna get worse cause you entertain them. So have fun.
I also see a hooded figure in the pic of your grandmother. If you look to the left of the van by the thing that looks like a fence post toward the rear of the van. It could be the angel of death. After all it is a nursing home. And i dont mean any disrespect by that comment.
Anonymous 3:58 AM, October 19, 2006:
Very "classy" reply, hun. All it served to do is to prove that the only "retarded" person on this message board is you. Emotionally retarded. I bet you still live with your parents, too.
Also...
Judging by your comment I would not be so swift in judging people's intelligence if I were you lest someone judge your intelligence (or lack thereof) by the quality of your posts. Most seven year olds can come up with better posts then you can.
Well theres about 50 billion pics of ghost out there.. Seems that its just never enough? are you always in the same place at the same time everyday? Why would it be/ What a stupid point to make.. And if they named the expert would you know them?? lol. a 2 second trick of light that shows an entire person? In detail? WOW those are cool tricks..
I dont know what it is about kids...
but when I was young....TWICE...i saw a young version of my brother..when i walked down our hallway...it was for a split second..but he was digging in a box in a room, the other time he was walking across the hall. At the time he was about twice the age of the figure i saw. Was freaky...my sister and parents thought it was kinda scary.
is this true?
oh...and me and a young girl were playing with our friends...me and her were holding hands...and a skeleton like head flashed over some bushes...
but she saw the same thing and described it when i freaked out.
Has never happened again...must have something to do with being a young kid open to the world like that..
I want to explain more about my brother....from my sisters side of the story...cause i was kinda to young to remember all the details...
She said I just walked back into the living room...and said I just say my brother sitting on the bed..digging through a box...and explained so perfect how he looked..clothes and all.
But when I remember was turning my head...and it flashed infront of my eyes in the room and went away...i was to scared to run...all i remember.
It freaks me out to this day cause it happened to ME...I wasnt listening to someone else or watching a movie...those 3 events made me feel like something was messing with me on purpose...fucking freaky.
I'm not one that's going to get in to any name calling contest with anybody here. Won't be any chance of that since I likely will not return here. Not that I have anything against the site, it's great. I came I saw and I'm going to leave my comment as I go.
I think they are interesting photos. None of them in my opinion constitute proof. I don't think they could find any records of a 9ft monk, because there never was a 9ft monk. I believe the fact a 9ft monk appeared on the photo PROVES it is either the product of some kind of tampering or double exposure or something. I would also say this shows that the unnamed "experts" showed a weakness or possibly credibility issues. They were unable to expose any tampering or anything with this picture and yet all the logic in the world suggests there is no 9ft tall ghost roaming the place.
One person said that ghosts move around just like we do, apparently to explain why people can't get LOTS of pictures of the same ghost. This person must not even take a cursory study of the subject before deciding they are a full on believer. Most of the ghost stories I hear, including several examples in the 10 pictures here are of ghosts that tend to show up in the same place all the time. So why aren't there LOTS of pictures from different people and different cameras of THOSE ghosts?
I would like to hear one of these "experts" explain how they could prove a photo was not a double-exposure if the person who produced the photo purposely double-exposed it and was smart enough to hide any evidence it was double-exposed. I believe it would be simple to do I believe I could do it.
Do I believe it's POSSIBLE any of these are actually pictures of ghosts? Sure I do. I wouldn't be here if I thought it was 100% impossible for there to be ghosts.
Why is it that these days you seem to have to have a digital camera to get a picture of a ghost? Some of these were taken before digital.
I love this stuff, but I agree. People who go to cemetaries to get ghost photos every weekend aren't exactly objective, are they? A few particles of dust reflecting the flash, and some smoke from their cigarrette, and they've captured irrefutable evidence! Still, this list has some cool ones. BTW a photo doesn't have to be double-exposed for someone to jump into frame halfway through a long exposure.
Where is Freddy Jackson in the group photo?
Well, with photography, you can expose the same frame with more than one different shot, thereby creating this sort of ghost effect. Its pretty easy to do.
