Orbs can appear anywhere.

They appear to be floating or gliding energy forms, so they can be anywhere at all.

We’ve heard reports from people who successfully ask orbs to move to certain locations for photos.  For example, they tell the ghost to move the orb over a particular doorway or gravestone.

(Generally, we only ask ghosts to manifest however they can, if they’d like to appear in a photo.)

During many years of studying ‘ghost photos’, we’ve noticed an odd pattern among many orbs. They appear in consistent places. The trend is so predictable, we believe it’s beyond coincidence.

In an unusual number of photos, we’ve seen orbs directly over the head of a person. In most cases, the photos were taken at a significant event (such as a wedding or prom) or a family gathering.

Other orbs appear over chairs, as if the ghost is sitting there.

The photo above shows an orb ’seated’ at the haunted Golden Fleece pub in York, England. (Hollow Hill researchers investigated there in June 2007.) Because the restaurant has many shiny surfaces, we discount most orbs, but the placement of this one caught our attention.

WHAT ARE ORBS?

To be honest, we don’t know what orbs are.

We call them ‘ghost orbs’ when we can’t explain them, after considering humidity, dust, reflected light, and so on. (See our Ghost photography > False anomalies section, in our Ghost hunters guide articles.)

We have ample proof that unexplained orbs appear in haunted places in dramatically higher numbers. Orbs seem to appear in areas where EMF levels spike. We’re not sure if orbs contain higher levels of energy, but some researchers believe that they do.

ORBS IN PHOTOS v. ORBS YOU CAN SEE

A small — perhaps gifted — minority of researchers are able to see orbs in real life. However, the orbs that they see don’t usually appear in photos taken at the same time.

In most cases, researchers don’t see anything before, during and after taking photos that — when viewed on the monitor or printed — reveal orbs.

After over a dozen years of professional research, members of the Hollow Hill team are still astonished when we see vivid orbs in photos, though we saw nothing unusual when the photos were taken.

SPARKLES AND ORBS

Years ago, we were the first ghost hunters to use the term ’sparkles’ to describe an odd visual effect that occurs with some cameras. You can read about them in our article, Sparkles and anomalies.

We’ve learned that, when we see sparkles, there’s a good chance we’ll find orbs or other photographic anomalies in our pictures.

SENTIENT ORBS?

We’re not sure if orbs are related to spirits that are aware of us and can respond to the people around them.

However, we’ve seen enough ‘ghost photos’ to know that orbs often appear in similar locations, as if they’re comfortable among us.

Whether they’re posing for group photos or sitting comfortably in a favorite chair, the placement often seems deliberate.