Monday, March 5, 2012

The Back Seat Ghost

Fourth in a Series of Famous Paranormal Photographs.


Taken in 1959 by Mrs. Mabel Chinnery, this photo was taken while Mabel was visiting the grave of her mother. She'd brought along her camera to take photographs of the gravesite. After snapping a few shots of her mother's gravestone, Mabel took an impromptu photo of her husband who was seemingly alone in the car waiting for her. When the film was developed, the couple discovered that Hubby had not been alone in the car after all ... A figure wearing glasses clearly appeared to be sitting in the back seat of the car. Mabel immediately recognized the figure as her mother –- the woman whose grave they had visited on that day.

A photographic expert who examined the print determined that the image of the woman was neither a reflection nor a double exposure. "I stake my reputation on the fact that the picture is genuine," he testified. Altering photographs was much more difficult in the 1950s. Does anyone have any ideas as to what methods were available back then to "fool" any wannabe believers?

2 comments:

Janet said...

Is this in England? The steering wheel appears to be on the right. If not, the photo has been reversed.

Unknown said...

Good detail, Janet! It was in England and a British newspaper that hired the analyst to check the authenticity of the photo. The mother had died a week before; the car was parked a dozen feet from the grave. The family used to take a lot of drives and this was where the mother would sit.