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| The Sampson Photograph Evidence of a Ghostly Entity? |
| December, 2004 |
| *Click image to see full size scan. |
| In the fall of 2004, this startling image was brought to my attention. Allegedly taken in the late 20's, it appears to show a cloaked figure clearly visible in the centre of the frame. At first I was slightly sceptical and did not consider it to be indisputable evidence of an apparition, that is, until I was told the story behind it. The gentelman who forwarded this image to me (who will remain known only as Mr. Sampson) briefly described the origin of the photo as he knew it to be when we talked weeks earlier. His anecdote goes as follows: Prior to the 1930's, his Father, who worked for a local logging company went out to survey a piece of land near the Highland Forest region. He took several photographs that day all of which where returned to his superiors (after his manual development of them) except for one which scared him half to death. It should be noted that his Father did not see the entity in the photograph when he snapped the shutter but rather after it emerged once the film had been developed.The ordeal upset his Father so greatly that he apparently went to considerable lengths to avoid that forest even specifically requesting a different area of management. In 1972 his Father died at the age of 86 as the result of a stroke and left this tantalizing image in the possession of his only son where it remains today. |
| Case Analysis |
| The scanned image seen on this page is all I or anyone else has to go on since Mr. Sampson, who I have met with on two occasions, did not grant me permission to take custody of the origional photograph. Unfortunatly, the absence of the original makes performing any detailed analysis or study that may yeild promising clues significantly more difficult for anyone who would be inclined to do so. Although this initial image I have recieved leaves much to be desired, several aspects of the photograph can be stated with certainty: |
| 1) A cloaked, dark figure is clearly visible. 2) The image seems to show no obvious signs of tampering. 3)The figure appears relative to its sorroundings via colour distribution, light reflectivity, and accurate shadowing. |
| Current Conclusion |
| The main enigma regarding this puzzling image is its apparent 'invisibility' upon the moment it was captured on film. How is this possible I wondered? But I then realized that these circumstances are not unheard of in many cases to do with the spontaneous manifestation of an apparition on camera. The physical nature of such a phenomenon remains beyond my understanding but by no means would that notion alone justify ruling out this photo's authenticity. |
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