Young Girl's Ghost in the Fire?

This well known picture has remained unexplained since it was taken. Apart from a three post thread in 2007, ATS hasn't analysed the image or circumstances. It's the one ghost photo that makes me wonder...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/161ef34f878c.jpg[/atsimg]
Ghostly girl or pareidolia?

In November 1995 the Town Hall of Wem, Shropshire, England caught fire. The Fire Brigade was called. As the blaze took hold, a local man took a photograph. Like most unusual photos, he didn't notice anything until the photos were developed (pre-digital).

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6c4289e20b7f.jpg[/atsimg]
Close-up

O'Rahilly claims there are no special effects on this picture. It was taken with a 200mm lens from across the road. At the time O'Rahilly and other onlookers were stopped by police and firefighters from approaching the burning town hall. It was only after the image was developed that O'Rahilly saw the little girl. He immediately sent it to the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena. They, in turn, sent the photo and the negative to Dr. Vernon Harrison, former president of the Royal Photographic Society. Dr. Harrison analysed both the photo and negative and reported that he was satisfied that the picture had not been doctored.

BBC Link

Local legends recall a girl in the 1670s, Jane Churm, that dropped a candle that burned down the original Town Hall.

True Ghost Tales

Best Pareidolia Ever

If it's the one I'm thinking about...

It's Fake
I saw a documentary about it several years ago.

The guy who took the photo had his own private photo lab. Suspicious.
And when the photo negative was looked at under a microscope, you could see the pixel squares that you get from a TV screen image.

Sure this is the same photo; ghost, girl, in a burning building.

But don't be disheartened. One of the reasons why I believe in the paranormal is because of a ghost boy photo (almost bang in front of the camera). It was taken by a middle aged friend (Chris) but the boy is between a fence, blurred, transparent, and clearly wearing dated, blue clothing.
The problem is it's still in their family photo album!!!
Which of course is the main reason why I believe it real

reply to post by Liberal1984


Can you point us the doco that said it was fake?

The head of the photographic society looked at the negative and gave it a thumbs up.

I'm cool with it being fake, but can we see the annalysis?

Zazz

You're right Liberal1984 It does appear to be a fake. A follow-up on the Forgetamori link I posted shows that the guy probably superimposed a TV image on the original negative. I'm not too disappointed other than it's the only 'ghost' photo that remained, for me, possible. A recent UK competition to locate the best ghost photos was a sorryass affair in terms of plausible images. I'm guessing there are no 'ghost' images that go beyond reasonable doubt...

Zazzafrazz, here's the documentary showing how the picture was faked...



One question remains...if the image was superimposed...why wasn't any tampering with the negative noticed?

The second-best pareidolia… a hoax?

Thanks K-Dinks

If disproven its disproven!
But I htink there is confilcting info.
I'd likeIinternos to have a look at that negative also. The fakery was proven not on the negative. And as you say the neg passed?
HHmmm

Zazzy F

I remember when I first saw this image I got a weird vibe from it, but I've heard several forums debunk this picture.

It's too bad really, it's a great picture.

god i used to live up the road from there before moving in 2007, i remember the shropshire star (local paper) used to do articles on this all the time.

has anyone explained it yet?

Originally posted by kerrichin
god i used to live up the road from there before moving in 2007, i remember the shropshire star (local paper) used to do articles on this all the time.

has anyone explained it yet?

Hiya Kerrichin,
The probable explanation is in the you tube video linked in the post above. It appears that the 'ghostly girl' was a photo of a girl from TV. The part of the negative containing her face was then overlayed onto a negative of Wem Town Hall fire. In short, it looks to have been a fake, pity really as I've always like that image.

I've just realized that I've actively engaged in 'debunking' my own thread...now THAT'S a skeptic