Is it possible to photograph spirits and ghosts? Since the earliest days of cameras and photography, people have been reporting strange images captured on film that seem to defy all natural explanation. During the period at the height of the Spiritualist movement, faked photos of supposed spirits and ghosts were produced frequently and held up as proof positive that the "other side" was real and that the spirits therein were capable of moving between that reality and our own. Most of these were uncovered and dismissed as hoaxes but there were others that were not so easily explained away. As the technology and the equipment advanced and progressed, so to did the number of strange and seemingly anomalous photos being taken by every day people who were not intending to capture anything like what was being seen. At the present time, photos of strange balls of light called "orbs" and strange misty forms called "ectoplasm" are being captured every day by people just taking photos of things in their daily lives. Then too are the shocking photos of more easily identifiable forms of persons who have passed from this physical reality. Are these all just hoaxes? Products of our imaginations? Wishful thinking?
The obvious answer is that not all of these photos can be explained away as lens flare or camera straps captured in the flash or dust and other particulate matter in the air. It seems that it may be possible to capture spirits on film and more recently, digital cameras as well. We are not sure why this phenomena takes place or how but it is there nonetheless. Is it because the camera shutter moves more rapidly than the human eye that we are able to see things our own eyes cannot? Could it be that the cameras are able to see a spectrum of light where these beings exist that the naked eye cannot? These are all very interesting and intriguing questions for which we do not yet have the answers but research work will eventually provide us with the answers. In fact, there are several interesting theories in the paranormal community right now, some supported by hard facts and field work, that indicates cameras may be seeing things that are there but just differently.
On this page and the photo pages following, we will show you photos that our members and contributors to the CRPIS evidence collection database are capturing on film and on digital cameras. While the paranormal investigation community is split on the value of digital cameras in field work, we at the CRPIS feel that they are yet another invaluable tool for documenting phenomena and we use them in conjunction with 35mm standard film cameras at all investigations. We will discuss the main types of purported spirit energy that has been photographed and some features of each. No doubt as you look through these pages, you may see something that resemble similar artifacts you have seen in your own photos. We at CRPIS make no determinations about anything we capture in our photos. We simply present to you in an open forum what we have captured on film and consider to be possibly paranormal in nature or at the very least, worthy of further study. The value you derive from this information is up to you the viewer alone.
Here now are some basics on the different types of spirit manifestations that might be captured on film.
Orbs
Orbs or Spheres are the small balls of light that appear in photos. You have seen these photos all over the internet and perhaps from friends and acquaintances who have captured them on film. Orbs are more often seen as stationary or not moving. There are several camps with theories on what orbs are and what they might represent as it relates to the paranormal. One camp believes that orbs are the actual "Spirit Vessel", the embodiment of all that a person is and was in physical life transformed into another form that is made up of energy. This camp believes that the orb structure is comprised of an outer layer or Magnetosphere that is able to interact with the environment and allows movement through our reality. That outer layer then transmits information to the inner part of the orb which contains the essence of the person. This inner core or Central Matrix contains the thought functions, personality and all that the person was in life as we would know them. Orbs have been seen that appear to have an intelligence behind their movements. They move in ways that suggests they have direction and purpose to where they are going. This would, if true, seem to validate this theory in favor of an actual living entity that has the ability to think, reason and interact on some levels with the surroundings. The orbs makes sense as a "vehicle" of sorts to travel between realities because it is efficient and flows easily through many mediums.
The other camp does not think that orbs are intelligent, thinking beings that function with intelligence but rather a byproduct of paranormal energy in a location. This means that heightened energy levels in a location might produce orbs in the environment as a process totally aside from what is actually able to be sensed or experienced. The orbs in this case are neither thinking or intelligent, they simply are. The energy within the area where the orbs are seen is the real target for examination and investigation. This energy can be tapped into by those especially sensitive to higher concentrations of energy and could cause people to be able to see, hear and interact with beings on the "other side" like a kind of conduit. If you consider this theory, the orbs are really just markers for where this energy can be found.
Still another camp theorizes that orbs are simply the manifestation of spirits drawing power from external power sources such as storms, power lines, lights, etc. to appear in various forms. Given the laws of physics, this does make sense as energy which is being transferred from a source to a receptacle may well take on the form of a sphere. In this case as with the second, the orb is not really the spirit or entity but a physical manifestation of spirits or entities taking on energy for the purpose of interacting or taking form.
Whatever camp you subscribe to, orbs are there and they are being captured in photos and in increasing numbers. There is something else that may or may not be significant to the story of orbs. Most people do not see them in their photos until they actually start taking photos to capture them specifically. We have received literally dozens of stories like this from people who report that once they saw the photos of orbs on the internet, they went looking through their old photos and never found any. Once they started taking their own photos and began looking for orbs, they found them in the current photos. Coincidence? Chance? There is an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Could it be that until the person doing the photography opens themselves up to the possibility that spirits exist, the orbs do not show up in photos?
Of course, there are those skeptics who claim that orbs are merely dust or other particulate matter in the air that is caught in the flash and then reflecting the light back to the camera. There is no doubt that this can cause false orbs but does that really tell the whole story? Anyone can go out and throw dirt into the air and capture orbs in a photo. Anyone can take a dusty rug and shake it and capture orbs in their photos. But why is it then that in these staged photos we see literally hundreds of false orbs while in photos people are bringing forward have one, two, four, six, ten or more? If there is all this particulate matter in the air all the time all around us, shouldn't every photo taken at night or in low light with a flash have some number of orbs in them? Shouldn't that number of orbs be really high considering all the dirt, dust and debris in the air around us? Skeptics are quick to point out what orbs could be and how they are tricks of light or tricks of our minds looking for patterns in things but they fail or refuse to answer this question at all.
