Decipher the mystery behind pictures of ghosts

With the development of camera technology, more and more "ghost" photos have appeared, even in mobile phone photos.

In February 2015, at Hampton Court Palace in London, 12-year-old Holly Hampsheir used her iPhone to take pictures of her cousin Brook, and something strange happened.

Upon reviewing the photo, everyone saw not only Brook in the picture, but also a long, tall, thin woman wearing a long gray dress. But the second photo doesn't see that strange woman's figure.

So where is the cause? After finding out, the answer is more about the way a smartphone takes photos than the intervention of some supernatural force.

The figure of the gray dress woman appeared in Holly's picture.(Photo: The Sun / News Syndication).

Michael Pritchard, General Manager of the Royal Photography Association expressed his views: "From the perspective of a photographer and a person who does not believe in demons, I am always skeptical of the appearance of ghosts in the the picture . there are not many ghosts hanging out there and the reason can only be attributed to photography technology ".

The sixth sense and sensitivity

The origin of ghost photography dates back to the 19th century. During the 1850s and 60s, many photographers tested new effects such as stereoscopic images and double exposure techniques . But some unethical photographers have quickly sought to exploit these techniques for profit purposes.

William Mumler, an American amateur photographer, is considered to be the first person to photograph "the soul" from the early 1860s. The first photo taken has the appearance of Mumler's lost cousin sparking up. doubt, does the ghost appear?

And an amateur photographer quickly became a professional photographer - serving people whose relatives died in the American civil war - wishing to have a supernatural connection with their loved ones.

Many experts have studied to find the fake in the ghost images of Mumler. Actually Mumler's method is quite simple. Before taking the picture, he inserted a glass with the image of the deceased in front and used a double exposure technique to get the two images together.

Another famous photo of Mumler is the picture taken by Mary Todd Lincoln with the ghost of her dead husband Abraham Lincoln. Thanks to this photo, Mumler's customer base increased dramatically, but there was no shortage of critics.

One of them was Barnum, who accused Mumler of making money on the pain of the families who lost loved ones. Accompanied by the allegations that Mumler broke into families to steal photos of the deceased. Mumler was brought to trial for fraud and Barnum testified against him.

A trial in court has demonstrated how Mumler overcomes its customers. Although Mumler's fraud was confirmed, he was eventually acquitted by the court. Even so, his career in ghost photography also went.

Abraham Lincoln ghost captures with his wife.(Photo: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, Allen Country Public Library).

In the 1880s, when cameras became quite popular in society, ghost photography sparked a new wave. One of the most famous ghost photos of that period was born in 1891, taken by Sybell Corbet at a library in Combermerre Abbey, Cheshire, England.

In the photo taken at this library, people see a blurry image of a man sitting in a chair with his head, collar and right arm. It is thought that it was the ghost of Lord Combermerre - who had just died in an accident while riding and being buried at the time the picture was taken.

Many people surmise that it is possible that a waiter accidentally entered the room and rested briefly on that chair just as the photo was taken. However, all the servants in the building claimed they were at the funeral of the Combermerre lord at that time.

The shadow in the armchair is believed to be the ghost of Combermerre warlord.(Photo: Sybell Corbett).

Memories

During World War I, spiritualism and ghost photography received considerable support, including the famous novelist Arthur Conan Doyle - a member of the Ghost Club.

It is the feeling of loss after the war in many countries that many people desire to meet with their deceased relatives. A photographer pursuing photography of spirits is William Hope.

Hope is also accused of using double exposure techniques to integrate two different images to create a picture of the "ghost". However, unlike Mumler, after being convicted of fraud, Hope continued to pursue her passion and attracted many passionate followers.

Hope uses photo collage techniques to integrate images of living people and dead people.(Photo: National Communications Museum).

More than a decade later, in 1936, Captain Hubert Provand and his assistant were standing at the end of the stairs at Raynham Hall, Norfolk, when he suddenly saw "the steam gathering into a woman's image." " Walk down the stairs towards them.

The image was quickly captured and later published in Country Life, entitled "Lady Brown". Many people believe that it is the ghost of Lady Dorothy Townshend who often wanders at Raynham Hall since the mysterious death in 1726.

In 1937, a study showed that the mysterious "Lady Brown" photo was simply due to camera shake for about 6 seconds when the photographer shot.

The famous "Lady Brown" picture.(Photo: Captain Provand).

The birth of digital technology

Today digital cameras capable of creating fake images and the "Lady Brown" picture at Hampton Court above are a testament to the "transparency" of technology.

Smart phones can take a photo like the way a scanner moves on paper. It is a slower process, especially in areas that lack light and the phone's image-sensing function takes more time to record enough image information. This is called "serrated image". This makes anything that moves at the time of the photo shoot be distorted.

You can also see the regeneration of ghost images on websites like "Slender Man", a fictional character without eyes, nose, or mouth that people often put in their pictures to signal Scary fruit.

Many people like to add more Splender Man images to their photos to increase the creepyness.(Photo: Bob Mical / Flickr / CC BY 2.0).

Even though humanity is increasingly gaining knowledge about science and technology, many people still believe that ghost images can be captured. According to a 2013 poll, 42% of Americans were asked to believe that demons exist; In another similar survey in the UK, 39% of respondents still believe there is haunting in the house.