By Matthew Gorman
Eerie Evi d e n c e ?
A
nyone with even so much as a passing interest in the supernatural is undoubtedly familiar with the ubiquitous “ghost photos” that inundate both myriad websites and fortean publications alike. Typically, these pictures depict glowing orbs, mists or streaks of light, oftentimes hovering near unsuspecting human subjects in the snapshots. And while these photographs may well indeed be visually recorded documentation of the paranormal, they are extremely easy to counterfeit, or for simple tricks of the light to create the illusion of a “ghost” upon a photographic negative. What’s more, little orbs, blurs and streaks are not particularly compelling for those of us who long for something far more substantial. Such photographs do exist, however, wherein fully formed apparitions appear, forever immortalized upon the film in all their chilling fortitude, and where no evidence of photographic tampering can be found to exist. Herein are contained some of the most famous of these photos:
1.The Ghostly Passenger This photograph was taken in a British churchyard in 1959 by one Mrs. Mabel Chimney. Mrs. Chimney had just finished photographing the gravesite of her mother, who had passed away a few years prior. As she and her husband were preparing to leave the churchyard, she elected to snap a quick picture of her husband sitting by himself inside the car. Upon developing the photograph, a second figure can be clearly seen in the automobile’s backseat. Mrs. Chimney was stunned to realize this figure was none other than her deceased mother! The photo has been examined over the years and appears to be genuine. One interesting point of note is that the dead woman’s scarf seems to overlap the side pillar the car, suggesting that the woman’s likeness was added to the photograph later, but since this has been proven not to be the case, the only explanation appears to be that she is, indeed, a ghost. 2.The Ghostly Monk This particular picture really creeped me out as a kid when I first saw it in, believe it or not, a children’s book about ghosts! It was taken sometime in the 1960’s at England’s Newby Church by Reverend K.F. Lord. The good reverend was photographing the front of his sanctuary and, true to form in the cases of many ghostly photos, saw nothing unusual at the time. After the photograph was developed, however, the diaphanous form of a cowled and masked monk appeared on the steps of the church’s altar.
of the town hall in Shropshire, England as it burned to the ground in 1995. Although the building was empty at the time, the photo negative clearly shows the complacent countenance of a little girl standing near a doorway, seemingly unperturbed by the roaring flames around her. Many believe her to be the ghost of Jane Churm, the little girl responsible for starting a fire that destroyed the entire town in 1667.
4. The Lord Combermere Photograph This very famous photograph was taken by Ms. Sybell Corbett in December of 1891 at Combermere Abbey in Chesire, England. Ms. Corbett had come to the house to visit her sister who was staying at the Combermere family home. The master of the house, Lord Cambermere, A decorated British calvary commander and a former governor of Barbados, had recently passed away. In fact, his funeral was in progress a few miles way in Wrenbury at the very hour that the photo was taken. Ms. Corbett had set up a camera to take an hour long exposure in the home’s study. The developed photo shows the transparent yet distinctive outline of a man sitting in one of the room’s chairs. Relatives of Lord Cambermere claimed it to be his spitting image. One theory, presented by skeptics, is that because of the photograph’s long exposure it would have been possible for someone to enter the study, spend a short time sitting in the chair, and then leave, registering as a faint trace upon the photo negative. However, all of the Lord’s male servants were attending his funeral at the time nor did any of them resemble their master so greatly. 5. The Brown Lady Of Raynham Hall
3. The Burning Girl Photographer T. O’ Rahilly took this shot
Undoubtedly the most famous ghost photograph of all time is that of ‘The Brown Lady’. This photograph
came about as a result of a photo shoot for “Country Life” magazine in September of 1936. Lady Towshend of Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England had commissioned Mr. Indre Shira to take several photographs of her grand manor for the magazine. As the photographer and his assistant were setting up for a shot of the house’s grand staircase, Mr. Shira looked up and was shocked to see a luminescent humanlike form floating towards them down the staircase. Shira shouted to his assistant to help him in quickly photographing the phantasm, and the assistant, despite not seeing anything there before him at the time, complied. The rest is, of course, photographic history. The ghost has been seen before and since the famous photo was taken, by residents and guests of the house alike. Among the most affluent of these witnesses was King George IV, himself, while he was visiting the home for a brief period during the 1800’s. Several witnesses describe the ghost to be that of a woman wearing a brown satin dress, hence the appellation of ‘The Brown Lady’. Some have claimed that the spectre appears with its eyes gouged out, and on one occasion a bullet was fired at the phantom by a startled guest, passing through the spirit with no effect. The ghost is believed to be that of Lady Dorothy Towshend, wife of Charles Towshend, second Viscount of Raynham in the1700’s. Rumor has it that Lady Towshend’s funeral in 1726 was a sham, and that Charles, fearing his wife’s infidelity, had locked her away inside the great house where she had lived on for many years after her alleged death. Author and researcher Thurston Hopkins said once of ‘The Brown Lady” picture, “ It may well be the most genuine ghost photograph we possess.”