Currently viewing the category:
"False anomalies"
original photo (unretouched)
scanned image, outlined
We took the photo on our webpage, Ghost Hunters – Ecto and Smoke, as part of a controlled experiment. We were demonstrating how smoke can look like “ecto” in photos.
However, although this picture was not taken in a “haunted” location, we wonder [...]
We often see photos that claim to display ‘ectoplasm’ but actually show smoke. Even if someone had been smoking 20 minutes earlier, smoke particulate lingers in the air and can reflect light. This is easy to confuse with genuine anomalies.
Here are some results from our initial study of cigarette smoke.
The photo [...]
False ‘ghost orbs’ and anomalies can happen to anyone, even professional ghost hunters.
On damp or rainy nights, most of our photos include false anomalies. (We take photos anyway. After all, we might capture something genuine in our pictures.)
But, many of the photos that we receive in email are clearly false orbs. That’s [...]
In this podcast, Fiona Broome talks about real and false orbs in photos.
These may sound like ‘common sense’ tips to some, but you might be surprised at how many people forget these things when they think they’ve photographed a ghostly orb.
*Note: Fiona’s opinions have changed since recording this. During 2009, she spent [...]
False ‘ghost orbs’ can be caused by holiday lights. It’s fairly rare, but worth mentioning. Take a look at the bluish orb in the picture below. It’s at the far right side of the photo, almost at the middle of that side.
This false orb was only one in about 50 photos [...]
False ghost anomalies can appear in photos if hair is in the way. The ‘ghost photo’ below shows a dark vertical shadow near the center of the picture.
At right you can see the same photo with white lines on either side of where the anomaly appears to be. That shadow was [...]
Fake ghost pictures can be created using as little as one piece of hair.
Most of these ‘vortex’ photos aren’t as dramatic as the ones featured in our other article, Hair tests – False vortex photos, but serious researchers will want to review these to confirm the effects of hair.
The [...]
Fake ghost orbs and researcher error can be problems for all ghost hunters. We regularly test sources of false orbs, to see if we can learn anything new from them. The photo at left shows how a lawn sprinkler looks from a distance of about three feet, with a flash camera. For our experiments, we [...]
Ghost vortex claims are even more controversial than ghost orb pictures. Most vortex photos show a swirling line on the right side of the photo. Many skeptics correctly guess that this can be caused by a camera strap.
However, the ‘ghost picture’ at left could fool many ghost hunters.
It’s a hair.
We deliberately took [...]
False ghost orbs can appear in pictures for a variety of reasons. We’re running experiments to help you separate them from real ghost orbs in your photos.
We’ve always heard–and believed–that it’s important to watch out for reflective jewelry near the camera lens, and especially near the flash on the camera.
Our recent [...]
Buy the Book
Fiona's best-selling guide
to haunted cemeteries...
Click cover to see it at Amazon.com.Topics
Tags
anomalies Bell Witch Blair witch Blood Cemetery Civil War ghosts Colonial common sense cryptozoology demons false anomalies footprints freebies Ghost Hunters ghost hunting ghostly animals ghost photos ghosts ghost stories ghost tours Gilson Road Cemetery haunted cemeteries haunted houses Haunted places holy water insects interviews investigating Judges Maine NH orbs Photos - faces and figures Podcasts with Fiona Broome protection radio rules Salem spiritual tools travel true stories TV shows witch witch trials York HarborCreative Commons License
All articles at this website by Fiona Broome are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. For more details, see the About page.
