Accidental Apparitions: When Ghost Photography Happens by Chance

Second in a four-part series exploring the mysterious world of ghost photography

In our previous exploration of spirit photography, we examined the deliberate attempts by Victorian mediums to capture images of the deceased. These staged photographs, while compelling to many grieving families of the era, were largely debunked as darkroom trickery and double exposures.

But what about those eerie images that appear when no deception was intended? The unexplained figures that materialize in photographs taken by ordinary people who had no expectation of capturing anything supernatural?



When Ghosts Photobomb

Unlike spirit photography, deliberately created by mediums claiming special abilities, ghost photographs emerge accidentally. A family snaps a vacation photo, and only upon developing it notices a strange figure in the background. A real estate photographer captures an interior shot of an empty house, only to find a face peering from a window when reviewing the images.

These unexpected appearances lend ghost photographs a certain credibility that their spiritualist counterparts lack. After all, if the photographer wasn't attempting to capture a spirit, what explains the mysterious presence in their image?

The Science Behind Spectral Images

Before diving into famous examples, it's worth understanding how ordinary photographic processes can create seemingly supernatural results. Paranormal investigators Kenny Biddle and Joe Nickell have identified several common causes of "ghostly" images:

  • Camera straps and hair: The flash reflecting off a camera strap can produce bright, white strands or what some interpret as a "spiralling vortex of spirit energy," depending on the material. Similarly, strands of hair close to the lens can create mysterious lines or shapes.
  • Environmental factors: Cigarette smoke, a person's breath in cold weather, or fog can look remarkably like "ectoplasmic mist" when illuminated by a flash.
  • Long exposures: Photos taken with several seconds of exposure time can create ethereal, see-through shapes if people move during the shot. This technique inadvertently replicates the deliberate methods used by Victorian spirit photographers.
  • Lens flare and reflections: Light reflecting off glass, water, or other surfaces can create unusual shapes and artifacts.
  • Pareidolia: Perhaps most fascinating is our brain's tendency to identify faces and human forms in random patterns. This psychological phenomenon explains why we might see ghostly faces in the grain of wood, folds of fabric, or shadows in a photograph.


Famous Ghost Photographs That Defy Explanation

Despite these natural explanations, some ghost photographs have withstood scrutiny and continue to puzzle experts decades after they were taken. Here are some of the most compelling examples:

The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall (1936)

Perhaps the most famous ghost photograph ever taken, this image shows a misty, white figure descending the grand staircase at Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England. Photographers Hubert C. Provand and Indre Shira were on assignment for Country Life magazine when Shira spotted what he described as an "ethereal, veiled form coming slowly down the stairs." They quickly captured the image, which was later published in both Country Life and Life magazines.

Hubert C. Provand e Indre Shira, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The "Brown Lady" is believed to be the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole, who married Charles, 2nd Viscount Townshend around 1713 and died under mysterious circumstances in 1726. Although sightings of the Brown Lady date back to 1835, it was this photograph that cemented her place in paranormal history.

Skeptics have suggested the image might be the result of double exposure or light streaking across the film, but proponents note the photographers were professionals using high-quality equipment, and the figure has distinct form and features difficult to explain through camera artifacts.

The Tulip Staircase Ghost (1966)

In 1966, a retired Canadian reverend and his wife visited the Queen's House at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. While photographing the elegant Tulip Staircase, they noticed nothing unusual. Only after developing their vacation photos did they discover a shrouded figure climbing the staircase, possibly pursuing one or two additional spectral forms.

This is an illustration and not the actual photo of the Tulip Staircase Ghost, which can be viewed here

What makes this case particularly compelling is that experts who examined the photograph found no evidence of tampering. The Queen's House has a long history of paranormal activity, with staff reporting footsteps, slamming doors, and ghostly sightings in the vicinity of the staircase. The identity of the figure remains unknown, though some speculate it could be a maid who fell to her death from the stairs centuries ago. 

The Newby Church Monk (1963)

In 1963, Reverend Kenneth F. Lord took what appeared to be a routine photograph of the altar at the Church of Christ the Consoler at Newby Hall in North Yorkshire. When developed, the image revealed a towering, dark-robed figure standing to the right of the altar.

This is an illustration and not the actual photo, which can be viewed here

What's particularly unsettling about this photograph is the figure's face, which appears distorted or shrouded, giving it an almost melting appearance. The entity's unusual height—estimated at over seven feet tall—adds to its otherworldly quality. Skeptics suggest it might be a classic case of double exposure, while believers point to the lack of evidence for tampering and the church's history of unexplained phenomena.

Goddard's Squadron Ghost (1919)

During a Royal Air Force group photograph taken in 1919, the face of a mechanic named Freddy Jackson appears behind the fourth airman from the left. What makes this remarkable is that Jackson had died in an accident with an airplane propeller three days earlier, on the very airfield where the photograph was taken.

Freddy Jackson appears behind the man in the middle.

His comrades immediately recognized his face, claiming it was unmistakably Jackson. Air Marshal Victor Goddard, who later became known for his interest in paranormal phenomena, kept the photograph and believed it showed genuine evidence of survival after death.

The Modern Era: Orbs and Digital Manipulation

With the advent of digital photography in the 1990s, a new phenomenon emerged: orbs. These mysterious round luminosities, typically invisible to the naked eye but appearing in digital images, have been enthusiastically embraced by paranormal enthusiasts as evidence of spiritual energy.

Most professional paranormal investigators, however, discount orbs as evidence. Digital cameras easily capture dust particles, moisture droplets, insects, and other small objects near the lens that appear as bright spheres when illuminated by a flash. The compression algorithms in digital cameras can further distort these artifacts, creating what appear to be structured patterns within the orbs.

The digital era has also made image manipulation significantly easier. Smartphone applications like "GhostCam: Spirit Photography" allow users to add ghostly figures to their photos with a tap. In 2014, one such app was used in a publicity hoax when a ghost-hunting group published doctored images as authentic evidence.

Even BookBrains can use a ghost cam

Analyzing Ghost Photographs

When examining a potential ghost photograph, investigators consider several factors:

  1. Provenance: Who took the photograph and under what circumstances? Was the photographer aware of the location's haunted reputation?
  2. Technical aspects: What type of camera was used? What were the lighting conditions? Could camera artifacts explain the anomaly?
  3. Historical context: Are there historical records that might explain the figure's appearance or identity?
  4. Witness testimony: Did anyone present experience unusual sensations or see anything unusual when the photograph was taken?
  5. Location history: Does the location have a documented history of paranormal activity or tragic events?

While many ghost photographs can be explained through ordinary photographic anomalies, the most intriguing cases remain those where multiple lines of evidence converge—where the photographic evidence aligns with historical accounts, witness testimony, and the location's reputation.

In our next installment, we'll explore Jessie Adelaide Middleton's fascinating collection of ghost photographs from her 1916 book The White Ghost Book (Available at Amazon), providing a window into how these mysterious images were perceived a century ago.

Join us in the next post for "Through Edwardian Eyes: Jessie Adelaide Middleton's Ghost Photographs," the third installment in our four-part series on ghost photography.

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