To learn more about orbs and some work being done on their composition and how they interact with space and matter, you can simply look on the web and you will find any number of sites dealing with what orbs could be and what they are made of. Paravision is doing some work on orbs which seems to be cutting edge but we are uncertain as to the validity of their claims at this time. Nevertheless, the work they are doing is interesting and fascinating if nothing else. We also recommend checking out the Shadowlands Ghosts and Hauntings website. The SJGR has done some incredible work when it comes to understanding the paranormal and understanding the basics.
Ectoplasm Or Ghost Mists
Ectoplasm or Ghost Mists are the names given to the strange, fog-like apparitions captured on film. These manifestations are often debunked as smoke, exhaled breath or fog but those who have been photographing the paranormal long enough and have taken the time to study the differences between these naturally explainable things and the "genuine article" take precautions in the field to eliminate such false positives. In the rare case a naturally occurring mist is captured on film, it can be debunked by the photographer immediately by either attempting to reproduce the photo in the field or by the appearance of the mist itself when examined more closely.
More often than not, ecto mists are captured when humidity and temperature are not factors in their creation. For example, we have captured several mist photos at times when humidity was low, there was no precipitation, and the temperatures were such as to eliminate the possibility of exhaled breath being a factor. Since our rules state that at no time may any member smoke within an investigation site, we have pretty much eliminated the possibility of false positives in these photos. At times when temperature could have been responsible for the photo, we immediately try to recreate the photo in several photos after the fact to see if the mist can be replicated. All of our mist photos therefore are beyond our current ability to naturally explain.
Another unusual thing about these ecto mists is that they are most often not seen by the investigator when the photo is taken. There do seem to be some exceptions though to this. For example, many of our mist photos were not seen when the photos were taken but, in one photo, the mist was actually seen by other field team members in the flash of the camera and was then seen to move quickly across the road directly in front of the team and into another part of the site. A small patch of moving fog? The product of dew and humidity? Was the wind moving the fog? As we have already stated, we take great pains to make sure that we only photograph when conditions are favorable to do so and that policy rules out any natural explanation for this moving mist. It may be that the entity was attempting to actually take on some form when the photo was shot, explaining the misty form appearing in one small area by one headstone, which then caused it to move quickly away from the camera.
Plasmodia
Plasmodia are very much like orbs except that instead of having a central matrix that appears to be different colors or hues, the plasmodia is solid and usually gray or white which is, in part, why they are named as they are. Paranormal investigators believe or theorize that these objects may be made of plasma which can later form into apparitions when acted upon by spirit intelligence. They may, in fact, be combinations of plasma of orbs which would mean a combination of intelligence with physical matter. Most often, plasmodia are captured in movement in which a very easily identifiable trail of movement can be seen in the photo. These are often referred to as moving orb photos. Unlike particles of dust or pollen, etc. captured in the lens flash, these objects show movement and motion and appear very solid and not transparent. There is also no presence of a corona effect or dark spaces within the spherical portion of a plasmodia. Plasmodia can appear most often as small, solid balls of white or gray which are not perfectly rounded but oblong or oval in appearance . Plasmodia may also appear in some photos as strands that can be long, short, thick or thin. This type most often causes questions about hairs being caught in the flash and has been referred to as strand ectoplasm. While this can be the case, hairs often do not show up as white or gray but more often reflect back some color of the natural color of the strand of hair such as red or brown or yellowish hues.
Full Apparitions
Full apparitions are the most sought after piece of evidence that any paranormal investigators seeks to obtain. Apparitions can be of people, animals or even things. Some examples are as follows:
Human Apparition: A spirit that takes on the form it had while physical. An exact likeness of a deceased person as they were when they were alive. These apparitions can appear as the person in question at different stages of their lives. One person may see the apparition as they were before they died while another may see the spirit as they appeared when a child.
Animal Apparition: The essence of an animal that returns to the physical in the same form as it was when alive. An example of this might be a favorite dog or cat who has passed and returns. Sometimes, these animal spirits have been known to help or even save their owners and others from danger. Other times, these spirit animals can be precursors to some disaster or tragedy and appear to warn the living. Examples of these apparitions might be the Black Shuck of England or the large spectral dogs here in the United States and Europe.
Apparitions of Objects: There are many stories of phantom trains, phantom houses, phantom castles and other objects suddenly appearing out of nowhere only to vanish after a time. The most striking example of this type of apparition is the Lincoln Funeral Train which carried President Lincoln back to Illinois after he was assassinated. For years after, on the anniversary of its mournful trip, residents living near the rail line where the train traveled reported seeing the spectral train passing by complete with sounds. A classic example of this was the Summerwind mansion here in Wisconsin in which the original structure still appears from time to time in photos taken at the site.
Apparitions may occur in residual hauntings or in active haunting cases. In residual hauntings, the apparitions go about their business unaware of spectators. In active hauntings, the apparitions will acknowledge and may interact with witnesses to varying degrees. Full apparitions may also be combined with sounds, smells, actions or conversation to some degree.
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