THE TOY'S R-US GHOST - 1978 - SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, USA
This is an unusual photo with a bit of back story.
Originally, the site of a 'Toy's R-Us' store, at 130 East Camino Street, Sunnyvale, California, was home to a large farm and mansion house. In the 1800's, the story was that a man who lived here, named Murphy. A farm hand named Johnny Johnson was hired, although Johnson's mental health was badly affected by an inflammation of the brain, called Encephalitis. The story goes that in 1884, Johnson bled to death in an orchard after accidentally wounding himself with an axe, while chopping wood.
In 1971, the land was divided up and a part of this became a large 'Toy's R-Us' store. Early reports from staff focused on how unusual the building felt, along with some mention of paranormal activity, including sudden drops in temperature, staff complaining of being touched by unseen hands, various toys moving from the shelves and people's names being called out when no-one was around.
A key location for the paranormal activity appeared to be within a female bathroom, where many people complained about feeling watched, along with taps being turned on and off by themselves.
In the 1970's there was an American TV called 'That's Incredible'. Word of the paranormal activity reached the show and it was decided that it would make an interesting segment of an episode. A well-known medium called Sylvia Browne was sent there to engage in a 'seance', while a professional photographer called Bill Tidwell also tagged along.
Apparently, as Sylvia Browne was describing a youthful man with his hands in his pockets that she could mentally picture, Tidwell took a shot.
One oddness to this is that Tidwell used two cameras that day - both 35 mm single lens reflex cameras; one with a high-speed film and the other using black and white infra-red film.
While both cameras took shots of the same areas in very quick succession, the 35 mm film showed nothing of significance. However, the infra-red camera picked up what appears to be a leaning figure with hands in his pockets.
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GHOSTLY INFANT - 1946/47 - QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
This Australian photograph hails back to the 1940's.
In 1945, 17 year-old Joyce Andrews died and was buried in a Queensland cemetery, along with her brother Cecil - a pilot in the Australian Air Force, who has passed away in 1942.
At some time during 1946 or 1947, Joyce and Cecil's mother, Mary, attended the grave of her children and took a photograph. When the photograph was developed, she was amazed to see the image of an infant girl seated upon the grave.
Unusually, Mary was unable to identify the infant girl, but stated that she certainly wasn't her daughter, Joyce.
Many theories have abounded on this image - the most popular being 'double-exposure'; a claim disputed by Mary, who insisted that she didn't recognise the child and therefore why should she have taken a photograph of someone else's child?
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HARRY DACK - 1967 - NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND.
This unusual photograph was taken by Harry Dack in 1967 at the village of Carlin How.
The photo shows Harry's grandson, Neil, but also includes the image of a woman on the right of the shot.
The woman's identity remains unknown.
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WALTER FERGUSON - 1968 - Los Angeles, California, USA.
On November 16th, 1968, a spiritual author, Robert A. Ferguson, was addressing a spiritualist convention in Los Angeles, California. When a photograph was taken (one of many at that time) the image of Robert's brother, Walter, appeared standing beside him.
Walter had been killed in 1944 during World War II.
The oddest aspect of this photo is that, while first thoughts lean towards a possible double-exposure, the image was taken using a 'Polaroid' camera, which negates the chances of double-exposures.
Also, there appears to be a great difference in the contrast levels of both images, something which is extremely hard to explain with the concept of double-exposures.
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FREDDY JACKSON - 1919 - HMS Daedalus
This photograph of a World War I British air squadron was taken in 1919 at a training base. Upon closer examination of the photograph an extra image was spotted in the back row. A face can clearly be seen peering from behind another man. This ghostly form was clearly identified by members of the squadron as Freddy Jackson, a mechanic who had lost his life two days previously as the result of an accident with the propeller of an aircraft.
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THE 'BROWN LADY' - 1936 - Raynham Hall, Norfolk, UK.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PARANORMAL ACTIVITY AT RAYNHAM HALL AND EVENTS LEADING TO THIS PHOTOGRAPH.
A large, country house, near Fakenham in Norfolk, Raynham Hall is the subject of ghost stories and arguably the most infamous photograph of a ghost, taken in 1936.
An early sighting of the ‘Brown Lady’ occurred in the early 18th century from the Prince Regent and future George IV, as he stayed in the State Bedroom. Upon waking, the Prince saw a ‘woman dressed in brown with dishevelled hair and a face of ashy paleness’ standing beside his bed.
At Christmas, 1835, another sighting was made by Colonel Loftus – who reported to have seen the ghostly lady on two successive evenings. Firstly, he spotted an unknown lady standing outside a bedroom. Loftus pursued the lady, whereupon she entered a corridor and promptly vanished into thin air.
The next night, Loftus met the lady again – this time upon a staircase and carrying a lamp. Loftus described a woman of stature in rich brocade with a cap upon her hair, yet with no eyes within her eye sockets; merely dark, hollowed shapes.
