Ghost Images

University of Hertfordshire psychologist and researcher Richard Wiseman (he wrote The Luck Factor book featured previously on Neatorama here) is interested in scientific research into the paranormal.

So he asked people to submit their "ghost" photographs in an effort to find scientific explanation of the mysterious, "ghostly" images found in them. Here's the preliminary result, a list of 10 most remarkable ghost photos as voted by web users:

Link

(This one above is the Tantallon Castle Ghost, as taken by photographer Christopher Aitchison)

Previously on Neatorama: 15 Famous Ghost Photos | Ghostly Angel


Iv'e been a photography enthusiast for years and years. There's nothing in any of those photos that's even remotely difficult to explain without resorting to "ghosts."
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I have an awful lot of pictures like these. My cameras always had trouble advancing the film properly. Especially when I forgot to wind it!

As for the #1 picture, there's a person in the window. Why do they think it's a ghost?
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In the age of Photoshop, the phrase "photographic evidence" has become an oxymoron.

Sorry, folks, but when you shut off the transmitter, the signal stops. End of story.
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From the site, about the #1 picture:

"an unnoticed visitor, an odd reflection of light against the wall, or digital manipulation."

Translation: "well, we don't know what it *is*, but we know what it *isn't*"

While I don't think the #1 picture actually shows a ghost, every time a discussion about this topics shows up the arguments are the same: "ghosts don't exist, so the thing in your picture must be something else, because it can't be a ghost". I'm pretty sure that if some day I get to take a picture of a ghost while talking to me (or, even better, showing his ID), people will say "its photoshopped, you can see the pixels" :(

BTW, I'd love to see an analysis of this photograph: http://paranormal.about.com/library/blclassic_fire_girl.htm .
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Martin: The shape in that photo does look remarkably like a girl, but it's basically just a couple of dark splotches.

Our brains are so face-attuned that we interpret a colon followed by a closing parenthesis as a sideways smiley. Couple this with the fact that there are hundreds of billions of photos in the world, no two of them alike, and it's not too surprising that some of them have splotches and blotches that we try to see as people.
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Martin:

Some people analyzed the Wem photograph and came up with a possible explanation, although it's far from conclusive:

http://forgetomori.com/2009/paranormal/ghosts/the-second-best-pareidolia-a-hoax/
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