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Fake ‘ghost orbs’ and pollen

Jul 27th, 2005 | By Fiona Broome | Category: Insects, dust, pollen

Some ‘ghost orbs’ look fake to us immediately. We’re so accustomed to looking at these photos, we don’t need to do much analysis. After years of studying real ghost photos, we can easily tell the difference between fake orbs and real ones. Here’s a good example:

large flat-looking orb in ghost photos
The lower photo features a very large, flat-looking orb. The shape is a little irregular and it looks too flat to be a real ghost orb. When a ghost orb is real, we see far more dimension to it. We would have thrown this photo out, but a National Geographic TV show tried to say that ghost orbs are often pollen. They’re not. If you know what you’re looking for–and we do–you won’t confuse an orb caused by pollen, bugs, or dust with real ghost orbs.

Here’s a closeup of the orb in our photo. On the right, the orb has been enhanced to show details; the left photo is “as is” from our printed picture.

unenhanced orb enhanced pollen orb

In the enhanced image on the right, the orb has a slightly concentric pattern similar to a fingerprint. You can also see the dot of yellow–probably the pollen–slightly off-center in the picture. Now that you know what to look for, you can probably spot it in the photo on the left as well.

As you can see, this orb created by pollen is very different from real ghost orbs. While a new ghost researcher might be confused, anyone with experience with genuine ghosts is not likely to mistake a pollen orb for a ghost orb.

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  1. THOSE LOOK LIKE STARS TO ME!

  2. nonethng,

    Well, no matter what they look like, they’re generally examples of photos that show something other than “ghost orbs.”

    Fiona

  3. Really guys, really. Do you think we’re fools. I would like to speak to your manager except you probably don’t have one because you’re too cheap like you are for not getting anyting REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I HATE THIS SITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. Martha,

    I’m not sure why you’re commenting if you hate my website.

    I’m also not sure why you’re calling me “guys.” My name is Fiona, singular (but not single) and female; in fact, I’m the mother of three children. So, I don’t think I’m a “guy,” even if you’re using early 19th-century cant.

    I don’t think that you — or anyone else who reads my articles — is a “fool.” If I did, I’d use smaller words, talk down to you, and skip my theories about quantum studies, parallel worlds and alternate explanations for some (but not all) paranormal phenomena.

    I don’t have a manager. I don’t know many people in this field who work with a manager, per se. That’s not because we’re “cheap” but because serious researchers, first and foremost, are not entertainers.

    Some of us do appear at events and in the media, but that’s to share what we’re discovering. The pay isn’t great, even on TV shows; “reality” shows — including paranormal programming — is not subject to the same pay standards as regular network programs. If rumors are true, many paranormal TV stars would probably earn more if they worked full-time at a fast-food restaurant.

    I do work with a management team for my event appearances; that company’s link is on the “About” page linked at the top of every main HollowHill.com page. Feel free to contact them, if this is pertinent to my appearances.

    If I’m ever at an event near Rogers, Arkansas, I hope you’ll attend, and speak with me in person about your concerns. This comment doesn’t make much sense to me in text, and perhaps you can explain it so it does.

    Fiona Broome

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