Ever since the investing of the camera, people have either caught spirits in photographs, and some have tried... and succeeded! Also, there have been many that have faked photos. In this blog, I will talk about 3 of the photos that are considered to be real (could not have been proven to have been faked), and 2 of the most popular faked photos. The last photo is an important lesson when taking photos.
"The Brown Lady" is one of the most famous ghost photographs taken. The ghost is thought to be that of Lady Dorothy Townshend. She was the wife of Charles Townshend, a resident of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England 1700s. Charles believed that Dorothy was unfaithful to him. It is believed that he faked her death, had a fake funeral, buried an empty coffin, and kept his wife locked away in an unused part of the manor that was never went into.
Over the years, a lady in a brown dress has been seen around the manor, especially on the staircase.
The photo was taken in September 1936 by Captain Provand and Indre Shira. They were two photographers who were assigned to photograph Raynham Hall for Country Life magazine. This is what happened, according to Shira: Upon developing the film, the image of The Brown Lady ghost was seen for the first time. It was published in the Dec. 16, 1936 issue of Country Life. The ghost has been seen occasionally since.
Over the years, a lady in a brown dress has been seen around the manor, especially on the staircase.
The photo was taken in September 1936 by Captain Provand and Indre Shira. They were two photographers who were assigned to photograph Raynham Hall for Country Life magazine. This is what happened, according to Shira: Upon developing the film, the image of The Brown Lady ghost was seen for the first time. It was published in the Dec. 16, 1936 issue of Country Life. The ghost has been seen occasionally since.
The photograph of the Combermere Abbey library was taken in 1891 by Sybell Corbet. The figure of a man can faintly be seen sitting in the chair to the left. His head, collar and right arm on the armrest are clearly discernable. It is believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere.
Lord Combermere was a distinguished British cavalry commander in the early 1800s. Combermere Abbey, in Cheshire, England,. In 1814, Sir Stapleton Cotton took the title "Lord Combermere" and in 1817 became the Governor of Barbados. He died in 1891 when he was hit by a carriage. Sybell Corbet took the photo while Lord Combermere's funeral was taking place. It had been thought that the photo was a fake, but with the help of modern science and technology, it has been proven to not have been tampered with or taken on an over-exposure.
Lord Combermere was a distinguished British cavalry commander in the early 1800s. Combermere Abbey, in Cheshire, England,. In 1814, Sir Stapleton Cotton took the title "Lord Combermere" and in 1817 became the Governor of Barbados. He died in 1891 when he was hit by a carriage. Sybell Corbet took the photo while Lord Combermere's funeral was taking place. It had been thought that the photo was a fake, but with the help of modern science and technology, it has been proven to not have been tampered with or taken on an over-exposure.
The last real photo has been debunked by a team of TV ghost hunters, but another proved it to be real. This is the shadow figure of Moundsville (West Virginia) State Penitentiary. It was taken by Polly Gear, a paranormal investigator. At the time, she had a very credible reputation. Very well deserving, and not deserving as to what happened to her when she guest appeared on an episode of Ghost Hunters on the Syfy Network. Her account was she saw the figure and took the picture from 110' back from it. The shown photo, which is what was seen and debunked on the TV show, shows it much closer than 110'. TAPS members didn't take that into account or didn't care. They carelessly disproved it in their own way, and for a while, it ruined Polly's career.
Some years later, Ryan Buell and Chad Calek from Paranormal State on A&E Network was doing a small video with Chad's team, American Ghost Hunter. They took another look a the video, payed attention to all the details, and did everything humanly possible to debunk the photo themselves. They even went as far as to get a specialist in crime scenes to look at the photo. It was run through crime scene investigation software, and it was seen as a whole photo. In other words, the photo was not tampered with. Based on the specs of the camera, it put the shadow figure about 100' from Polly when she took the photograph. On top of that, the crime scene specialist said that the software showed the shadow figure as to having its own body mass. In other words, it recognized the shadow figure as a person. Of course it will say its a person though, because science won't really prove something to be a ghost.
Lesson? Just because someone is on TV or has a TV show doesn't make them better, more important, or above someone enough to make a call as something being a fake or real photo when there were many other ways to prove one way or the other and not done.
