Welcome to our post on spooky pictures of ghosts. We found a bunch of images from around the world. Warning: Some (or perhaps all) of the material contained in this post may not be suitable for some viewers. If you are terrified of ghosts, we recommend you do not see any of these photos.
Not all of the images in this post are of real ghosts (or claims of real ghosts).
What Is A Ghost?
A ghost is a disembodied soul (or spirit) of a deceased person. Many people believe that ghosts have the ability to haunt specific locations, and can even appear to the living in bodily form.
The Fear Of Ghosts
Phasmophobia is defined as the morbid fear of ghosts. Of course, most of us will get a little frightened when we hear those eerie ghost stories, or watch a movie about ghosts. Most people have no problem controlling the fear. However, for the people who suffer with phasmophobia, the fear is overwhelming and can potentially ruin one’s life. They may fear sleeping alone, or may even be afraid of the dark. Talk about a miserable life. Halloween must be the scariest night of their year.
An Interesting Pew Research Center Survey On Ghosts
According to a Pew Research Center Survey conducted in 2009, about one-in-five U.S. adults (18%) claim to have either seen or have been in the presence of a real ghost. Interestingly, 29% of U.S. adults say they have felt in touch with someone who passed away. Do these results surprise you?
Hammersmith Ghost
In the early 1800s, there were claims of a ghost that attacked a number of people in Hammersmith (a district in west London, England). Many locals claimed the ghost was a spirit of a suicide victim.
Female Ghost Painting by Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyosai (19th century)
Pirate Ghost (early 20th century)
Spirit Photography
Spirit photography (like our featured image) dates all the way back to the late 19th century. It is defined as a type of photography where the main goal is to capture an image of a ghost. This type of photography was used by the American spirit photographer William H. Mumler in the 1860s.
How Did Mumler Discover Spirit Photography?
Like many discoveries, the technique that is used in spirit photography, was discover accidentally. After taking an image of himself, Mumler noticed a second person in the photo. He later found it was actually multiple exposure (when two images are combined into a single image). Of course, it didn’t take long for him to realize that he could become a medium and make some money creating photographs of people and altering the negatives to add their lost loved ones into them. However, his business didn’t last too long without his trick being exposed. Mumler was later accused of fraud after he had used identifiable living residents of Boston in the photos as the so-called spirits.
Below is Mumler’s most famous image.
The Ghost Of Abraham Lincoln
This is an image by Mumler purportedly showing Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (Lincoln’s wife).
A Couple With A Spirit In Their Car (1920)
Real Or Fake?
Do you think any of the following show real ghosts that somehow got into the picture?
Brown Lady of Raynham Hall
Above is possibly the most famous ghost photo ever taken. It shows a woman who is descending a staircase. According to the legend, The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is the ghost of Lady Dorothy Walpole (1686–1726) who died under mysterious circumstances. The woman reportedly haunts Raynham Hall (a country house located in Norfolk, England). After Country Life magazine claimed to have captured an image of the Brown Lady on a staircase, a lot more sightings have been reported.
Why The Name “Brown Lady”?
You have probably already heard of this ghost, but are unaware of why the name was chosen. The reason it is called the “Brown Lady“ is simply because of the brown dress it is claimed to be wearing.
Lady Dorothy Townshend
La Llorona (“The Weeping Woman”)
“Llorona Coyoacán” by Sandrajd01 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
The ghost of “The Weeping Woman” was claimed to be spotted at the plaza and church of Santa Catarina in Coyoacan, south of Mexico City. According to widespread legend throughout the region of Hispanic America, the woman lost her children. She cries and tries to locate them near a lake.
La Llorona Sketch
Nun Ghosts
Above is a photograph of a group of women. You can clearly see them on the right. If you look to the left, there are a group of nuns that are walking through the grass. According to the source of the photograph, the figures of nuns were not even visible at the time the photograph was taken.
So do you think this is a real or fake photograph? Our guess is that it’s totally fake.
Image Shot In The Nilgiri Mountains
“Ghost” by Jaganivas is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Ghost Sighting In Holland Hotel Lobby
“Holland Hotel Ghost” by Nvanwinden is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Spirits Walking The Streets?
“Ghosts” by Aleem Yousaf is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Sighting In An Abandoned Mine (Colombia)
“Un Fantasma?” by EEIM is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Lady Ghost Head
“lady ghost head” by Joanne L. Lewis is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Ghosts of Japanese Soldiers at Tokyo Narita Airport
“Narita” by Nanashinodensyaku is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Ectoplasm (Union Cemetery in Easton, CT.)
Is this ectoplasm, or is it really just cigarette smoke (or even the photographer’s breath)?
Conclusion
When it comes to the claimed ghost sightings, do you believe they are of people who once roamed the planet, or are they all fakes? Of course, these days it is not hard to create an image that may look real, but is 100% fake. Thank you for viewing our collection of scary pictures of ghosts.