# What is this 'ghost'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 28, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757 "2014-09-28T02:46:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/1 "2014-09-28T02:46:04Z")
[Ghost caught on camera at Espanola police station, officer says](http://www.koat.com/news/ghost-caught-on-camera-at-espanola-police-station-officer-says/28236272) > [@](#): > > On Saturday Officer Karl Romero was keeping an eye on surveillance cameras around the station when he spotted something in the sally port. A sally port is a controlled gate or passage in a fortified place. > > Romero said what he saw looked like a ghost walking across the lot, right through cages and a gate. Obviously, it can’t be a ghost; but there’s something in the video. One thought it that it’s a magnetic ‘ghost’ – a latent image from a video tape that had ben used before. But I don’t know if they’re still using video tape. (Seems unlikely.) So what could cause the ‘ghostly’ image? ---
**Author:** ![electroFAYSEE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@electroFAYSEE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/electroFAYSEE)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/2 "2014-09-28T02:48:28Z")
It could have been a dirt devil, a glare on the camera lens or an optical illusion. What do you think it is? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/3 "2014-09-28T02:55:31Z")
I don’t know. That’s why I asked. ---
**Author:** ![electroFAYSEE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@electroFAYSEE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/electroFAYSEE)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/4 "2014-09-28T03:02:56Z")
It’s a glare. Maybe a little sand or something. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/5 "2014-09-28T03:08:40Z")
My first take is that it looks like a dust devil, but it could also be a small spider or insect crossing on/in front of the lens. I don’t think it’s glare; for it to be glare moving across the field of view, I think the camera would either have to be sweeping, or there’d have to be a moving light source to product it. (I suppose there could be a source outside the camera’s field producing a reflection, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/6 "2014-09-28T03:50:38Z")
Naturally, this “ghost” has to be caught on a crummy camera that may still use analog tape. I halfway had my hopes up when I saw the headlines : _some_ unexplained phenomena would be nice. But no, it has to be a recording of such low quality that the image literally could be from the tape being overwritten and what we’re actually seeing is essentially tape burn-in. If anyone catches a ghost that actually shows up clearly on high quality digital cameras from multiple angles I’d be a lot more interested. ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/7 "2014-09-28T03:54:54Z")
It’s a bug moving across the camera lens cover. It’s just a coincidence that it looks so much like a hazy person walking across the scene. You can see at the very end that the image passes in front of things that it would be moving behind if it were a ghost (or a dust devil). Glare isn’t likely, especially due to it’s crooked path. Frankly, I think these cops are just pulling the legs of the local news people. Anyone who has spent a lot of time watching outdoor security cameras see these things all the time, and know exactly what they are. They probably saw this and thought it looks _particularly_ ghostly and decided to have some fun with it. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/8 "2014-09-28T04:04:30Z")
> [@Thread title](#): > > What is this ‘ghost’? Judge Crater would be my first guess. If not that, second guess would be Elvis. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/9 "2014-09-28T04:17:03Z")
The sad part about this is that the news reporting is so credulous. There’s no attempt at an alternate explanation. It’s just “it must be a ghost” and “there have been mysterious deaths,” yada yada… ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/10 "2014-09-28T05:06:45Z")
The fact that a police officer claims he believes in ghosts and points out that there have been “unsolved murders in the area” is the thing that is the most concerning about this story. Of course, like **MrKnowItAll** said, he may just be messing around and thought it would be a funny early Halloween joke. Either way, not really what I would like to hear from a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/11 "2014-09-28T05:12:52Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > The fact that a police officer claims he believes in ghosts and points out that there have been “unsolved murders in the area” is the thing that is the most concerning about this story. Of course, like **MrKnowItAll** said, he may just be messing around and thought it would be a funny early Halloween joke. Either way, not really what I would like to hear from a police officer. I don’t know-a man carrying an AR-15 around in his vehicle, with a 17-round gun on his hip, who is charged with protecting our lives while we sleep, who also investigates crimes and murders, and provides evidence to the DA that is to get people sent to prison or even Death Row, and who then intimates that the town ghosts may be the perps in some of the cases. What, specifically, do you find objectionable?? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/12 "2014-09-28T05:41:48Z")
talking about “Ghosts”, whenever something happens in my garage my camera emails me six images. One day I received these images [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Y2ZSl0tZnM\_S0jz\_f7iStkLKXtjYsW56bbsRQVMOuLe=w404-h311-p-no](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Y2ZSl0tZnM_S0jz_f7iStkLKXtjYsW56bbsRQVMOuLe=w404-h311-p-no) The first one was the one that triggered the camera. I’ve yet to figure out what that was. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/13 "2014-09-28T06:47:52Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > talking about “Ghosts”, whenever something happens in my garage my camera emails me six images. One day I received these images [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Y2ZSl0tZnM\_S0jz\_f7iStkLKXtjYsW56bbsRQVMOuLe=w404-h311-p-no](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Y2ZSl0tZnM_S0jz_f7iStkLKXtjYsW56bbsRQVMOuLe=w404-h311-p-no) > The first one was the one that triggered the camera. I’ve yet to figure out what that was. Any ideas? It’s light (sunlight or headlight or flashlight) shining through the hole in your garage door and directly into the camera lens. You can see the hole in the other images. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/14 "2014-09-28T08:01:49Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s light (sunlight or headlight or flashlight) shining through the hole in your garage door and directly into the camera lens. You can see the hole in the other images. I don’t think so, obvious answers like that have been considered and dismissed. The picture was taken at night, here is a picture during daytime [https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/PUYFTx5ZpJPVGmOEGaVtxDWi3MXBoqJFnBO7kvE2HiiV=s744-p-no](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/PUYFTx5ZpJPVGmOEGaVtxDWi3MXBoqJFnBO7kvE2HiiV=s744-p-no) and there are NO holes in the door near the object. Those “holes” you are referring to are reflections from the camera which has a red light when power is on. You can see in the daylight photo there are many holes at the top of the door. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/15 "2014-09-28T08:19:29Z")
OK, ghost then. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/16 "2014-09-28T08:57:17Z")
> [@Shawn1767](#): > > The sad part about this is that the news reporting is so credulous. There’s no attempt at an alternate explanation. It’s just “it must be a ghost” and “there have been mysterious deaths,” yada yada… Yes, and of course, the good old ‘what else could it be?’, because obviously, the direct logical inference from ‘fuzzy shape moving across picture’ is ‘there exists a nonphysical soul that has the ability to survive the physical death of the body, and is furthermore able to physically interact with some things (light, air, ground) but not others (solid structures like gates) at its whim’. I mean, they didn’t even entertain the much more reasonable possibility that it’s aliens with advanced phase-through-matter technology, or transdimensional beings that blend through partially into our reality… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/17 "2014-09-28T09:07:05Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > OK, ghost then. So that’s what they look like, trust the Dope to answer the big questions. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/18 "2014-09-28T09:50:19Z")
A fuzzy image is proof of nothing. If it was accompanied by the guard feeling cold or generally having a funny feeling however, _then_ it would be confirmation of a spirit realm. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/19 "2014-09-28T09:50:59Z")
Thank goodness they checked to see if there was an ancient burial ground nearby. If there had been, the conclusion would be cut and dried! Good thinking for them to check. **sigh** ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2014, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757/20 "2014-09-28T10:44:56Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > or transdimensional beings that blend through partially into our reality… :rolleyes: That’s the mice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-ghost/699757.md?page=2)