Some years later, Ryan Buell and Chad Calek from Paranormal State on A&E Network was doing a small video with Chad's team, American Ghost Hunter. They took another look a the video, payed attention to all the details, and did everything humanly possible to debunk the photo themselves. They even went as far as to get a specialist in crime scenes to look at the photo. It was run through crime scene investigation software, and it was seen as a whole photo. In other words, the photo was not tampered with. Based on the specs of the camera, it put the shadow figure about 100' from Polly when she took the photograph. On top of that, the crime scene specialist said that the software showed the shadow figure as to having its own body mass. In other words, it recognized the shadow figure as a person. Of course it will say its a person though, because science won't really prove something to be a ghost.
Lesson? Just because someone is on TV or has a TV show doesn't make them better, more important, or above someone enough to make a call as something being a fake or real photo when there were many other ways to prove one way or the other and not done.
This is probably one of the most famous faked photos in history. Abraham Lincoln appearing to his wife Mary.
William Mumler was a jewelry engraver and did photography on the side for more money. He took a photo of himself, and afterwards saw a little girl floating next to him. He at first dismissed it as a double negative, but after some friends looked at it, they saw that the girl was Mumler's dead cousin. Once people heard about it, they came from all over to have their photograph taken by Mulmer, in hopes of having their photo taken with a relative that has passed away.
Now, he did have his critics. This forced him to move from Boston to New York City in 1869, where he resumed taking “ghost photos” and was brought up on charges of fraud. There were many witnesses on both sides, but I the end, Mulmer was acquitted.
Once the trial was over, he moved back to Boston, and in 1871, he took his most famous photo of all. Mary Todd Lincoln came in to have her photograph taken by Mulmer. Of course, she and Abe were part of the spiritualist movement in the United States. This was known all over the country. However, when she sat for the photo, she came in under a fake name. When the photo was taken and it was ready to be seen, there stood the former President of the United States. Mulmer was amazed, and then realized who had been sitting in the chair. The former First Lady.
Because of modern technology, it had been found that these photos were due to double exposures.
William Mumler was a jewelry engraver and did photography on the side for more money. He took a photo of himself, and afterwards saw a little girl floating next to him. He at first dismissed it as a double negative, but after some friends looked at it, they saw that the girl was Mumler's dead cousin. Once people heard about it, they came from all over to have their photograph taken by Mulmer, in hopes of having their photo taken with a relative that has passed away.
Now, he did have his critics. This forced him to move from Boston to New York City in 1869, where he resumed taking “ghost photos” and was brought up on charges of fraud. There were many witnesses on both sides, but I the end, Mulmer was acquitted.
Once the trial was over, he moved back to Boston, and in 1871, he took his most famous photo of all. Mary Todd Lincoln came in to have her photograph taken by Mulmer. Of course, she and Abe were part of the spiritualist movement in the United States. This was known all over the country. However, when she sat for the photo, she came in under a fake name. When the photo was taken and it was ready to be seen, there stood the former President of the United States. Mulmer was amazed, and then realized who had been sitting in the chair. The former First Lady.
Because of modern technology, it had been found that these photos were due to double exposures.
When the town hall in Shropshire burned down in 1995, Tony O’Rahilly took this photograph. Upon his claim, he said he noticed the girl standing close to the flames when the photo was developed. He swore the doorway was empty. Her dress and appearance in the middle of the flames led to speculation that she was the ghost of a girl from 1677 that died in a fire that she’d started. The story made headlines worldwide.
A few years ago, someone noticed an old photo of a girl just like the one in O’Rahilly's photo. It turns out that the photo was a simple case of double exposure. The little girl from the old-timey photo had been inserted after the fact.
A few years ago, someone noticed an old photo of a girl just like the one in O’Rahilly's photo. It turns out that the photo was a simple case of double exposure. The little girl from the old-timey photo had been inserted after the fact.
This last photo is one that is seen a lot and taken by many different people. Orbs. This is a four letter word that most paranormal investigators hate saying. In MPS I do not take photos and video of orbs very lightly. Yes they are sometimes cool to look at, but doesn't mean that a place is haunted, and what is captured in most of these photos are actually dust, moisture, or a bug. This is an example of snow being caught while falling. Some if what is seen may be moisture. Always be careful of things like weather conditions or other things that will contaminate a photograph.