# Ghost photos **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 19, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313 "2007-10-19T17:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/1 "2007-10-19T17:56:26Z")
Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s no such thing as ghosts. Or ghouls, specters, phantoms, spirits, etc. However, people keep taking pictures of things and claiming they are ghosts. Just like with UFO pictures, most of them are debunked and proven through careful analysis to be double exposures, photoshopped or other things. Yet, just like with UFO photos, I’m sure there are some pictures that could not be rationally explained. I’m not talking about the “floating orbs” which really just look like water spots on the lens or light reflections. Does anyone know where I can find these kinds of photos? It’s Halloween time so someone must be able to scare up a couple. 😃 Please don’t jump into this thread to say that ghosts aren’t real or that anyone who believes in them is an idiot. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/2 "2007-10-19T18:04:27Z")
Well I always liked the ‘ghost’ photos from the early days of photography. They have a creepier feel to them. [The Brown Lady](http://z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/B/B/brown_lady_lg.jpg) is a good one. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/3 "2007-10-19T18:04:46Z")
Hey, isn’t your name Eerie? Shouldn’t you be _hosting_ ghost picture sites? [Here](http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/) [you](http://www.ghoststudy.com/) [go](http://www.ghostphotos.org/). Just Google “ghost photos”! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/4 "2007-10-19T18:32:58Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] Hey, isn’t your name Eerie? Shouldn’t you be _hosting_ ghost picture sites? [Here](http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/) [you](http://www.ghoststudy.com/) [go](http://www.ghostphotos.org/). Just Google “ghost photos”! :eek: [/QUOTE] Gah! Just a warning… that last link (“go”) has sound, in case you want to open it at work! The volume on my computer was turned up really high since we watched a movie with it recently… so loud!!! ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/5 "2007-10-19T18:39:50Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] Hey, isn’t your name Eerie? Shouldn’t you be _hosting_ ghost picture sites? [Here](http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/) [you](http://www.ghoststudy.com/) [go](http://www.ghostphotos.org/). Just Google “ghost photos”! :eek: [/QUOTE] I have to say, the last sight you listed has absolutely the worst ghost pictures I’ve ever seen. Prisms and reflections that, if you step back and really, really use your imagination, look kinda sorta like part of a face. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/6 "2007-10-19T18:46:20Z")
[QUOTE=erie774] Yet, just like with UFO photos, I’m sure there are some pictures that could not be rationally explained. [/QUOTE] There are neither any ghost photos or UFO photos that can’t be rationally explained. You’re asking for something that doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/7 "2007-10-19T18:54:45Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] Hey, isn’t your name Eerie? Shouldn’t you be _hosting_ ghost picture sites? [Here](http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/) [you](http://www.ghoststudy.com/) [go](http://www.ghostphotos.org/). Just Google “ghost photos”! :eek: [/QUOTE] BOO! 😛 Thanks. So many “ghost” photos are like seeing the Virgin Mary in a tortilla. If you look at it sideways with one eye squinting during a total eclipse… I like the ones that you can _almost_ tell that it is a person and not just a shadow or reflection. Any other ones out there? ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/8 "2007-10-19T19:09:00Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] There are neither any ghost photos or UFO photos that can’t be rationally explained. You’re asking for something that doesn’t exist. [/QUOTE] Ah, **Dio**! I knew I could count on you to say something like that. That is why I explicitly stated in the OP > [@](#): > > Please don’t jump into this thread to say that ghosts aren’t real or that anyone who believes in them is an idiot. Thanks. It is not true to say that some photos cannot be explained. They might not have an explanation yet and they might be explained sometime in the future but as of October 19, 2007 CE there really are photos that do not have rational explanations. Photos were taken outside “Area 51” for years showed objects flying through the sky that could not be identified as known aircraft, technically an **U** nidentified **F** lying **O** bject. Later they were identified as stealth, high performance or drone aircraft of configurations that were previously unknown to the civilian world and that had been kept in the “black” world of military security. So don’t tell me that there might be photos without rational explanations. They exist. We just haven’t been able to figure out what the items in the photos are yet. So, anyone else have a contribution besides Mr. Poopy Pants? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/9 "2007-10-19T19:57:48Z")