And I really don't think there is actually any evidence other than people telling you what they saw, these pictures, and maybe people experiencing ghosts themselves. The mind is very powerful. Anyway, nothing can ever be proved, only disproved.
Reply to: "skeleton like head"
You don't live in greensboro, nc
by any chance do you?
sonichog1@yahoo.com
I always wondered... how can someone prove that ghosts really exist? I mean, I'm not sure what kind of evidence would be necesary to prove, beyond any doubt, that ghosts DO exist... Any ideas? Perhaps some kind of physical evidence, like... a photograph? :)
Now, seriously, if ghosts do exist, we are completely stuck: a skeptic won't believe no matter what (as i said, how do you prove a ghost?), until he/she sees one himself, then (s)he becomes a believer too and is seen by other skeptics as a dumb.
And, by the way, amazing site!
Nahanni: You're right. I'm dead thick me, two degrees, a great job, a beautiful wife. If by emotionally retarded you mean I have no need for the esteem of idiots (that's you lot by the way) then I guess that's what I am.
There is so much ignorant gibberish on this page, for example "there are things beyond are limited comprehension that we are taught not to believe." It's like being back at school, listening to this wishy-washy, low-brow crap.
Unlike Anonymous and Scott, there is enough evidence that ghosts are real. Let's put it this way: I'm a journalist and in my profession stories are reported that when at least two people witness a crime and tell the police what happen, that is enough to start an investigation.
Now, we're talking about haunted places that have had countless witnesses, in some cases, hundreds of years. So, there must be something to it.
In addition, there are pictures and audio recordings of ghosts. Some are great, others not so great. There is enough out there makes non-believers into believers and even scientists investigated.
In #8 the ghost of Freddy Jackson is behind the guy positioned in the back row, 4th from the left.
Make that #6, Freddy Jackson's comeback.
I know ghosts are real becaue I have seen my great grandpa many times. And so has my mother when I was very sick when I was a young boy. If you ever have an experience like that than you will stop with this BS about how you need countless photographs to know they exist.
I always have to laugh when I read comments from someone who is "convinced" there are no ghosts.
I've had many encounters -- some good, some bad -- but let me assure you all -- they exist.
I would love to be present when these "non/believers" meet their first proof of life -- after death. It would be delicious...............
I have seen most of these pictures before, some are obviously fakes, and known to be -- #9 specifically.
#7 is obviously someone left the lens open, climbed into bed, and then closed the shutter. You can even see the motion blur of the person getting into the bed. The well over exposed lights also give away the long exposure time.
#5 is exactly the same thing as #7; and the description even gives the clue to it.
#4 is a lighting artifact, nothing else.
#3 is a bad photoshop job.
Grandma could easily be a photoshop job, it sorta has the signs of it.
The website listed as www.ghostaugustine.com has "pictures of ghosts" and "Orbs". Well the orbs are nothing more then water spots on the lens - one picture you can tell it is raining - the other shots are just too blurry to tell anything.
I belive that there could be ghosts and most likely are ghosts but not all of the pics on this site are of ghosts (some might be).
It's harder to prove that tachyons exist than to snap a photo of a ghost. Still, scientists are working on particle physics and string theory. Until the underlying physics (or metaphysics) are understood, none of this will be repeatable under controlled circumstances.
My personal theory is that these "ghosts" are really echoes, imprints left behind somehow, and that the presence of people affects them. If the triggers for these echoes are as complex as the emotional and physical conditions which created them, it's no wonder they aren't predictable.
Closed-minded skeptic = one who is ignorant of any evidence that doesn't fit their limited world view
I totally agree with Scott M. It really cracks me up when people will pass off pictures with dust particles on the lens as "orbs". Why do so many people reject the most realistic explanation?
However, I love these 10 pics. Real or not, they are fun to look at, and they are all very creepy.
