A Review of Some Interesting Photos

Trap cameras have been used since the 90s for capturing photos of wildlife without disturbing the animal or frightening it away. Because of this, paranormal investigators have often used them in hopes of capturing rare glimpses of spirits. Often, the images captured resemble blurs, and to many people seem to be significant evidence of life on the other side, but to determine the validity of the use of these cameras, one must first understand how they work, and what, in theory, we are(trying) to capture on film.

A trap camera works by utilizing a motion, infrared, or light beam trigger. When something moves, the beam is triggered and activates the shutter. Although this is very effective in photographing wildlife, even the smallest movements, such as a leaf moving in the wind, can set off the camera.  This means, that for the camera to be set off, something of matter has to move, and depending on your definition of a spirit, it may or may not contain matter. The solution to this problem is an infrared trigger. It is hypothesized among the supernatural community that spirits give off unusually hot or cold heat signatures, this a sudden gust of cold air could set off the infrared trap camera. While Ghost Hunters of the Fingerlakes do not elaborate on what type of trap camera they used, they have provided images that were captured by trap cameras.

In this first photo on the left, a psychic that had been brought in reported a large black mass floating above them. Later, this was caught on a trap camera. The black mass does not appear to represent any type of form or figure, but the fact that it is so solid and appears to be moving could confirm that it is not a simple out of place shadow. Although, one can investigate the various plausible options for this occurrence, such as a small bug such as a fly, flying in front of the camera. A bug would theoretically be going slow enough to trigger the camera, but fast enough to not appear properly rendered on film, thus creating a blur. Then again, the shape that is being formed by whatever the object is, is very sharp and geometric, and even a creature going very fast would still form a somewhat organic shape. Conclusion: not enough evidence to be pronounced a supernatural occurrence, but no obvious natural explanation.

Next we have a photo of a room in a notoriously haunted house that was snapped by a team member and not a trap camera. As you can see, there appears to be a small string of white light above the window towards the right. This has an obvious explanation, and can be attributed to a small piece of dust floating trough the air close to the lens. Often dust is clumped together in very small strings, as one can see when bright light shines through a window into a room. Dust floats just slowly enough that is can be captured on film as it floats by, and due to its minuscule size and the camera being focused on the room, it appears as a string of white light. While I may be wrong, the explanation for this seems obvious to me.

What we have next is probably the most interesting of the photos, and certainly raises the most questions. This set of three photos in a row was taken by a trap camera, and appear to be taken right after one another. Although, the differences in lighting in the photos could indicate otherwise. First we see a plain empty room, and it is unclear what set off the trap camera. In the second photo, there is a very clear image of a woman sitting as if at a desk, even though she is not facing the desk that is actually there. In the third photo, an investigator moves over to the laptop, seemingly intersecting her, as she looks like she is beginning to fade away. The clarity of the figure in these photos is impeccable, and rather surprising, as photos of "spirits" are often too blurry to make out. This though, is clearly a woman. Because the investigator moved over to the laptop, it is obvious that she was not visible to him, which indicates that she is indeed not made out of  matter, which begs the question, how did this figure set off the trap camera? As I mentioned earlier, the camera could be using infrared triggers, but it is not clear. Some theories state that spirits can be made out on film and not to the human eye, which begs yet another question, what does the camera see that we do not? No matter what the scientific basis for these photos, they are extremely interesting and are enough evidence to lead to further investigation of the site.