Great bunch of

August 12, 2000 8:07 PM

Great bunch of mysterious ghost pictures collected by ghosthunter Dale Kaczmarek.
posted by skallas (8 comments total)

Shaniqua L'Pube? Okay, that's just dumb =P.
posted by ookamaka at 9:03 PM on August 12, 2000

The supposedly legit photos don't look substantively different from the "explained" photos to me. I think this site really shows that photography isn't the right tool for this kind of research...what would a good photograph of a ghost look like? Could it ever be distinguishable from a good fake? Any detailed, clearly discernable, well resolved image of a "ghost" probably wouldn't look any different than a normal photograph. The pictures with odd geometric shapes and lines and blobs offer nothing meaningful at all. Perhaps what is needed is a definition of "ghost" in terms of a testable hypothesis. If the GRS already has one why are they wasting time with photographs like what they are showing here?

I know some people believe ghosts exist. However, I think attempts to reduce these kinds beliefs to scientific fact only serve to rob the believer of any spiritual or psychological benefit s/he gets from it. And, ultimately, it makes everyone involved look feeble and stupid.
posted by plaino at 4:40 AM on August 13, 2000

I had a floating chair appear in my apartment one time, but I just shrugged it off as a camera trick...
posted by almostcool at 9:48 AM on August 13, 2000

The problem with photographing phenomena like this is that no one but the photographer, and maybe his/her friends, will ever believe it. Photos are far too malleable.

Nonetheless, they're still fun to look at. I always wanted to try that psychic photography thing myself, if only because it would be a great party stunt.
posted by frykitty at 11:47 AM on August 13, 2000

Hey! I'm really into this sort of thing and I do believe in ghosts. I am actually thinking of doing some ghost hunting myself. That is if I don't get too scared. ;-) I'm a chicken shit!
posted by FAB4GIRL at 12:03 PM on August 13, 2000

I believe in the possibility of spirits, but these photographs don't convince me in the least. In fact so far, I've found a reasonable explanation for all 'evidence' of spiritual phenomena. The pictures in question could simply be retouched, or double exposures, or otherwise simply manufactured. Ouija boards? Automatic writing? Channeling? All that stuff? It's one's subconscious mind playing tricks. Nothing spectral about it. Cayce. Roberts. All those people. They may either have been charlatans or sincerely believed they were channeling spirits, but there's more Freud than grave to it. Still, I try to keep an open mind, while at the same time not jumping to conclusions or otherwise being a sucker. It is a fascinating subject though.
posted by ZachsMind at 8:27 PM on August 13, 2000

By the way, does anyone know the story of GhostWatcher?
posted by ZachsMind at 8:32 PM on August 13, 2000

I'm sure there's a perfectly raional explanation for it all...
posted by Mocata at 6:22 AM on August 14, 2000