As a photographer I am a skeptic, I have never seen, let alone photographed, any ghost. But beyond any doubt I believe they exist and can make their presence known in other ways. While some ghosts may be lost and confused souls that can't break their bond with this world, many are loved ones that stay to watch over us. My wife and I were awakened one night by the doorbell. I grabbed a flashlight and opened the door to find no one there. As the walkways were all wet there should have been wet footprints on our porch but there were none. Seconds later as I stood in the hallway with flashlight in hand, we were hit by a 5.0 earthquake. What better position could I have been in to be ready for such an event? This is just one of many odd circumstances in my life where seemingly help was rendered from beyond. A friend once recounted me how as they listened to their child from another room over a baby monitor they heard the voice of the grandmother talking and cooing to the baby. They ran to the room to find the baby awake and laughing but alone. The grandmother had actually passed away months before.
Call it all nonsense if you will, but you can be damn sure that someday when I'm gone I'm going to do what I can to hang around and watch over my family and help out in whatever way possible, and maybe even play a few tricks just for fun.
Yeah, well, no one has been able to "prove" the existance of God either. lol Basically if you want to get technical, the only proof we have of God is a Book, whose origins are a bit 'sktechy' at best. Yet, millions believe. I'm a skeptic, definately, but not about ghosts. I've had 2 different experiences with them, they're ther eal deal, even if we can't explain them.
For everyone asking for proof- I have only one question for you:
Can you prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that ghosts do NOT exist? Nope- can't prove it, can't disprove it. To negate the possibility without proof is a bit ignorant....don't you agree? I really hope my kids do not grow up with this insane, narrow minded view of the world. For the narrow minded: I feel for you, really I do. Best of luck navigating this world with blinders on.
By the By: Freddie Jackson's pic is the creepiest.
Since shortly after the camera was invented, there have been conmen who attempted to make a living selling photographs of "spirits," most of which were actually double exposures.
Many of these early hucksters (William H. Mumler in 1869 was the earliest that I know of) were tried and convicted of fraud. Over the last 150 years, thousands of other photographers, both professional and amateur have replicated and improved upon those early efforts. Some do it for the money, some for the noteriety, and others just for the fun of perpetrating a hoax against a gullible public. As several other posters have noted, many of the images on this page are fraudulent or could be reproduced with a simple trick.
As for personal ghost experiences, remember that your senses and memory are anything but infallible. This is especially true for memories of experiences you had when you were a child. Self deception comes naturally to humans, and your memories can rapidly be colored by confirmation bias and social pressure. The acceptance of human fallibility is one of the key tenants of science, and the reason why science requires double-blind studies and results that can be reproduced.
On cold winter nights I can often hear a rustling and clanging from the floor below me. Is it a ghost? No. It's a 100 year old house with a forced-water heating system. Just because you can't think of a natural explanation from something does not mean that there must be a supernatural one.
Skeptics will always be skeptics. It doesn't matter what evidence exists, or whether it is repeated or not. Skeptics will always try to explain things away as a trick of light, etc., no matter how good the evidence is to the contrary.
Did George Washington, the first president of the United States exist? Please show me the evidence. Remeber, it cannot be written words or eye-witness accounts, as that is not scientific evidence. Nor can it be documents written or signed by this so-called George Washington fellow, as they can all be fake. According to the skeptic, George Washington never existed, nor has just about anything else.
i couldnt disagree more. until you have an experience of your own, you can scoff all you want. you guys need to understand that the realm of ghosts is not fully understood. if it was they would be normal not paranormal. no one may ever fully understand these beings or their behaviors. for all we know we maybe but ghosts to them. also, i believe that everyone is entitled to their opinions but within limits. its all fine and dandy that you choose not to believe but please dont call those of us who do gullible. i do believe but i dont believe everything that i hear or see. it is up to all of us to make our own decisions on this topic. there are things out there that can not and should not be written off as tricks of light and shadow. we have all this technology at our fingertips so i propose this, instead of seeing what is beyond this planet in outer space, maybe we should use this technology to prove or disprove any and all paranormal phenomena such as ghosts. we should understand more of the worlds that exist beside ours, within our own instead of above it in the stars. maybe if we did that and had a scientific theory all you skeptics would take the scientists word for it just like every other 'theory' out there with 'scientific' proof.
Ah yes. No evidence whatsoever of spirits. "Until you can take the same picture..." then all the existing evidence, no matter how extensive, is bunk, useless, lies, deception. My what brilliant, thoughtful, and thoroughly logical reasoning!
