Poll: Ghosts On Film?

[Isla]

There are scientists and researchers who are focused on finding scientific explanations for mysterious phenomena. There are real Ghostbusters out there, and I hope they do find a way to explain the weirdness so many of us have experienced.

I had an experience earlier this month that I had dismissed as indigestion and imagination gone wild, but when I had some film developed today, there was an anomaly that many ghost chasers consider to be 'spirit energy'. I sent the picture on to a paranormal researcher friend of mine, and here a copy of part of the note I sent her:


Earlier this month, Alan and I went for a long weekend in St Augustine. I
made reservations at the St Francis Inn because it looked romantic and it
had been 4 years since we were away from the kids. It was also the weekend
of my 33rd birthday, so I was planning on having a very "Adult" time. The
last thing that was on my mind was ghosts.

Well, the last night we were there I decided to go on the walking Ghost Tour
for fun. Alan wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but I got my way 'cause it
was my birthday. After a big meal of things I shouldn't eat (I had a beer
and some bread, which is guaranteed to give me gas) we joined the tour
guide. It was a blast, really... not spooky at all. Well, we didn't
actually go into any of the haunted places, we just stood outside, so that
helped me feel 'safe'. I did take a couple of pictures of the graveyards,
just in case.

After the tour, we stopped for some ice-cream on our way back to the Inn.
At that point, I knew I had ensured a tummy ache! I went to bed worried
that I would not sleep well. I had a bad feeling that if anything was 'out'
there, I had gotten its attention. I have always felt that because ghosts
sense that I can sense them, they occasionally try to get my attention.
Contact freaks me out... I'm pretty comfortable with family spirits, but
strange ghosts make me nervous.

Anyway, I woke up at 2:46 AM. It had just started to rain softly and would
rain all the next day due to a cold front. I had gas pains so I went to the
bathroom and felt much better. I wanted to get back to sleep ASAP because
my experience has been that from 3AM to 4AM is a very good time for
hauntings. Just as I was drifting of to sleep, I felt a ~whoosh~ approach
the foot of the bed. Then I heard a melody... it sounded like a minuet. I
knew that there was a woman there who wanted to speak with me. I did not
want to see or speak to her, I'm too chicken!!! Anyway, I know it was not
sleep paralysis because I could move. I was laying on my side, sort of in a
spoon position with Alan. I started shaking Alan because I was not going
to deal with a ghost by myself. He was not waking up so I started to rock
my body back and forth frantically. I never opened my eyes. After a minute
or two (which seemed like an eternity) I felt the presence leave suddenly.
I relaxed, rolled over, and pulled the covers over my head.

I woke up and convinced myself that it was the beer, the bread, and the
ice-cream! I mean, after all, I know better than to eat those things,
especially in the same evening. My imagination was running wild with me,
right?

Fast forward to today. I had the pictures developed... 5 rolls in all,
because we also took the kids to the mountains last week. The graveyard
pictures had nothing. I didn't really expect anything. However, a picture
that I took the next morning surprised me. It was no longer raining, but
still misty. We were on the courtyard porch at the Inn, having coffee. I
wanted to take a picture of the courtyard because we are planning some
improvements in our own backyard. I had put ghosts out of my mind. Damned
if I didn't get the clearest globule I have ever seen in my life! I'd
really like to know what you think of it. If you like, I will send you a
copy.

Frankly, I would like to think that I am just a crazy, hallucinating wench. It would be a relief if that were the case! I keep telling myself that some really insane people are quite normal and well balanced, and I must be one of them. Honestly, I am not really sure what to believe when in comes to spirit phenomena and I hope that science finds an answer in my lifetime.

Anyway, here is a link to the pic:

Ghost On Film?

and here is a link to my ghostbusting friend's site:

Donna Quinn

I'd like those of you who are interested to take a look and then answer the poll.

Remember, I am not here to convince anyone of anything. This is not really a debate thread, although you are welcome and encouraged to post your thoughts! Frankly, I think this is a mystery none of us have the answer to, and as always I am curious.

 

[Viper GTS]

I don't get what I'm supposed to be seeing in that pic... The white dot in the middle?



Viper GTS

 

[Total Refected Power]

I don't see anything. Is it that white dot in the middle?

 

[Isla]

Yes, the white dot in the middle!

There is nothing wrong with my camera and there was nothing I could see with my eye when I took the picture... no mirror, nothing reflective.

My camera is in top shape because I use it professionally. Out of the 5 rolls of film I took during the past month, that is the only 'white spot'.

Globules

They call them globules... theya re supposed to be some form of energy, but I have no idea really. If you poke around Donna's site, you'll see more.

?????

I do not claim to know what it is or why they show up.

EDIT: I think it would be really cool if some of you checked out your own photos for these things. I want to know what they are! Maybe you have some, too?

 

[Total Refected Power]

I had those before in my pictures. Just thought that they were dust on the lens or a water spot. Optics are sensitive to many things so I ascribed it to a "bad" shot.

I really don't think about "ghosts" and frankly hope they are not poking around. How embarrassing if they are!

 

[GL]

I am by no means an expert but it looks like the light rays reflecting back from that circular table in the middle match up quite perfectly with the white lens flare.

Looks like the flash from the camera or some other light source that was shining light onto the circumference of the middle green table was at such an angle that the rays reflected back into the lens of the camera.

-GL

 

[Isla]

Cool.

I feel better now!

Really, I prefer a logical explanation... and yours makes sense GL. Thanks!

 

[palad]

Could it be a fault on the surface of the film, or perhaps a sign that there was a problem during developing?

