Photos from
Another Realm
Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough to capture a wide variety of paranormal photographs at Gettysburg. Before these “spirit” photos can be analyzed accurately, however, it’s important to understand the nature of photography, the history and nature of paranormal photographs, and how to distinguish between genuine paranormal captures and camera glitches, light anomalies, or user errors.
One of the most important inventions in history, photography has transformed the way people see the world. With the click of a button, we can capture moments in time and preserve them for years to come. Every so often—at least in theory—we can capture images not seen with the naked eye … images that suggest the existence of paranormal phenomena and defy our understanding of the physical world.
Currently, two technologies make creating photographs possible: traditional film technology and digital imaging technology. Traditional film technology, which dates back almost two hundred years, exposes a visual image onto special light-sensitive chemicals within the film. The film contains a physical representation of the image and, once exposed, the transparencies and negatives last for decades. A much newer technology, digital imaging creates a digital representation according to the color and intensity of light falling on an array of special digital receptors. A specialized form of microchip, these sensors measure the amount of light that falls on different parts of the sensor surface in a given time window. The images are digital files stored in digital memory.
People have been capturing ghostly images on film since the early days of photography. Unfortunately, many of the first spirit photos taken in the mid-to-late 1800s were hoaxes, cleverly created by psychic mediums professing to be communicating directly with the dead. Obvious frauds, these photos showed individuals sitting in chairs with the faces of their deceased loved ones hovering in the air around them. Some were even more dubious, showing mediums in supposed trance states spewing ectoplasm (a gauze-like substance associated with the formation of spirits) out of their mouths as they connected with the spirit world.
However, much more compelling photographs—such as the Combermere Abbey ghost taken in 1891, the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall taken in 1936, and the Tulip Staircase ghost taken in 1966—clearly defy conventional thinking and demand further inquiry. Over the years, thousands of honest and credible people from all walks of life have taken compelling pictures that show various types of paranormal anomalies, including spirit mists and orbs, energy vortexes, and more evidentially convincing apparitional forms, which often show clearly defined facial and body features.
So, can ghostly activity—invisible to the naked eye—be captured on film? Assuming ghosts exist, certain facts regarding human vision and camera mechanics suggest that the answer to this question is “yes.” First, let’s consider the visible light spectrum. Our eyes are sensitive to light that lies in a very small region of the electromagnetic spectrum known as visible light (which corresponds to a wavelength range of 400 to 700 nanometers and a color range of violet through red). The human eye isn’t capable of seeing radiation within wavelengths outside the visible spectrum. For example, ultraviolet radiation has a shorter wavelength than visible violet light, and infrared radiation has a longer wavelength than visible red light. In traditional film technology, photographic emulsions are more sensitive and can capture wavelengths beyond the visible spectrum. Digital sensors are also sensitive to a range of light wider than we can see. The full, broad spectrum of a film or camera sensor bandwidth can be enhanced even further with the help of various filters and film types. Some researchers theorize that energy patterns of ghosts fall into a spectrum of light that isn’t visible to the human eye. If so, it might be possible to capture undetected spirit energy that manifests outside visible wavelengths with either a digital or film camera.
Shutter speed is another variable that may account for the existence of paranormal photographs. Vision is a continuous process of the human eye, but eyelids act as shutters that create a small time gap between two continuous visions. This small time gap is the shutter speed that is adjustable in a camera but natural in the eye. On average, an eye has a shutter speed of around 1/50 of a second. The shutter speed of a camera can be as fast as 1/4000 of a second. If someone fired a gun and the bullet whizzed by, you wouldn’t be able to see it, but a camera set at a fast shutter speed could freeze its movement.
The possible nature of spirit might also explain this enigma. Some religious scholars and spiritual practitioners have theorized that spirit energy exists on a higher—and faster—metaphysical plane than humans (who exist on a slower, material plane). If such energy vibrates at an accelerated rate, it might explain why people see shadows or figures moving “out of the corner of their eyes.” Theoretically, these fast-moving energy forms can be photographed with the faster shutter speeds associated with camera mechanics.
