These are not the orbs you’re looking for…
I got my first digital camera in 2003, after fifteen years of using old fashioned film photography. The idea that a photograph could be checked and if necessary deleted and retaken without having to send the film off to be processed and printed was fantastic, and the quality was decent too… after all my first digi, the Kodak CX4200, sported a massive 2 megapixels!
Podcast Episode 2: The Witches of Allensford
The Witches of Allensford | the phantom cyclist of the B6295 | toddler footprints | Peter the Poltergeist, 1962 | Pancake traditions in the 19th century.
Ghost photography and long exposure
The origin of the term 'the camera never lies' appears lost in the ether and while many believe the statement true, the presumption has almost always been compeletely false... The invention of photography has been attributed by history to Frenchman Nicéphore Niépce in 1823 with his image, The View from the Window at La Gras now thought to be the oldest surviving photograph, dating between 1826-27. Within thirty years of the La Gras image being taken, there were those experimenting with new technologies such as double exposure - and linked to the meteoric rise of the Spiritualist Movement, those that saw the opportunity for profit. Perhaps out of all of the ghost photographers of the late 19th century, William Mumler was perhaps the most notorious. His 'spirit photography' techniques appeared to be able to capture the ghost of a deceased relative when photographed with one of his clients - with remarkable regularity. The theory is that he used a pre-prepared glass plate holding the 'ghost'' image and superimposed it over a clean plate, or vice versa. While he was eventually tried for fraud he was actually acquitted, but the public backlash against Mumler didn't stop other photographers following his footsteps.
Condensing spirits…
One of the most commonly seen image types on ghost investigation websites and social media is that of the ghostly mist, where these amorphous shapes can sometimes be seen to form human or other familiar shapes. While these images can look somewhat spooky, their origins are purely environmental (certainly based on every image of their type I've taken in the last thirty years), and the reason folk can see faces and such within the mists falls to pareidolia: usually proven by different people seeing subtly different things. Historically, before the process was known and understood, simple environmental condensation could well explain some of the allegedly paranormal sightings reported - specifics that spring to mind are some of the 16th/17th century descriptions of boggarts and similar, described as amorphous shapes (sometimes described as cloth) rising on roads and in hedgerows in front of travellers.
A (very) brief history of ghostlore
Around the time of the Norman Conquest (AD 1066 for those who don’t know!) ghostly phenomena was thought to be work of the Devil: re-animated corpses and spirits of the dead brought to ‘life’ to do the Devil’s work. Two hundred years later in 1254 AD, Purgatory was given official recognition by the Pope and the belief which was already widespread became anchored in society.