This false orb was only one in about 50 photos [...]]]> 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 taken at this site, so it is rare. The small, bluish orb at the upper right side of the haunted railcar is the product of a reflection from a Christmas decoration. Here it is, enlarged:

As you can see, the orb hovers over a blue holiday light, and the bulb is almost exactly in the middle of the orb. Because this railcar is haunted, we’d love to say that the orb is evidence of a ghost. And, it might be.

However, unless we are certain that an orb is paranormal–and has no reasonable explanation–we have to point out the possible “normal” causes of it.

In this case, we’re about 99% certain that this orb is caused by a small, reflecting light bulb.

On the other hand, you can see (probably) genuine orbs in our ghost photos at this same railcar area where we spotted the romantic ghosts.

Of course, when you look at those photos, you may ask, “Why aren’t those false orbs from Christmas lights?” And, that is a possibility. The more skeptical you are, the more you’re likely to seize that explanation.

When we analyzed those photos, we considered normal and likely causes, as well as related information about our ghosts.

Our Psychic Disturbance Investigators look for obvious, logical explanations for phenomena, including orbs. In this case, it’s a 50/50 guess whether or not the orbs are real.

So, we then considered the rest of our evidence.

We have two sets of orbs in a setting where we have two, linked ghosts. We picked up their energy in close proximity to the orbs in each photo. Further, we’ve noted a consistency to orbs; often, they share almost “human” characteristics with the ghosts that they represent. Of course, we may be imagining that, but when the link seems clear to us–as with these twin orbs–it’s difficult to dismiss the notion.

Then there are the orbs themselves. These other orbs aren’t close to the holiday lights; the false orb–shown above–is directly on top of the source of the reflection. Since the source of the reflection is less than an inch tall and only slightly reflective, it’s unlikely that it would cause orbs many feet away.

In addition, we have hundreds of photos taken around holiday lights this year. If those tiny light bulbs regularly caused false orbs, we’d know it.

There are few “sure things” in ghost hunting, with our current understanding of phenomena. However, we’re fairly certain that the orb above was caused by the holiday light it encircles.

Because it could be a factor when you’re investigating psychic disturbances, we feel that it’s important to note this rare cause of false orbs.

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 [...]]]> 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 experiments show that it’s not as much of a concern as we thought.

We tested a wide range of gems–real, glass, and plastic–close to the camera lens and sometimes even in front of it.

As you can see from the yellow topaz in the photo above, it’s not easy to create false orbs with jewelry. Since that stone was highlighted by the flash, it should have reflected light (and created orbs) as lens flares.

We tried round gems–such as the cabochon opal, at right–and cut gems from multi-faceted Tanzanites to gaudy silver-backed plastic stones, and none of them created false orbs.

The only jewelry that created a false orb was a watch that’s decorated with a metallic, reflective face surrounded by small rhinestones. That photo is at left, and it’s the only one with an orb in dozens of test photos.

To get that effect, we had to hold the watch so that the face was resting against the flash and extended towards the lens. It’s impossible to create that same angle and effect while wearing the watch, unless the person’s hand could be seen in the frame.

In this extreme position, the face of the watch reflected the flash and can be seen in the upper right corner of the photo. It also created some very large orbs that wouldn’t be confused with real ghost orbs.

From these tests, we feel that jewelry near the camera flash or lens can be dismissed as a source of false orbs, except in the most obvious situations.