<edit> I just realized how dry an uninspired this response sounded. Let me clarify. Do I believe in ghosts manifesting as 'globules', sending people messages from dead loved ones, or telling the future? Absolutely not. Do I believe in a spiritual aspect to our lives that is rarely acknowledged, let alone discussed, in modern society? In a world hidden from our eyes and the prying minds of scientists who are searching for visible 'proof'? In promptings in our hearts and minds which can provide profound insights and changes in our lives, even guiding us in our day-to-day activites? Yes, I do.

So, Isla, the spot on the film? I believe it is either a defect in the fil/processing, or a trick someone is trying to perpetuate on you. Spiritual presences manifesting themselves in our lives? Definitely real, but not necessarily 'fun'.

</edit>

 

[piku]

Boy, ghosts sure are boring.

 

[Total Refected Power]

A story:

Last year my wife and I were getting ready to go out shopping just like any other time. As I was putting on my shoes I was overwhelmed with a sense of danger, a car accident. It happened around 2:30 in the afternoon. I don't let myself be ruled by irrational fears so I shook it off and off we went. As we progressed through the toll booth and tried to merge, a wildly speeding bus suddenly changed lanes and would have smashed us if I didn't make a drastic manuever. We escaped unscathed. We were shaken but fine. The rest of the day was uneventful.

Later that night I was talking to my mother and towards the end of the conversation I casually mentioned the episode. My mother was stunned. Around 2:30 my father was going to the local store and my mother felt danger about his trip and demanded that she go with him: something that she rarely does. In fact he must go to the store twice a day! Their trip was uneventful.

Is it possible that my mother &quot;sensed&quot; danger for me and &quot;sent&quot; a signal 250 miles away? Was it a warning from beyond? Anyhow it was very unusual experience and left us dumbfounded.

 

[Isla]

piku, yeah, Transformers are so much more interesting...

TRP, very cool. It is comforting to know that even the most scientific types occasionally have a strange moment that defies explanation.

I am really looking forward to the day scientists understand these things... maybe quantum physics holds the key?

 

[Azraele]

Am I the only one who sees two white dots, one in the middle, the other to the left?

 

[loup garou]

It could be caused by dust, too. Check out this pic of my roomate and I tearing down a wall in our house. Tons of globules there.

Sorry, you'll have to cut &amp; paste, my server's down and the only other webspace I have is geocities.

http://www.geocities.com/pplaisa/random/dust.JPG

 

[Muadib]

Someone has been reading too much King....

 

[piku]

wow werk that pic is awesome looking

isla - indeed. Show me Megatron transposed in an image and I'll take notice.

 

[iamwiz82]

i could develop a photo to look exactly like that. Just put a dot on the negative or put a small piece of paper on the photo paper during exposure.

 

[hzl eyed grl]

I have always been &quot;religious&quot;. I can remember all my life sensing things around me. It can be daylight or dark, but sometimes a certain place will really freak me out. I don't know all about ghosts and the like, but IMO a lot of spirits out there are demons. Like I said......I don't claim to know a lot about it, but that is my opinion. There is a supposedly haunted house about 1 1/2 blocks from here. I'll have to take a picture of it and see if anything appears in the developed film. And, Isla, I know what you mean about not wanting confrontation. lol Oh, and I remember when I was little I used to see angels. That used to freak my mom out. heehee

EDIT: Oooooppppsssiiie. I corrected my spelling error.

 

[Azraele]

<<i could develop a photo to look exactly like that>>

Photos can easily be doctored using a vatiety of tools these days. However, Isla opened up the possibility of ghosts' existence, and though I don't think there is one on that pic (looks more like a reflection) I do believe in them. Scares the mess out of me thinking about running into one.

 

[Isla]

Cool picture, werk. I'll have to send it on to my friend... it is a good example of globules that are not unexplainable!

Azraele... hmm, I hadn't noticed it before. I think I can see the other spot... very faint?

Hzl, yes, I saw angels too when I was little. Still sense them on occasion. And like you, generally I prefer to avoid ghosts and stuff. Just because I sense something does not mean I want to be in contact!

Edit: Muadib, I read too much Frank Herbert, too!

 

[Azraele]

Isla: it's to the far left near the edge of the table


As for sensing stuff, I don't know what it about the front staircase to my dad's house, but it gives me the willies!!!

 

[chuckieland]

call in the x-files man
oh wait, that show sux now
well

 

[Muadib]

Edit: Muadib, I read too much Frank Herbert, too!
LOL!Is such a thing possible??

 

[Plantanthera]

Frist of all, you have a nice yard, but what that wall doing there???

The picture is of low res so it is hard to see, but I still can make out the blur of the white object.

The white globe could be a ball or bird dropping, and by the look of it your shutter was set to about 1/125~1/60. The depth of field is quite good so you must have the aperature set at, at least f:8 or more, therefore you should get a sharp image if the object was stationary or close to the lens. The vertically blurry oblong shape suggested that there were a motion of a moving object vertically (falling)...which confirmed by the over/most exposure at the center of it.

When you took the picture the short instance of time the mirror lockup obstruct your vision that why you can't see what happened during the photograph duration, and thinking that a physical object is a spirit phenomena. (It all depend on a camera mechanism...the mirror lockup &amp; return could take as long as 2/3sec even if your shutter only take 1/125sec)

Try checking out the spot that you took the picture to see if there is a mark (bird dropping or an object that could cause the incident.)

Good luck on your ghost hunting

 

[Soybomb]

I&quot;ve had weird experiences, but I'm not sure if i'm sold on the idea of ghosts yet. ANyway my money would be on a processing error or reflection there.

Sorry but I think it was just beer and bread gas

 

[Plantanthera]

And the like that you show of the &quot;globules&quot; link that you show have some definate lens flares.