A lot of ghost photos can be easily debunked as photo manipulation or something as simple
as double exposure.
But not every ghost is extremely shy, and some creepy photos taken in known paranormal
hot spots have captured images that cannot be explained.
Number 5
The Tulip Staircase Spectre is possibly the most famous ghost photograph that has not
yet been debunked.
The photograph was taken in the 1960s at the Queen’s House in Greenwich, England, and
appears to show at least one ghostly figure climbing the spiral staircase.
The Queen’s House itself isn’t unfamiliar with paranormal sightings, but the Tulip Staircase
photograph is the only evidence that has been captured of the ghostly goings on.
The photograph was taken by Reverend Ralph Hardy, who was visiting the House while on
vacation from Canada.
Since 1927, the building has housed the National Maritime Museum and has been open to the public.
The reverend was visiting with his wife, who had seen a photograph of the Tulip Staircase
in a magazine.
The staircase was already noteworthy as the first spiral staircase without a central support,
and the photograph the reverend’s wife had seen was taken from the top looking down.
She wanted to recreate the photo but when the Hardys arrived they found the staircase
closed the public.
They could only look in from behind a barrier.
Ralph took a photo from there and continued on with his visit, barely giving the staircase
a second thought.
When the couple arrived home and had their vacation pictures developed, they noticed
something extremely unusual.
It looked like something, or someone, dressed in a hooded cloak was climbing the stairs,
gripping onto the banister with both hands.
Others have said the main figure was actually holding on with only one hand and reaching
up to a second figure, who the second hand belonged to.
Either way, the couple were baffled by what they had captured.
The museum photographer was contacted to see if he could explain the picture, and London’s
Ghost Club, one of the oldest paranormal society in the world, got involved.
The Queen’s House already had paranormal stories at this point.
It had been built some four hundred years ago and, in that time, had served as everything
from a royal residence to a hospital to a prison during the English Civil War.
Reports of ghosts included a maid who seen cleaning at the bottom of the staircase, removing
the mess she had made when she fell from the top and lost her life upon hitting the floor.
Children singing and unexplained footsteps have also been reported.
As recently as 2002, museum workers allegedly saw the ghost of a woman float from a balcony
through to the ante-room.
The photo itself was investigated by Kodak, who ruled out double exposure and other photo
manipulation.
The only way the image could have been produced was by someone on the stairs.
However, even if someone had managed to get on the staircase in the strange outfit, museum
workers trying to disprove the photo have been unable to recreate it, leaving the image
unexplained and incredibly creepy.
Number 4
Unlike other entries on this list, the backstory behind the location of this creepy photo is
mysterious in itself.
The picture was taken by a man named Reverend RS Blance in 1959.
Blance had gone to Alice Springs in Australia and was taking photos at the Corroboree Rock
park.
At the time the area was empty and it was only when the photo was developed that he
noticed a figure standing in the brush.
The figure appears to be a woman and her hands look like she’s holding something to her
face.
Some have suggested it looks like she has binoculars, which has led to the figure’s
creepy name: The Watcher at Corroboree Rock.
Corroboree Rock, which is now a conservation reserve, is a strange rock formation that
rises from the otherwise relatively flat land.
The outcrop was originally laid down 800 million years ago, when a salt lake occupied the area.
Today, this part of Australia receives very little rainfall.
The rock itself is very important to the Eastern Arrernte aboriginal people, as it is said
to be a high spiritual place, but the reason behind this importance is a closely guarded
secret.
Given the lack of rainfall in the area, it’s unlikely to be a corroboree site, but some
have suggested it’s used as a storage site for sacred ceremonial objects.
The area is supposed to be spiritually dangerous to women, children, and uninitiated men, and
only senior males know the secret behind its importance.
It’s possible the person in the photo was the victim of this spiritual danger and they’re
now tied to this land.
Others have suggested the figure is actually male and more resembles an ancient South American
priest.
It’s hard to know for sure as, when enhanced, the figure’s head blends into the scenery
behind it, but there’s no denying the rest of its body stands out, even if it is translucent
in places.
The photo was sent to experts and sceptics, but double exposure and photo manipulation
has been ruled out, leaving the image as unexplained.
Number 3
Not every ghost photo is taken in a haunted mansion or creepy building.
This picture, taking in 2000, was actually captured in a Utah pizzeria.
Godfather’s Pizza in Ogden had been the home of paranormal activity for almost 20
years when it drew the attention of Utah Paranormal Exploration and Research.
According to the owner, the creepy goings on started on his second day.
After the restaurant had closed for the day, the owner was cleaning up when the jukebox
began to play.
He hadn’t interacted with it at all and went to see what was going on.
It continued to play even when the power was shut off.
The owner eventually unplugged the jukebox, but he could still hear the music, even when
the plug was in his hands.
It was only the beginning.
A number of full body apparitions had been seen by workers and customers alike.
Some only made one off appearances, but there were four that made themselves known on multiple
occasions, a man, a woman, and two boys.
At least one of the spirits that supposedly resided in the building was a poltergeist
of some sorts.
The owner claimed one day the spirit threw 40 fluorescent light tubes across the room,
one by one, leaving them smashed on the floor.