Another theory suggests that ghosts only make themselves visible when they want to and that paranormal photographs are “gifts” from the beyond. This may be true, as some researchers believe ghosts absorb energy from their surrounding environments in order to create physical anomalies, including manifesting in the presence of certain individuals. Based on this theory, you could conceivably ask permission of the spirits to allow you to photograph them and hope for the best. Many field investigators have employed this method in an attempt to communicate with these entities.
Over the years, we’ve captured all types of visual anomalies thanks to the diligent efforts of both our field research team and our weekend investigation guests. The following accounts all have powerful photographic evidence to go along with the eyewitness testimony.
Little Round Top Face
During the second day of fighting, when Confederate soldiers advanced against the Union army’s left flank positioned on Little Round Top, they had to maneuver through the boulders of Devil’s Den and across a little stream known as Bloody Run. Members of the Texas and Alabama regiments who managed to make it this far found themselves in a wooded area at the southern base of Little Round Top. It was here where they regrouped and began their uphill assaults against Union Col. Joshua Chamberlain’s Twentieth Maine.
While investigating this area a few years ago, one of the psychics in our group picked up on the presence of a soldier at the base of the hill. We immediately took some EMF readings and registered slightly elevated electromagnetic energy levels. Other team members took photographs of and around the psychic to try and capture any spirit energy that may have been manifesting around her. After about ten minutes, the readings dissipated and the psychic informed us that the presence was no longer there.
Later that evening, while downloading digital camera files, we noticed an anomaly in one of the photos that was taken at the base of Little Round Top. We zoomed in on the object in question, and we clearly saw a man’s face. Sporting a mustache and hat, he had clearly defined features and genuinely looked like a Civil War soldier. Compelled by the details, we tried to figure out what else it could be by process of elimination. After ruling out glares and other camera glitches, we were left with two possibilities. It was either a genuine paranormal capture or a case of simulacra (an unreal or vague semblance of something).
Supporting the genuine paranormal capture assumption is the fact that the psychic sensitive was picking up on the presence of a soldier at the time the photo was taken, and we also documented elevated electromagnetic energy levels in the area. Simulacra, on the other hand, can be likened to a case of mistaken identity, which occurs because our minds naturally tend to create order out of chaos. In a scenario where trees, bushes, rocks, and leaves fill a photograph’s frame, people tend to interpret what they see based on what they are more familiar with, such as an animal or a person’s face. In reality, the mind is simply trying to put the pieces of a chaotic puzzle together as not to cause confusion.
In this particular case, the anomaly stands out clearly. One doesn’t have to struggle to create this face in the bushes because it’s literally staring right back at you. Another factor that weakens the case for simulacra relates to the corroborative nature of the image and where it was taken. For example, if we had suggested a white tiger was in the photograph, it wouldn’t make sense geographically. White tigers are indigenous to Southeast Asia, so why would a ghost of one of these magnificent creatures be captured in Gettysburg unless an old zoo once stood on that spot (which isn’t the case). Instead, we clearly see a man’s face—complete with mustache and hat—which resembles the prototypical individual who might have died at the base of Little Round Top—a Civil War soldier! Does this confirm a genuine paranormal capture? We can never be completely sure of that, but this photograph definitely represents one of the most persuasive we’ve ever captured.
Devil’s Den Apparition
During one of our visits to the battlefield, we were walking among the rocks in Devil’s Den when Jack felt the urge to meander into the wooded area to the south of where the heavy fighting took place. He walked down a small pathway about two hundred yards from the big boulders where he felt a profound sense of quiet and stillness. His intuition told him to take photographs of the surrounding area. Nothing of particular interest stuck out in this thicket of trees, yet he felt the need to shoot around fifteen frames of film with his still camera (no flash). He stayed there for about twenty minutes and then caught up with the rest of the group, who were making their way over to the Triangular Field.
