Orb Sightings – Who sees orbs?
Jun 19th, 2009 | By Fiona Broome | Category: Ghost photographyOrbs are translucent circles or spheres that appear in photos and videos. When we can’t explain them, those orb sightings are often considered paranormal.
In addition, some people see orbs in real life, not just in film. To them, the orbs seem to be floating in air. However, the vast majority of people see orbs only in photographs and videos.
Who sees orbs?
It’s difficult to tell how many people capture orb images in photos.
However, the orbs appear in pictures whether you’re a believer or not, and whether your goal is orb photography or not.
Basically, anyone who takes photos in haunted locations is likely to see orbs in his or her photos.
It’s that simple. Orbs are real.
Until I saw my first, baffling daytime orb in a photo, I hadn’t even looked for photographic anomalies.
Then, when I reviewed old photos I’d taken throughout the UK and Ireland, I was amazed. The only orbs were in photographs of haunted places.
From tests with the Hollow Hill team, it appears that about 80% of photographers will discover orbs in their pictures.
(Photo above, left: Orb outside the Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas.)
Orb sightings – The test
We tested our theories with about a dozen researchers and identical, disposable cameras.  Some were experienced investigators, and others were on their first “ghost hunt.” We were all at the same (very haunted) location at the same time, and each researcher took a full roll of photos that evening.
Three of our 20 researchers had no anomalies of any kind — including orbs — in their photos.  One other seemed to capture a strange image, but it may have been a reflection.
Each of the other researchers photographed orbs in an average of three photos (out of 24 on the roll of film).
Note: Before digital cameras became popular, we were happy when two or three photos — out of 100 — revealed anomalies.
Today, percentages are harder to estimate. When a researcher sees orbs in his or her photos, that immediate feedback prompts us to take even more pictures in that area.
It’s always a mistake to reach conclusions from a single, limited study. However, that night’s evidence supported our guideline that about 80% of researchers can take orb photos.
It doesn’t seem to make any difference if the photographer is a skeptic or a believer.
(Photo above, right: Orb above headstone at Gilson Road Cemetery, Nashua, NH)
Tips for more orb photos
The following seem to improve results among orb photographers:
- Use the flash on your camera.
- Use film or a digital setting between 400 and 800 ISO (or ASA).
- Take photos when your “gut feeling” prompts you to.
- If anyone notes an EMF spike, cold spot or other anomalies, take photos in that area.
- Study every photo carefully. Enlarge it if it’s digital. Study the film as well as the print, if you’re using a film camera.
Whether you’re actively looking for orbs or prefer other evidence of ghosts and hauntings, orb sightings intrigue many paranormal investigators.
Do you have a great tip that helps you take more interesting “ghost photos”… including orbs? Have a question about orbs? Leave comments, below.
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I notice that a lot of the time the “orbs” are just the flash reflecting of a
piece of metal, mirrior etc.
this is not to say that orbs don’t exist I still believe in them very much
My husband, I , and some friends have just started a new ghost hunting goup. We seem to get many orbs, and of lot of them seem to have faces in them. Some of the photos were sent to a ghost hunting site, and they said that orbs with faces in them are always dust. What is your opinion of orbs with faces in them?
Alex, you are correct about many orbs being reflected light. If you read the articles I’ve posted in the “Ghost hunting guide” section of this website, you’ll learn many tips to tell the difference between orbs that can be explained, and those we consider true anomalies.
Thanks for your comments and questions, Elizabeth.
I’m skeptical when anyone makes broad generalities about orbs. Each orb must be evaluated individually, based on the location, weather, and so on.
We can simplify many observations about orbs, such as ‘if it’s a damp night and you see hundreds of orbs in all of your photos, some of those orbs are probably moisture’. But, beyond that, it’s a mistake to generalize about something as significant as orbs, and especially orbs that appear to display faces to us.
I’ve seen ’smiley face’ orbs. Some may be dust, but the same could be said about any orb. I’ve seen orbs with very distinctive faces that look almost like photos of people’s faces, and I’m unable to explain most of them.
I’ve posted many articles at this website, to help you rule out dust, reflections, humidity, and so on. However, you are the only one who knows the exact conditions when you took the pictures. Therefore, I’d take anyone else’s opinion — especially something as generalized as ‘they’re always dust’ — with a grain of salt.
If you’re consistently seeing faces in your orbs, there are some other possibilities to consider. One is: The lens in or on the camera (if it’s just one camera) adds the lights and shadows to make the orb look — to some — as if it’s a face. Try using a second camera at the same time, and see if your results are different.
Or, if several people (with different cameras) are regularly seeing faces in their orbs, it could be that one or more person in the group is especially receptive to orbs, spirits, or anomalies in general.
