# U. K teen snaps a ghost ?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 29, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001 "2008-05-29T12:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/41 "2008-05-29T16:17:47Z")
[QUOTE=Scubaqueen] the hell IS a flying spaghetti monster? :dubious: [/QUOTE] An airborne beast comprised mainly of pasta and perhaps a tomato-based sauce, if you’re lucky. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/42 "2008-05-29T16:33:24Z")
[QUOTE=Scubaqueen] the hell IS a flying spaghetti monster? :dubious: [/QUOTE] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Touched\_by\_His\_Noodly\_Appendage.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Touched_by_His_Noodly_Appendage.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/43 "2008-05-29T16:41:00Z")
[QUOTE=Anastasaeon] An airborne beast comprised mainly of pasta and perhaps a tomato-based sauce, if you’re lucky. [/QUOTE] I saw one a few years ago. If I only had a camera with me… Believe me please? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/44 "2008-05-29T17:07:57Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Why the hell would a ghost need to use a handrail? [/QUOTE] If he didn’t hold onto the railing, he’d fall straight down through the stairs, of course. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/45 "2008-05-29T17:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=indian] Is [this](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1216051.ece) a ghost ?? picture from "The Sun " U.K .. what do dopers think ?? [/QUOTE] Looks to me like the photo was taken on a sound-stage in Huntsville, Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/46 "2008-05-29T17:36:28Z")
It’s not a ghost. Somebody farted, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/47 "2008-05-29T17:49:44Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] Are you referring to the other 'nauts who were on the moon too (and thus are asserting that nobody has really seen a ghost firsthand whereas at least some people witnessed other dudes walking around on the moon)? Because everyone else has only seen _TV_ of people walking on the moon. _Leci n’est pas une pipe_ and all that. And even at that, more people can claim to have seen video of ghosts than video of mooncruisin’. So I’ve run rings around you logically. ETA: **QED** : Oh, so you know everything that exists in the world do you? Got yerself a list do you? Or would you assert that I do not in fact have a Christmas cactus on my desk because you’ve never seen it? And I did see a documentary about a talking carnivorous plant from outer space. So there. (Is it Friday yet…I’d much rather do this over a few pints of Guinness) [/QUOTE] You are full of shit. Your Christmas cactus does not exist. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/48 "2008-05-29T17:50:16Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] For the same reason it shouldn’t be a flying spaghetti monster, a unicorn or a talking carnivorous plant from outer space: these things do not exist in the real world. [/QUOTE] Likewise, as Antoine Lavoisier proved, a stone cannot fall from the sky because there ARE no stones in the sky. :rolleyes: times a million. Would QED’s fallacy count as circular logic or begging the question, I wonder? > [@scubaqueen](#): > > the hell IS a flying spaghetti monster? :dubious: A very silly argument used by people who can’t spell “sceptical.” As for the picture, where is the ghost even supposed to be? Are we talking about the bright patch on the left side, or what? It doesn’t even look human shaped. I vote for not a ghost. I can’t even see why anyone would look at that and say “that’s a ghost” ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/49 "2008-05-29T17:55:18Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Can you point us to an example of a real ghost photo for comparison purposes? [/QUOTE] [Sure, here](http://www.johnrozum.com/images/casper.jpg). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/50 "2008-05-29T18:00:39Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] I think you can sort of do that trick with a digital camera by doing a long exposure in low light. You then have your “ghost” step into frame, hit them with a flash and then step out. [/QUOTE] Yep. And it doesn’t even have to be done on purpose. Our young Ansel Adams could have shot a snap of someone walking up the stairs (I’m guessing a woman in a white dress …and where would you find one of \* those \* at a wedding?). Flash goes off, illuminating the nearer hand/cuff in particular. But if the camera were set on manual, or just decided it hadn’t gotten enough light for a satisfactory exposure, it might keep the shutter open for quite a bit longer. Person walking up the stairs now becomes a hopeless white blur while the non-moving part of the scene becomes reasonably exposed with only a small amount of motion blur. (Because the motion blur is minimal, I’m guessing the camera was braced on the stair rail for the duration of the shot.) ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/51 "2008-05-29T18:37:08Z")
Apropos of approximately nothing, [here’s](http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/fachverwirrt/Honeymoonandcat182.jpg) a snapshot of the same staircase (I believe) from below. No ghost. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/52 "2008-05-29T20:03:42Z")