When Jack developed the film, he noticed something strange in one of the photos. He knew immediately that it didn’t belong there, and when he looked closer, he saw a white figure walking among the trees. Startled, he produced a close-up of the image and knew he had captured something interesting—a figure of a person walking with some type of satchel or small suitcase in one hand. This “individual” also appeared to be wearing a hat and a dress, which made me surmise that it was a woman. The analytical process kicked in as he tried to make sense of the photograph. How did he photograph a female form walking behind Devil’s Den? Why is she, or he, carrying a bag? And the obvious question: Why did he capture something that he didn’t see with his naked eye?
One of the fun things about ghost hunting is that you get to immerse yourself in history. In fact, the historical context of what you might be experiencing can shed a great deal of light on the phenomenon itself. Nothing (that we know of) happens in a complete vacuum. The philosophical concept of cause and effect still seems to dictate the “who, what, when, where, and why” of paranormal activity. By thoroughly studying the history of a haunted location, you can create an accurate road map that can guide you through your investigation and give you a better idea of what you’re dealing with.
With this photograph, Jack knew he needed more information in order to make a better assessment of it. He researched why women might be on the Gettysburg battlefield and was thoroughly enlightened. At night, when the fighting usually subsided, nurses and doctors searched the terrain for wounded soldiers in need of assistance. They usually did this with a lantern and a bag full of medicines they needed to ease the soldiers’ suffering. At Gettysburg, the carnage was so great that wounded men often lay where they fell for days before receiving any help. After the battle was over and the remnants of the two armies left, the townspeople and a small group of doctors and nurses were faced with what must have been a daunting and emotionally draining task—taking care of the dead and wounded.
We now had a reference point from which to objectively quantify the photograph. Women did indeed walk on this battlefield in July 1863, and they would most certainly have been overwhelmed with strong, intense emotions as they performed their grisly tasks as caregivers among some of the greatest carnage ever manifested on American soil.
We also realized that the nature of a haunting can sometimes be more mundane. Gettysburg represents more than just a three-day battle that took place almost 150 years ago. Many generations of individuals lived and died in this area over the course of time without having been privy to the horrors of war. Native Americans also inhabited the area for hundreds of years before Europeans began to settle on the continent. Therefore, from a logical standpoint, the apparitional form in the photograph could be anyone from any number of time periods. However, considering the history of this specific location and the details in the photo, it seems more likely that this could be an energy imprint from the actual battle (or its aftermath).
Baladerry Inn Soldiers
The Gettysburg battlefield is dotted with farmhouses, some of which were standing during the time of the battle. In just about every case, these homes were used as either field hospitals to accommodate the overwhelming amount of wounded men or as headquarters for the highest-ranking officers. Located behind Little Round Top on the eastern edge of the battlefield, the Baladerry Inn was no exception. Now a bed and breakfast, it stood witness to the horrors of July 1863 and still bears the bloodstains on its dining room floor to prove it.
Over the years, we’ve enjoyed great accommodations and warm hospitality at the Baladerry, whose guests have had their fair share of ghostly encounters. We learned from the proprietor that people often see soldiers peering through the windows as if they are curious about what’s happening inside. Witnesses have also reported seeing a particularly mischievous soldier who enjoys playfully annoying female patrons. Once, during a meeting we held in the living room, we heard a loud popping sound directly above the head of a young female investigator. Her digital recorder ceased to function, and she became hot and exasperated, as if something, or someone, was purposely encroaching on her personal space.
Late one evening, we were reviewing evidence in the living room while one of our weekend investigation participants took random photographs in the house. After taking a picture from the staircase looking out onto the back deck, she suddenly gasped and said, “Guys, you need to come look at this.” We immediately walked over and crowded around her digital camera.
“See outside the French doors, by the lattice?” she asked.
At first, we didn’t notice anything because we were looking in the wrong area, but we eventually focused on the right spot and let out a gasp of our own.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Jack.
Standing outside by the deck were two men dressed in uniforms, looking directly into the living room. They seemed semitransparent, but we could clearly make out the shapes of their bodies, including heads, necks, torsos and arms. They also appeared to be wearing hats.