A while later, a novelist - Captain Frederick Marryat – was working on a theory that the ‘ghost’ was related to local smuggling and poaching. Accompanied by two other gentlemen, Marryat claimed to have met the ghost while walking along a corridor in Raynham Hall. The lady held a lit lamp and Marryat reported that she grinned at him in ‘a diabolical manner’. Marryat immediately raised a pistol and shot at the figure, whereupon it dissolved into nothingness. All witnesses agreed that the bullet passed clean through the lady, where it was found embedded in a door.
A century later, the ‘Brown Lady’ was seen again by Marquis Townsend – at that time only a boy, in the company of a friend. Both children identified the lady as being the same one who appeared in a portrait in one of the bedrooms.
In 1936, Lady Townsend hired a photographer – INDRA SHIRA – to take photographs of the interior of Raynham Hall, along with an assistant – Mr Provand. While taking photographs, Shira reportedly saw a misty figure upon a staircase and shouted at his assistant to take a photograph. Although Provand claims not to have seen any apparition at all, he dutifully aimed his camera at the stairs and took a shot.
Since the 1936 photograph, there have been no further sightings of the ‘Brown Lady’, who is believed by some to be Lady Dorothy Townsend, daughter of Sir Robert Walpole, the first prime minister of England.
References and further reading:
Canning, John, ed. 50 Great Ghost Stories. New York: Bonanza Books, 1988.
Hole, Christina, Haunted England. London: B.T. Batsford Lt. 1940
http://
http://
An early sighting of the ‘Brown Lady’ occurred in the early 18th century from the Prince Regent and future George IV, as he stayed in the State Bedroom. Upon waking, the Prince saw a ‘woman dressed in brown with dishevelled hair and a face of ashy paleness’ standing beside his bed.
At Christmas, 1835, another sighting was made by Colonel Loftus – who reported to have seen the ghostly lady on two successive evenings. Firstly, he spotted an unknown lady standing outside a bedroom. Loftus pursued the lady, whereupon she entered a corridor and promptly vanished into thin air.
The next night, Loftus met the lady again – this time upon a staircase and carrying a lamp. Loftus described a woman of stature in rich brocade with a cap upon her hair, yet with no eyes within her eye sockets; merely dark, hollowed shapes.
A while later, a novelist - Captain Frederick Marryat – was working on a theory that the ‘ghost’ was related to local smuggling and poaching. Accompanied by two other gentlemen, Marryat claimed to have met the ghost while walking along a corridor in Raynham Hall. The lady held a lit lamp and Marryat reported that she grinned at him in ‘a diabolical manner’. Marryat immediately raised a pistol and shot at the figure, whereupon it dissolved into nothingness. All witnesses agreed that the bullet passed clean through the lady, where it was found embedded in a door.
A century later, the ‘Brown Lady’ was seen again by Marquis Townsend – at that time only a boy, in the company of a friend. Both children identified the lady as being the same one who appeared in a portrait in one of the bedrooms.
In 1936, Lady Townsend hired a photographer – INDRA SHIRA – to take photographs of the interior of Raynham Hall, along with an assistant – Mr Provand. While taking photographs, Shira reportedly saw a misty figure upon a staircase and shouted at his assistant to take a photograph. Although Provand claims not to have seen any apparition at all, he dutifully aimed his camera at the stairs and took a shot.
Since the 1936 photograph, there have been no further sightings of the ‘Brown Lady’, who is believed by some to be Lady Dorothy Townsend, daughter of Sir Robert Walpole, the first prime minister of England.
References and further reading:
Canning, John, ed. 50 Great Ghost Stories. New York: Bonanza Books, 1988.
Hole, Christina, Haunted England. London: B.T. Batsford Lt. 1940
http://
http://
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THE MOTHER OF MABEL CHINNERY - 1959 - Union City, Tennessee, USA.
Often referred to as the 'Back Seat Ghost Photo', this is a photograph taken in 1959 by Mabel Chinnery, while visiting the grave of her mother who had recently passed away.
After visiting the grave, Mabel took a photograph of her husband seated in their car. Apparently unseen to her, or her husband, a figure can clearly be seen seated on the back seat of the vehicle, whom Mabel strongly believed to be her late mother.
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LORD COMBERMERE - 1891 - Cheshire, England.
A former cavalry commander in the British Army during the 19th century, Lord Combermere was hit and killed by a horse carriage in 1891.
This photograph of the library in Combermere Abbey was taken during Lord Combermere's funeral, which was being held four miles away.
The photographer, Sybell Corbet, used a long exposure (about an hour) to take the photograph. According to the family, there was no-one else present at the time, as everyone was out at the funeral.
When the photograph was developed, the image of Lord Combermere was shown, seated in a favourite chair.
When the photograph was developed, the image of Lord Combermere was shown, seated in a favourite chair.
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When I was in HiSchool....in the sixties I saw a show on television called (if memory is correct) The Merry Ghosts of England..I believe the brown lady was featured and chanting monks...does anyone elce recall ?
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