[QUOTE=Finagle] Yep. And it doesn’t even have to be done on purpose. Our young Ansel Adams could have shot a snap of someone walking up the stairs (I’m guessing a woman in a white dress …and where would you find one of \* those \* at a wedding?). Flash goes off, illuminating the nearer hand/cuff in particular. [/QUOTE] I don’t think there’s even a flash. It looks to me like a 1/4 - 1/2 second exposure of someone jumping down the stairs with one hand on the bannister to steady themselves. Or maybe dashing up them. I’d guess the kid tried to snap a fast-moving friend on the stairs, but the flash hadn’t re-charged from his previous shot a moment before. We’re talking kids at a wedding in a _castle_ here. Bet they were tearing around. Bet if you saw the whole set of pictures, you’d spot the “ghost” all over the place! ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/53 "2008-05-29T20:31:58Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] As for the picture, where is the ghost even supposed to be? Are we talking about the bright patch on the left side, or what? It doesn’t even look human shaped. [/QUOTE] Ignore the vague bright patch, and look at the stair banister: there’s a clearly delineated “ghostly” human hand with fingers, on the railing. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/54 "2008-05-29T20:45:37Z")
Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. But it’s hardly clearly delineated, though. It’s too small to see clearly. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/55 "2008-05-29T21:21:57Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Why the hell would a ghost need to use a handrail? [/QUOTE] Maybe that’s how it got to be a ghost. By NOT using the handrail. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/56 "2008-05-29T21:31:33Z")
[QUOTE=matt] I don’t think there’s even a flash. It looks to me like a 1/4 - 1/2 second exposure of someone jumping down the stairs with one hand on the bannister to steady themselves. Or maybe dashing up them. I’d guess the kid tried to snap a fast-moving friend on the stairs, but the flash hadn’t re-charged from his previous shot a moment before. We’re talking kids at a wedding in a _castle_ here. Bet they were tearing around. Bet if you saw the whole set of pictures, you’d spot the “ghost” all over the place! [/QUOTE] Exactly - notice how the only bit that is clearly defined and not blurred is the hand on the railing, **which is precisely the part that would be stationary for a large part of the exposure**. Imagine running down the stairs - you reach forward, put your hand on the rail, and hold it in one position for a length of time until you have run further at which point you reach forward again - so while your body would be blurred, your hand would be much clearer on the exposure. Additionally, isn’t “Teen snaps eerie ghost” the shittiest headline ever? ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/57 "2008-05-29T21:37:06Z")
[QUOTE=fachverwirrt] Apropos of approximately nothing, [here’s](http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/fachverwirrt/Honeymoonandcat182.jpg) a snapshot of the same staircase (I believe) from below. No ghost. [/QUOTE] What, are you blind?! There are at least three [spirit orbs](http://tantricshamanism.com/orbs) visible up there! > [@The Tantric Shamanism Institute](#): > > Often, entities appear as bubbles of light in photos. These are obviously the spirits of your ancestors hovering over you. Small, globular ancestors. Speaking of which: What’s up with your exaggeratedly overcautious stair-climbing spectral forebear? Do weak ankles run in your family? Okay, you get credit for having an ancestral castle with a photogenic family ghost; but serious demerits since your undead relative is such a conspicuous puss. _"Avenge me, scion o’ Clan Davidson! Mah sperrit canna rest easy in mah grave until…_ Hoots mon! Mah gammy ectoplasmic legs canna safely navigate yon stairwell! Saints preserve me from fracturing mah incorporeal hipbone!" ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/58 "2008-05-29T22:01:24Z")
My favourite “freaky” photo that wasn’t was [this shot](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041207.html) that made into onto the “Astronomy Picture of the Day” site. A meteorite hitting a lamppost? Or maybe a [bee](http://www.cloudbait.com/science/darwin_diff.jpg) flying past the camera… 😛 (More here: [http://www.cloudbait.com/science/darwin.html](http://www.cloudbait.com/science/darwin.html) ) ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/59 "2008-05-29T22:16:28Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] What, are you blind?! There are at least three [spirit orbs](http://tantricshamanism.com/orbs) visible up there! These are obviously the spirits of your ancestors hovering over you. Small, globular ancestors. Speaking of which: What’s up with your exaggeratedly overcautious stair-climbing spectral forebear? Do weak ankles run in your family? Okay, you get credit for having an ancestral castle with a photogenic family ghost; but serious demerits since your undead relative is such a conspicuous puss. _"Avenge me, scion o’ Clan Davidson! Mah sperrit canna rest easy in mah grave until…_ Hoots mon! Mah gammy ectoplasmic legs canna safely navigate yon stairwell! Saints preserve me from fracturing mah incorporeal hipbone!" [/QUOTE] How to put this… Clan Davidson is … not impressive. Hell, Tulloch isn’t even a [recognized sept](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Davidson) of Davidson, yet Tulloch castle is the clan seat: it’s not even their castle (family history has it that the Tulloch branch of the family came from Davidson of Tulloch, rather than from the actual Tullochs, who are members of the Ross clan). What can I say? My ancestors were apparently wimps. But wimps in kilts, damn it! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001/60 "2008-05-29T22:18:40Z")
I thought the whole idea of ghosts is that you _can’t_ photograph them, see them in mirrors, etc. Like in “Beetlejuice.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-k-teen-snaps-a-ghost/451001.md?page=4)