Except for a feature of the lens or lenses on a particular camera, I can’t think of any reason why dust would consistently create faces in orbs, and I’d be very reluctant to say that faces are always dust.
It sounds like you’re making great progress with your group. Thanks for taking the time to conduct this research! Your group may be the one that finds a good explanation for the faces so many people are seeing in orbs.
We starting seeing orbs after we had an investagation team come in and they also captured over 30 voice recordings,after looking at the orbs in the pic’s closer we have seen over 50 different faces and sometimes full bodies of people…they are not caused by the flash alot of the faces are out in the yard on our property also..want to learn more..
I am so sick of looking at photos of dust particles (I have taken many, many of my own) and listening to people proclaim “look at all of those orbs”!
I’m not saying that they do not exist, on the contrary, several of my own family members have seen orbs. They have always been seen with the naked eye and always appear to be a small ball of glowing energy that gives off its own energy and is in no way transparent. They also do not look like dust or water droplets on the lens og your camera.
People claiming the everyday is actually paranormal is a lot of the reason that so many people do not believe.
I was staying in Riverside and took many interior photos of an old hotel. I found out later that two of the rooms in my photos were deemed to be very haunted. Both of these rooms showed orbs when I looked at my images later. I’m in process of writing a story on this. If anyone can suggest some paying markets that might be interested in this sort of thing, please let me know.
grathy@aol.com
I hve been looking for information about orbs. I was staying with my grandmother and her private nurse ,my grandmother had been sent home with about two weeks to live and I just couldnt leave her alone with a stranger we had always been very close.I had lived next door to her growig up and she had told me of a few strange things had happen in her house.One day she came home from ork and there was a bird egg on the counter int hekitchen,it was not broken,it was in perfect condition. Another time she came home from work ,she had a old sewing machine that had the footpedals [not electric] and it was just sewing away the pedals wherer moving .My Dad had built the house in the 60’s,so no one else had lived there but my grandparents,and my great grandmother.Mygrandfather was in the hospital when they sent her home to die.To many things happened in that house will I was staying there with her and the nurse to tell you ,but things like lights coming on in different rooms but the light switch was off,ceiling fans coming on and going off by themselves.Then everynight about 3 oclock there was this noise of like a invisible ball bouncing from wall to wall and floor to ceiling.It would get louder and louder till the pictures on the wall would start to shake.Iwas so scared I would wake the nurse up she seen it too.Her job was to stay with people whom was dying and she wasnt scared she said she had seen these types of things before.As my Aunt and Uncles would come by to visit there Mom I was so scared,I tried to tell them and they would make jokes about it.My Grandmother lived for 4 weeks,sometimes she was alert and other times she was not,But oneday she was pretty alert and I was reading her bible to her you know ,all the parts she had under lined
over the years,my thoart became very sore will I was reading,then i noticed her looking at me kindof funny so i asked her what was wrong ,she pulled me close to the bed and starting like pulling something off of my neck,then she asked me {who is that -that has there arm run up the sleeve of your shirt and thier hand around your neck?} Iwas so scared I didnt Know what to do. These odd thingsjust kept happening more and more and the invisible ball sound was louder than ever.One night I was so scared I found two more bibles.I put one at the foot and one at the head of her bed then i started reading the other oneand the more i read the louder the invisible ball sound got. I could actually feel the wind as it would go right in front of my face.I wanted to leave,but I was scared to leave her there.The night before she died it was about 5 oclock in the morning I had went outside to smoke I was standing in the open garage and I was right by the living room window where they had her hospital bed set up when all of a sudden this round ball of light came thru the window and landed on the ground.It was sparkling like a sparkler that kids do on the fourth of July
it was spinning,I ran back in thinking on she just died,but she was sitting up in the bed, she said she was scared that someone was trying to get her. I dont believe in ghost, this ball of spinning sparkling lightI have to know what it was. My grandmoter was a christian and she did not believe in ghost,and I have went to church since Iwas very little and i dont believe in ghost.So I dont know what was happening in that house
but I know it was real.I almost lost my mind after she died because I dont believe in ghost I do believe in Evil and Good spirits,so which was there?And the ball of light.After she pasted my Uncle and his wife was going to spent the night there so the would not hve to drive back for the funeral,about 2 oclock in the morning they called my other Uncle who just lived down the road,He came right away they had all the gas heaters on but the tempature would only get up between 45 and 50 degrees and the it was freezing cold inthe house.When my other uncle got there all the lights starting coming on while the switches were off ceiling fans coming on they turned the breakers off but it was still doing it with the breakers off,then thatinvisible ball sound started bouncing around the room,they all left right then. I was so scared I would not go to the family dinner before the funeral because the were having it at her house. Later I tried to talk to my Uncles about what happened and they told me what happened they were not going back in that house after dark. A few days after the funeral,after I had went back to my house I went to the hosipital because I could not stop shaking.I was so terrifed to go to sleep,I know what I had seen and I was scared.My grand mother died in Nov of 1998-still everyonce in a while I will wake up and fell someone by my bed,with no face or hands.Or like a dark cloud floating along the ceiling in the hall The last time this happened I started praying like crazy to be protected from whatever it was,and it just stood in the hall looking into my room but it never came into the room and it finally went away. So I guess I am looking for some explaintion of what was happening.Everything i find about the ball of sparkling light just talks about pictures of them and how it was the flash or reflection,but what does it mean when you see one for real? Im still scared at night 11 years later.Why do I keep seeing these things, I never seen them before any of this happened.Is there anyone else who has had the things happen?