I'm sorry, but it takes too much faith to be that kind of a skeptic. I just don't have it in me! But then again, I'm probably one of those "gullible people".
What outrageous arrogance!
Closed-minded skeptic = one who is ignorant of any evidence that doesn't fit their limited world view
Why do us skeptics always have to be called closed-minded? I'm a pretty open guy, but that doesn't mean I have to believe everything shown to me. And I for one, do not believe any photos of ghosts, there are too many tricks of the trades when it comes to photos and videos.
As for the question that someone asked earlier: Can you disprove ghosts? Wow! Great reach around! Yeah, I actually can, it's called no evidence of them existing... No evidence of said subject existing, means that the subject is disproven. Thus, I have proven they do not exist.
I should become a freakin' rocket scientist...
Listen, I am a darkroom photographer, you don't need photoshop to create illusions like that first one. I'm not saying that ghosts/spirits don't exsit, I feel the only way to believe in ghosts is to have a real live experience with one and not a picture. You can't always believe your eyes.
I do believe that spirits exist.
Why, even the Bible speaks of spirits. But it also warns us not to tamper with or speak with the Dead...
about that last picture,i was shocked when i saw the man but i was almost scared when i realized that the dark figure in the backround resembled a reeper i pondered a thought that maybe the reeper was bringing him(grandpa)back for the photograh.
P.S.I love the Harry Potter siries and i have read every book 4 times and just so you know,i am 11 years old:)*(:
(my mom showed me this site)
I made one of the Anonymous posts above (at 3:29 PM, October 19, 2006), and I'd like to respond to the posts since then.
You're right about one thing Anonymous (5:13 PM, October 19, 2006): it's literally impossible to prove anything except for mathematical theorums and that our own minds exist. But we can make informed decisions with the available evidence. And the evidence for the existence of George Washington is so much better (a large body of interlocking and self-supporting evidence) than the evidence for ghosts (images and pictures, many of which are known to be fraudulent... as well as personal experiences that can be explained by a psychologist or neurologist) that to compare the two is laughable.
Kista, you're right that if it were possible to detect or analyze ghosts, they would be within the realm of the natural. Unfortunately, they have yet to be detected or analyzed in a controlled setting, placing them squarely in the supernatural realm of Santa and that monster that lived in my closet when I was a kid. People have been trying and failing for years to provide any solid evidence of ghosts and their failure has not stopped people from believing. On the other hand, real science has increased the quality of life drastically for anyone willing and able to reap its benefits.
Mwdiers, I'm not sure if your sarcastic name-calling and straw man (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man) portrayal of skeptics really add much to the discussion.
As a general point concerning several supernatural phenomena, I suggest reading about the period between sleep and wakefulness known as hypnagogia in which people sometimes experience vivid sensations that they interpret as supernatural.
Thanks so much for sharing your ghost photos with us Coast-to-Coast AM fans. They were both interesting and entertaining.
HAHA! I finally went to the link with the orbs. Man, that is some pretty damning evidence of ghosts, I mean orbs, it all makes sense now. Man, and the believers call the skeptics close-minded.
Wow. This argument is getting very old. Someone needs to be merciful and shoot it to death, please! End its misery.
Let's be honest here folks, both skeptics and believers alike are looking foolish. We are all foolish creatures, and there is nothing we can do about it. Perception itself is flawed, and we are forced to believe that the details of our lives are real. I believe that I exist, and that this article was written by another human. I have no proof of either because, again, perception is fallible and no tangible 'proof' of anything will ever exist. Believe whatever you want and spare our eyes of your petty insults and retorts. The members of both 'sides' who try to insult each others supposed 'intellect' are quite laughable. Comments like, "I have two degrees!" and "Your post reads like it was written by a mildly retarded 6 year old" are magical. Kudos to the people bickering here, the verbal hair-pulling going on is the creepiest thing about this article.
