Real-Life X-Files: Investigating the Paranormal

18. Ghostly Photos

~ Chapter 18 Gh r\~tl T'- Phr\tr\~ _....IL.v...~~ -,J _ ...... v v ..~; A rash of new "ghost" photographs is plaguing the western world. I first became aware of the mysterious phenomenon when I received a call at my office at the Center for Inquiry. It was from a Lockport, New York, couple who were experiencing some spooky occurrences and were concerned about their young children. The most unusual phenomenon, they said, was found in some oftheir color snapshots. Although they had seen nothing at the time either oftwo photos was taken, each contained strange, unusually white shapes the couple could not explain. (See figures 18.1 and 18.2). Similar pictures were taken by another couple. They had appeared with me on "The Danny Show" (where they presented UFO video sequences ). Afterward, discovering I had written a book they praised, Camera Clues: A Handbook for Photographic Investigation (1994), they gave me some snapshots that puzzled them. Looking at them later, I recognized a few that had similarities to the earlier photos. A Post-It Note on one indicated it had been made in Mexico and was "similar to photo [in] Fate magazine:' Naturally, the notation led me to the October 1995 issue ofFate, which featured a nationwide ghost photo contest. It was (to quote Yogi Berra) deja-vu all over again! Beginning with the Grand Prize Winner's photo, the mysterious strandlike forms infected all six winning photos. Citing my book Camera Clues at the end, the accompanying Fate article explained how some of the ghost effects in the photos the editors had received were due to such causes as film-processing errors, lens flares (caused by interreflection between lens surfaces), and outright hoaxes. What was left, they opined, "were a few pictures that may represent an Ghostly Photos Figures 18.1 and 18.2. "Ghostly" forms in photos like these made by a New York state couple are becoming common. 129 'I' 130 "I' Real-Life X-Files Figure 18.3. Experimental photograph by the author reproduces similar ghostIy effects. ectoplasmic energy or kinetic energy often associated with the presence of a ghost; however, experts lell LIS that kinetic energy can be related to a living being as well" ("Fate Ghost Contest" 1995). Y et again, the mysterious, fluid form appears in a British photo in Jane Goldman's embarrassingly credulous The X-Files Book ofthe Ullexpiailled ( \995, reviewed in Skeptical II/quirer, May/June 1996), Goldman's caption suggests the white shape isa ghost;"Or is it fogged fi lm?"Goldman asks in a rare moment ofdoubt. Actually it is neither. I learned the source of the ghostly phenomenon when the first young couple visited my office and,at my request, brought their camera and film for me to keep for a few days. Examination of the negatives revealed nothing remarkable, but by the next day I had the answer: the strand- or looplike form was caused by the new subcompact camera's hand strap getting in front of the lens. Since the viewfinder on this type of camera does not see what the camera sees (as it does in a single-lens reflex type camera), the obtruded view goes unnoticed. Although such camera straps are typically black and photograph black (or dark) in normal light, their sheen en- Ghostly Photos Figure 18.4. Another experimental photo is typical of many "ghost" snapshots. abies them to reflect brightly the flash from the camera's self-contained flash unit. Some of my experimental snapshots are shown in figures 18.3 and 18.4.The braiding of the strap can even be seen in some pictures. When the cord is quite close to the lens, the result is softer, more mistlike. It follows that analogous effects could occur if other articles were placed before the lens-either deliberately or inadvertently. For example, flashreflected hair, jewelry, articles of clothing, a fingertip, or the like could produce distinctive effects that might not be easily recognized. It is instructive to note that in each of the cases I have related, including the six examples in Fate magazine, no one saw anything out of the ordinary but simply discovered the anomolous shapes when the photos came back from the film processors. As 1point out in Camera Clues, that situation is a good indication that the paranormal phenomenon in question-ghost, UFO, or other entity-is really onlysome sort of...