Blog #22 Debunking Photo Evidence

On investigations we come across lots of evidence. We do take many pictures that will have shadows, orbs, vortexes, ectoplasmic manifestation and ghostly apparitions. As a ghost investigator I will take my pictures to scan them while they are in the camera to see if anything unusual will appear. If it does and we are on the site of the haunt, we will try to see if we can debunk the picture.

Shadows /Shadow people

Can you make out the figure?

We look for light sources and see if anything could have come across the light to make the shadow. Then we see if there was anybody near the event that might have walked across the source of light to make the shadow that was picked up on the photo.
There is a phenomenon that is called, “Shadow People”. They are usually seen by the corners of our eyes, but sometimes we get these shadows that will appear in the photo. This type of happening are rare, but we must check out to see if this was produced by somebody or something coming across a light source.

Orbs

See the layers

Orbs are balls of light that will appear in the photo. These orbs cannot be seen by our normal eyes, but are shown in the photo, larger than life. Most orbs are dust or dirt that is flying across the lens. At the time of taking the photo, the dust will be illuminated by the flash, making this yellowish ball or even sometimes it will be brownish is color. There are times when we get these orbs in different colors; these are the ones that we will enlarge to see if they have the characteristic of a true ghost orb. These will be perfectly round, or what we might call a perfect cell membrane with no rough edges and will have a definite nucleus center. In between the center and the membrane will have these things floating around the orb, just like cytoplasm in a living cell. Do not try to look for faces inside of these orbs. That will start pareidolia and you will find faces, shapes of things that really aren’t there.


Vortexes

Notice the spiral light

These are swirl of lights that spiral across the picture like a cork screw. Vortexes are allegedly doorways in which the spirit will come and go through. Vortexes are often debunked as camera cords, stands of hair or even laser lights that come out of other people’s cameras. We just got back from St. Augustine, where there is Spanish Moss grows over everything. This can be confused as a vortex as well is dangled in from of the camera.


Ectoplasmic Manifestation

Ectoplasmic Manifestion in woods

This is a mist that will creep into the photo. Swirls like smoke or foggy layer covers the photo. This does occur during a haunting. It also occurs if someone is smoking as well. In SEFGR, we are not allowed to smoke while the investigation is happening, but sometimes we are not in control of area. Incense is a no-no as well, not only because of false reports of ectoplasmic manifestations, but sometimes a haunt can have a smell as well. We have gotten smells of toilet water or a pipe smell of a spirit’s of his tobacco. We eliminate those chances of false personnel experience, so my group we are not allowed to wear perfumes or colognes. If you get this mist, look around you for someone who could be smoking, check the lens for fog, if not, you got yourself photographic evidence of haunting.

Apparitions

Can you see the eye forming in middle of picture?

These are the hardest to debunk. Photos of faint images of a person floating, walking, sitting or doing everyday work sometimes could be captured in digital photos. Sometimes if someone would cross the paths of where we were taking the picture, we would get this faint image. Blurry, often see through and these images do look creepy, so we use elimination to see if there is someone else in the space that might have moved while taking the photo. Otherwise, these are hard to debunk if no other person is present.