More Ghost stuff. Pictures, Common sense and the quirks of the Human Brain

I am a ghost sceptic and I have never seen a ghost picture I believe contains a genuine spirit. I would like to, but to date have never seen any convincing proof of the afterlife.

There are two concepts I would like you to bear in mind when reading this. They are:-

Pareidolia-is a psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) wherein the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none actually exists.

Common sense-exactly what it says. The thing that makes you say. 'Hang on that can't be right.'

Using these you should be able to debunk 90% of Ghost Photos. When dealing with pictures of supposed Ghosts I will usually give more credence to pictures taken on old fashioned film as opposed to digital. Film is much more difficult to falsify unlike digital images which any Tom, Dick and Harry can alter to a reasonable standard. I have photoshopped many a picture to create a completely false image, (For my own education in Photoshop.). Unless you are an expert there are always signs.

Recently on Facebook I have seen 2 pictures, supposedly of Ghost images. The first was a vague image of a face on a net curtain (Seriously, on a net curtain, what self respecting Ghost would haunt a curtain.). For me a clear case of Pareidolia from someone who desperately wants to believe. The second was in a fish tank. Yes you heard me right. Now given the way light and water react it is almost guaranteed to produce strange patterns at times. I came to the same conclusions as with 'Curtain Ghost'.

Another poster posted a picture of a grave with a strange discrepancy at the very bottom. Underneath was an enlargement of the area the discrepancy appears in. It was labelled 'Enlarged, Brightness, contrast and sharpness improved. Now if you have to go to that trouble to get people to see what you see, it isn't very clear to start with.

So lets examine some celebrated Ghost pictures with a view to the reality of the ghost in each. First, and to my mind the best image with a view to believability, is the one at the top of the page. It is of 'The Brown Lady of Raynham hall'. It is on film so that is in it's favour. It could be a double exposure but the Ghost seems to be consistent with it's surroundings. The image does show signs of Double exposure according to some experts. Others accuse the photographer of smearing grease on the lens. However it does not set out to  produce a sharp clear human image and most sightings are of this type. Only a vague shape is usually claimed by the observer. So maybe a 5/10 for convincing evidence.

 

How about this. The floating head appeared in a picture when the film camera was on self timer. The flash did not go off. Then another picture of the same scene was taken a moment later and the lady was gone. Those who were there do not know who the woman was and experts have said there is no evidence of double exposure. However it was taken on a camera on which the flash malfunctioned so I cannot discount a camera fault. Also given that Ghosts are disembodied and use energy to manifest, according to most accounts, this lady is way too clear and would fit in to any other images recorded in the restaurant that evening. Even the lighting of the face is the same. However, given the expert testimony against Camera error it gets 5/10.

 

 



This one is a good picture. The little girl unaware of what is happening behind her. The floating woman is consistent with her surroundings so there is no double exposure issue. She is a bit too clear for me (I.E. not Ghostly.) but she is clearly floating. the picture shows no photoshop tell tales, it may even have been on film. Should score high, Right? I give it ......0/10. That is because the lady, far from floating, is merely running and one leg is up behind her while the other is behind the post. Furthermore, somewhat tired of this picture being relentlessly duplicated across the Net, she has told the story on record. She was quite simply running and the camera snapped just as her legs were completely out of view.

In this one the head peeking around the Church disappears when you go around the corner. Well yes it would, this is a fake and my nephews pulled stunts like this all the time as kids. There is no evidence given as to time and only the submitters word that it was anything other than a couple of kids playing with a camera. 1/10

 

This one was from a Reverend K.F. Lord at Newby Church, Yorkshire. While no one has ever proved fakery this is almost a caricature of a ghost, note the sheet with eyeholes cut in it. It is someone with no imagination drawing on the popular idea of ghosts. 1/10.

Finally a cautionary tale, let us examine a Photo which almost had me convinced.

 

The picture was of a fire at Wem town hall in Shropshire. Note the girl at the bottom right. Pareidolia, possibly. The person was taking a picture of the fire not a girl so he had no reason to fake it. This picture taken by Tony O'Rahilly in 1995 A young girl had died in a fire in 1677 and there was no reason that similar circumstances shouldn't bring her shade out to play. It was compelling but it was only while I was researching this post that I found an article claiming that the picture was debunked. If you want to read about it, go to :-http://www.ghosttheory.com/2010/05/17/wem-ghost-girl-photograph-finally-solved

For those with less patience a gent from Wem found this little girl from a postcard of Wem High Street.

Look familiar?I am not saying it is debunked but it is a bit too much of a coincidence for me. 1/10.

I don't know why people fake pictures but in my experience most ARE faked, or coincidence or just plain lucky. Maybe people want their 15 minutes, or they genuinely believe patterns on the wall are grannies face. Even Vicars are not immune, though maybe it was to draw the tourists in to pay for the new roof.

So by all means go looking for ghost pictures on the internet and look at your own pictures for Ghosts. Just apply common sense. It is more likely that the light on the curtains is just  a pattern of light that your brain is misinterpreting than a visitation from a dead dude.