[QUOTE=erie774] Yet, just like with UFO photos, I’m sure there are some pictures that could not be rationally explained. I’m not talking about the “floating orbs” which really just look like water spots on the lens or light reflections. Does anyone know where I can find these kinds of photos? It’s Halloween time so someone must be able to scare up a couple. 😃 Please don’t jump into this thread to say that ghosts aren’t real or that anyone who believes in them is an idiot. Thanks. [/QUOTE] I have a big interest in the paranormal, and I always try to keep an open (and curious) mind about these things. But to be fair, especially to **Diogenes** , the proposition of the OP comes across as “some pictures that could not be rationally explained = photos that \*must \*be of a ghost, since there’s no other explanation = ghosts exist, and this is a photo of them”. And in that case, **Diogenes** is right to point out that ghosts have not been scientifically proven to exist (although my personal emendation would include: not yet. But that’s me). Somewhat random side note: I brought up the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall in another thread, and somebody pointed it out as an early example of a double-exposure technique. Would that kind of thing be possible on earlier cameras? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/10 "2007-10-19T20:11:06Z")
Sure, it’s actually easier with earlier cameras. (no auto film advance to worry about and early photographers almost all did their own darkroom work) ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/11 "2007-10-19T20:23:43Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] I have a big interest in the paranormal, and I always try to keep an open (and curious) mind about these things. But to be fair, especially to **Diogenes** , the proposition of the OP comes across as “some pictures that could not be rationally explained = photos that \*must \*be of a ghost, since there’s no other explanation = ghosts exist, and this is a photo of them”. And in that case, **Diogenes** is right to point out that ghosts have not been scientifically proven to exist (although my personal emendation would include: not yet. But that’s me). Somewhat random side note: I brought up the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall in another thread, and somebody pointed it out as an early example of a double-exposure technique. Would that kind of thing be possible on earlier cameras? [/QUOTE] Hmm. Interesting interpretation. OK, let me rephrase it: “Does anyone have a link to a photo that is purportedly of a so-called ‘supernatural’ manifestation that has not been debunked? This photo should not be of an unidentified flying object or of a potentially cryptozoological nature but should be limited to a subject typically referred to as a spirit or ghost. Said photo must be one that has undergone scientific/technical analysis that has not been able to determine the nature of the phenomena that has caused the subject to appear in the image.” Is that better? Geez. Now OPs have to be vetted by the legal department! Hey, I don’t believe in ghosts but I know that there have been photos taken of things that people claim are “ghosts” and I would like to see the ones that people can’t say, “Hey, you can see the wires! And the sheets have a tag on them!” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/12 "2007-10-19T20:28:40Z")
I actually don’t think there are any that can’t be/haven’t been debunked. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/13 "2007-10-19T23:29:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] [Here](http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/) [/QUOTE] Hehee. I love these. [Floating head](http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/floating.html) is great. It’s not included in the “fake or easily explainable” section. Oh My! A photo of a computer workstation with an image being displayed on the screen! Uh huh. Also [Faces in the window](http://www.ghostresearch.org/ghostpics/ghost1.html) which are… well, faces in the window. Ah, but there was “nobody in the house at the time”. At least it wasn’t a clever forgery. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/14 "2007-10-19T23:48:46Z")
There were two older B&W photos that we had a thread about some time ago. One looked like a face in a jar and the other was some sort of weird family picture on a porch. Does anyone remember what I’m talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/15 "2007-10-20T00:17:43Z")
I seriously came into this thread thinking it was titled ‘‘Ghost potatoes.’’ I’m sorry to say I am disappointed. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/16 "2007-10-20T02:03:28Z")
[QUOTE=Queen Bruin] There were two older B&W photos that we had a thread about some time ago. One looked like a face in a jar and the other was some sort of weird family picture on a porch. Does anyone remember what I’m talking about? [/QUOTE] I remember the second one! Creeped the living daylights out of me. But I can’t remember what thread it was in. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/17 "2007-10-20T02:18:11Z")
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th] I seriously came into this thread thinking it was titled ‘‘Ghost potatoes.’’ I’m sorry to say I am disappointed. ☹ [/QUOTE] Spud spirits? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/18 "2007-10-20T04:20:30Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I actually don’t think there are any that can’t be/haven’t been debunked. [/QUOTE] [Official Moderator Warning]Off-topic. It has been explained _twice_ what the OP is looking for, and you’ve ignored the explanations both times. Don’t do this again[/Official Moderator Warning] ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/19 "2007-10-20T04:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=erie774] Spud spirits? [/QUOTE] [Link!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodka) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313/20 "2007-10-20T04:52:33Z")
I didn’t save the link, but there’s a tutorial floating around that teaches you how to make ghost photographs using photoshop or paint shop pro. This was [my result](http://www.flickr.com/photos/12168828@N08/1646425891/) from following it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghost-photos/423313.md?page=2)