Debbie, I’m not able to explain it, but — of course — that’s why we conduct research into paranormal topics. We’re looking for answers, both normal and paranormal.
From my experiences on many, many investigations, once people encounter something paranormal, they become more aware of the things that others ignore. So, I don’t think more is happening around you; you’ve simply joined the ranks of those who notice them.
If you are frightened by what’s happening, it’s important to talk with someone about it. It’s good that you went to the hospital when you did. You should never be alone when you are very frightened or upset.
Since we’re dealing with spiritual phenomena, I recommend talking with a professional in the spiritual field, too. That could be a priest, minister, rabbi, or other spiritual leader. They can talk about the history of things like this, and what they mean to you… and to people, in general.
They may also be able to refer you to a psychologist who works with paranormal phenomena, and better understands how these things can affect people at the emotional level, as well.
Mostly, it’s important not to be afraid of what’s going on. Once you understand that it’s not dangerous — and these things rarely are — then it’s more a matter of learning coping skills so you aren’t as afraid or upset if it happens again.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO MKAE IT STOP?
IT IS TO SCARY
Debbie, if it’s too scary, find another hobby and stop watching ghost-related TV shows. Ghosts are no more frightening than people are. If anything, they’re less scary than people. If you want to stop ghosts… well, that’s the same as trying to stop people. In other words, it’s not going to happen.
I HAVE NEVER WATCHED GHOST RELATED TV SHOWS ,I DONT LIKE TO BE SCARED.
THIS IS NOT MY HOBBY ,THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TO ME -I DID NOT ASK FOR IT TO HAPPEN.I WISHED IT NEVER DID.BUT EVEN 11 YRS LATER IT STILL BOTHERS ME WHY WOULD THEY BE THERE WHEN MY GRANDMOTHER WAS DYING?
Debbie,
This is a question that I can’t answer. I recommend talking about it with someone who works in the spiritual field… your priest, minister, rabbi, high priest, or whatever fits your belief system. If that’s not appropriate, a psychologist can probably recommend someone who understands how and why this happened, and why it’s still bothering you 11 years later.
I’m sorry about the loss of your grandmother. Traditionally, when spirits are around while someone approaches death, they are there to guide the person to the other side. Depending on the context, those spirits can appear frightening to someone who is already emotionally vulnerable due to the trauma of losing a loved one.
However, I can’t answer your question. It’s something to discuss in far greater depth with someone who works in the spiritual field, or understands how spiritual matters can affect people, many years later.
Sympathetically,
Fiona
hello everyone
I’m hector from Patagonia and I’m not much of a ghost believer.
paranormal activity is interesting but for me is like a good book, it’s cool but I don’t take it serieously.
however there’re a couple pictures I took 2 years ago that kind of disturbs me.
I took them one night in an abandoned electricity facility and there are these “orbs” but they’re kinda different, they are pretty round but they aren’t just static- they leave a straight “echo” that’s the best word that comes to my mind since my english is not perfect.
i guess some of you may know better on the subject, if so, write to me and I’ll send you the pics
eternal_reborn@hotmail.com
thanks
well just thought of an easier way, I’ve uploaded the pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041032&id=1342994948&l=699747e2ed
you can watch it even if you’re not in facebk
Hector,
My first guess would be insects, since they’re moving. However, I’m a little uncertain because the orbs are such perfect circles. Insects are usually oval or irregular shapes. I could understand if one insect managed to move in a way that created a perfectly round orb… but not two in the same photo.
I might also guess dust particles, depending on the speed of your camera at the time. If you were using a tripod and the lens was open for an extended exposure, dust could be floating past and be highlighted by the flash. I’m sure there was considerable dust at that location.
The third non-paranormal explanation might be camera movement, but that would require some unusual focal issues since the background remains crisp and clear.
However, having spent years looking at these kinds of photos, and several months (and thousands of photos) creating false orbs for my upcoming book, “Ghost Photography 101,” I know how difficult it is to create false orbs. I have a new respect for how unlikely these explanations are.
You’ll need to decide for yourself, based on your own experiences and the suggestions offered here.
Fiona