Other paranormal activity included a tile that bulged 10 inches off the ground for no
apparent reason.
When it was examined, the concrete beneath was found to be unaffected.
Faces and handprints have shown up in cookies, unexplained whistling has been heard in the
kitchen and, on one occasion, all the doors in the building started violently swinging
and banging.
It’s understandable why the UPER were keen to investigate the site.
While there, they noted a number of strange occurrences, but the biggest piece of evidence
came when Merry Barrentine snapped this photo.
Just before taking the image, the restaurant owner had claimed to see a white mist.
The investigators didn’t see the mist, but Merry pointed his camera where the owner was
pointing and snapped the shot.
In the mirror appears to be a small figure.
When the image was enhanced, the details of the figure became more clear.
He was stood at the end of the table, and looked to be turning as if to face the investigators.
Some sources claim the investigators later found evidence the building had been constructed
on top of an old pauper’s field, graveyard for the poor.
If so, the spirits could be those of the people buried below.
The restaurant has since closed down and it’s not known if the paranormal activity continued
at the location.
Number 2
Whether or not the building is actually haunted is open to debate, but there’s no denying
photos taken inside St Thomas’ hospital in Stockport, England, are truly disturbing.
Perhaps it’s the lack of graffiti in interior photos that makes the images so eerie.
As recently as 2004, the site was a place of healing, but it’s now run down and being
reclaimed by nature.
The building which dates back to the 1800s has more than its fair share of horror stories
attached to it, from being a work house with terrible conditions to becoming a psychiatric
hospital with a dubious reputation.
Today there is said to be at least two ghosts that lurk within the building, and one was
caught on camera in 2015.
It was the Spring of 2015 when a group of amateur ghost hunters went in to explore the
building.
Though it has been accessed by many urban explorers, the upper floors are off-limits
as there’s no functioning staircase up there.
Despite knowing there could be nobody upstairs, the group heard what sounded like footsteps
and shuffling coming from above them.
Some have suggested this was nothing more than pigeons but the footsteps were apparently
loud enough for the group to rule that out.
At one point, a member of the group named Jamie-Leigh Brown snapped a photo of her friend,
who was walking towards an old elevator shaft.
Almost imminently after, the noises from above became too much and the group fled the building.
It’s a good job they did as, any longer, the friend in the photo would have unknowingly
walked right into the ghost of a doctor, if the image taken by Jamie-Leigh is to be believed.
A strange figure appears to be stood in the elevator shaft.
The bottom half of its body is unclear and it appears to be wearing a white coat and
face mask.
Given the quality of the image, it’s hard to say if this was a person or just a trick
of the eye, with rubble forming the general shape that could be interpreted as human.
The group aren’t the only ones to have noticed paranormal activity though.
Another supposed spectre is a glowing nurse or a nun that was seen while the hospital
was still in use, apparently seen shortly before the passing of a patient.
The building has attracted the attention of paranormal TV shows and paranormal enthusiasts.
Number 1
Even some place as innocent as a toy store is not immune to paranormal activity, as the
workers and customers at a California Toys’R’Us store found out in the 1970s.
The store was built on the site of a former plantation in Sunnyvale and was in operation
between 1970 and 2018.
Almost imminently the paranormal activity began.
As could be expected, toys would fall from their shelves or appear to be thrown across
the aisle, a number of women felt something or someone playing with their hair, and the
taps in the women’s bathroom would turn on and off by themselves.
Some also reported the sound of someone whispering their name when nobody was about.
The store soon gained a reputation in the local community as being haunted, but it seemed
like the ghost was relatively harmless, if a little creepy.
It wasn’t until the TV show That’s Unbelievable featured the store that it was made famous
internationally and the ghost was given a name.
A psychic named Sylvia Browne conducted a seance with some of the store’s employees.
Many cameras were set up, including capturing infrared images.
During the séance, Sylvia quickly made contact with the ghost who called himself Johan Johnny
Johnson, an immigrant from Sweden who had worked on the plantation that had stood there
in the late 1800s.
According to Sylvia, he had been in love with the daughter of the plantation owner, who
he called Beth, and was waiting for her.
She had left to marry a rich lawyer, but Johnny had continued to work on the plantation until
he accidentally struck himself with an axe and passed away.
The story is dubious, given there was no record of Johnny Johnson, and the Beth he refers
to was Elizabeth Murphy, who had actually married a man named William Taffee, the son
of a wealthy dry-goods merchant.
She never “ran away” as Sylvia claimed.
Even if the story was false, there was plenty of tragedy on the plantation, including a
man named Fred Hoffman, who passed away while trying to fix the farm’s water pump which
was situated next to a leaking gas tank.
Fred’s brother-in-law, who was Elizabeth’s son, found his body at the bottom of the well.
When he went down to try to collect him, he lit a match and was forced out of the well
by the explosion, but he did survive.
It could be Fred who still wanders around the aisle.
Whoever the ghost is, the infrared camera allegedly captured his image.
During the séance, all in attendance were sitting down, but in one photograph a man
could be seen standing behind the group and looking down at him.
No other cameras captured
the man.