awesome list, i would have used the exact same pictures if i was making a list of my own but perhaps in a slightly different order :p :)
I'm not a believer or a skeptic, I personally tend to go with whatever the best evidence I can find. It's impossible to speak of the authenticity with any authority, so I won't, but a couple of weird things strike me. Why are 90% of these "ghost" photos taken under the exact same stereotypical ghost situations? Bad lighting, over-exposure, terrible quality... It's like back when UFO movies started coming out. Before War of the Worlds, there was no report of flying saucers. But immediately afterwards and even until this day, they're suddently way more common. This whole ghost situation seems like the same thing to me. People see what they want to see, and vise versa. Suddenly every time a believer sees a fragment of light or whatever that looks weird, they jump to conclusions. I'm not saying they don't exist, but until either myself, or someone i know says they've seen something, I can't help but remain a skeptic.
Also I'd be curious to see how many believers are religious, and how many skeptics aren't. I'd be willing to bet there's a high correlation
Benjamin, the G.W. comparison to ghosts is laughable. That's why I posted it. Two extreme examples to point out one thing - the human race is in its infancy and still doesn't know jack about jack. My father first brought forth this argument with me. He is an ex physics professor.
But, hold on. Maybe comparing the two isn't that laughable. Maybe it is the human thought process, and the human mind that is laughable. After all, in your argument you say that the existence of G.W. is supported by a large body of interlocking and self-supporting evidence. Is it really? Were you alive then? Can you tell me without a doubt that he lived, and can you prove that without a shadow of a doubt? No, you can't. Nobody can, period. Not SCIENTIFICALLY. And in the end, it is SCIENTIFIC evidence skeptics seek when it comes to "ghosts."
Also, remember that scientists, just 30 years ago, said animals do not think. They said everything an animal does is based on instict, with no learning or thought process involved. What are they saying now?
Freddy jackson's ghost is visible in the picture without the close-up if you look closely. Is it possible it was a person standing there? I think so. This pic would be more believable if his image was somewhere in the lower levels. A ghost doesn't take up much space and wouldn't likely be noticed by others... or so I have been told :)
It's mostly psychological. Mankind has a strange infatuation with the idea of after-life, but if you think logically about ghosts, after-life, demons, etc. you'll find it doesn't make much sense. Hey, we may be crazy but at least we're sane enough to know it.
Venkman and Egon saw the same things!
Who ya gonna call, George Washington Busters! - from the poster of the G.W. argument. :)
God, I love debates. :)
For the "unbelievers" here: I was very skeptical of ghosts/spirits/the supernatural until I had my own experience that simply could *not* be explained any other way. Even now, my rational mind fights against it. If you're a skeptic, I challenge you to go out and confront these mysteries. Play with a ouija board (seriously). Spend a night in a room that's supposed to be haunted. See what happens.
The ghost in the castle was actually later found out to be a hoax by the security guards. I can't remember where I read it but it was a couple weeks after the video came out and I believe it was in the USA Today or something. I wish I had a link to it but I really can't remember where it was.
www.ghosthuntutah.com
You're all a bunch of douchebags.
"Spooky?" "Scary?" We only fear what we do not understand. Keep in mind that these ghosts are people just like you and me that have passed from this physical world into another dimension. They are spirits without physical bodies, which means no eyes, no ears, no ability to process light and sound the way we do. Our world may seem as ghostly to them as theirs is to us. Got a ghost? Regard it as a rarely seen neighbor. Either ignore it, live and let live, or be friendly toward it, talk kindly to it, accept it's presence and it may reciprocate in kind. If it's mischevious, tell it to back off, reason with it. But if it's malevolent and hostile?, time to move, or call it the authorities. After all, if you were a ghost, what would you do? As for me?, I love a good practical joke once in a while.
go to JKCinema.com
many people do not believe in ghosts until they come across one themselves
Why is it the skeptic's are very harsh with word's. We do not call you retarded because you don't believe what we do. You must believe in ghost's right? Why else would you be on this site. Is it just to be mean to the people that do think ghost's are real. You have your view's, we have our's. Ghost's are never going to be proven to be real or not. Along with every other supernatural thing out there. That is one of the many question's we must ask god when we get there.
I for one think they are real.
Anon at 5:06 AM,
Don