“Is anyone outside?” asked Jack.
We were pretty sure everyone had already gone to bed, but we needed to confirm this. We cautiously ventured out the patio doors and thoroughly checked the entire property, but we found nothing. After downloading the picture onto a computer, we approximated where the figures had been standing when the picture was taken. The next day, we compared the angle of the photo to the deck area and determined that the figures would have been standing in a row of large, thick bushes. This was a problem for several reasons. First, two people couldn’t have been standing in that row of bushes because there was absolutely no room to do so. Additionally, the deck was raised, so if the men had actually been standing there, they would have been at least eight feet tall! As with most paranormal photographs, we were left scratching our heads.
Two interesting factors make this photograph worthy of serious discussion. According to the owner of the property, dozens of individuals have reported seeing soldiers looking through the windows, gazing into the house. As such, this represents supportive evidence. Also, their presence fits the property’s historic profile. We didn’t capture two people wearing Polo shirts and shorts; we photographed two men wearing what look like uniforms. During the battle, hundreds of soldiers wandered around this property, either because they were wounded, lost, or looking for fallen comrades. It is at least plausible, therefore, that we may have photographed the spirits of two of them.
Triangular Field Soldiers
Capturing an apparition in a photograph is rare; capturing three of them—all dressed in Army of the Potomac uniforms—simply strains credulity. We discuss the Triangular Field a great deal in this book for good reason. With so much paranormal activity reported on and around this small patch of land, we tend to spend a great deal of time there performing all manner of experiments.
We love twilight on the battlefield. Also known as “the gloaming,” this is the period after sunset but before dark when the environment seems surreal. As our eyes adjust to the coming darkness, our surroundings feel different, as if we are teetering on the edge of two separate realities. And so it was on this day, as we attempted to capture some of the anomalies so often described in the Triangular Field.
During this particular investigation, we were fortunate to have a well-reputed psychic medium with us. At dusk, the area was devoid of people, so we thought it might be a good time to follow her into the field and document her reactions. With Jack’s camera at his side, he instructed her to start at the fence and walk slowly down to the bottom of the field. Halfway down, she stopped in her tracks and told us to take pictures of the area below her by the tree line. As she continued to walk, she picked up on the presence of both Union and Confederate soldiers.
“The air is very heavy here,” she observed. “There are men just wandering all around us. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”
Happy with the results, we finished the experiment and returned to the Baladerry Inn (aka our base camp), where we began to analyze our video and sound recordings, as well as our photographs. This process is often tedious and unrewarding, but on this night, we were in for a big surprise.
“Were there any reenactors on the field tonight?” asked a team member.
“No, the field was empty. Nobody was there,” Jack responded.
“Well, if that’s true, you better come look at this,” she said.
What we proceeded to look at was nothing short of astonishing. Beyond the forward glance of the psychic, down by the tree line to her right, were two figures wearing light blue pants and dark blue jackets. They seemed to be either walking or running. To the left of the psychic, we noticed another man down by the edge of the woods. Sitting on a rock or tree stump, he was wearing light blue pants and a dark blue jacket, as well as a dark blue kepi. We hadn’t seen these men in the field, and there’s no way we could’ve missed them, so where did they come from?
Capturing the spirit forms of three Union soldiers in one photograph seems most implausible … yet there they were, doing whatever soldiers do when wandering around the place where they probably met their demise. Did the camera catch a glimpse of the actual battle, which manifested at that particular moment due to residual energies still present—yet not visible to the naked eye—on the field of battle?
It’s very difficult to verify anomalous photographs as proof of the existence of ghostly phenomena—whether genuine, residual, or otherwise. On the other hand, we can’t simply dismiss all of these photographs as camera glitches or user error because they often show clear, identifiable images that corroborate unexplained activity that occurred in those specific locations. In the examples above, we feel these images represent strong evidence in favor of the presence of either spirit or residual energies. We’ll probably never know for sure if these pictures have revealed a glimpse into the spiritual realm, but we owe it to ourselves to consider all possibilities.