The Brown Lady Of Raynham Hall

[sonofajoiner]

Thought this might be of interest.
I ran across this article today in The Independent regarding one of the country's most well-known 'ghost' pictures. Apparently investigations conducted at the time the picture was published uncovered evidence that the picture had been faked using photographic trickery.

Alan Murdie - a barrister and also a researcher into the supernnatural - found the evidence in a dusty folder in the manuscripts department of Cambridge University library.
The file details an exhaustive investigation into the phenomenon shortly after the image was taken. Conducted by the Society for Psychical Research, it concludes that there is almost certainly a mundane explanation for the "spectral" image in the photo.
The evidence includes the discovery that the camera may have leaked light on to the photographic plate.

It's funny how this information get's left out of any descriptions of the image!

This months Fortean Times apparently contains an article which also has a crack at debunking this photograph. Haven't read it myself though so not sure of the details.

[Admin]

I wonder how quickly that story will be forgotten?

I think there's a major problem with ghost photos in that there's always a chance that they have been faked or that they are the result of some kind of anomaly so they're never going to be taken as proof of anything.

At least not on their own.

[Mongrel]

I wonder how quickly that story will be forgotten?

I think there's a major problem with ghost photos in that there's always a chance that they have been faked or that they are the result of some kind of anomaly so they're never going to be taken as proof of anything.

At least not on their own.

Especially nowdays, with the proliferation of digital cameras and easy phot manipulation software. The days of "The camera never lies" are dead and buried

[asthmatic camel]

Especially nowdays, with the proliferation of digital cameras and easy phot manipulation software. The days of "The camera never lies" are dead and buried

If they ever existed in the first place; Cottingley fairies, anyone?

[tkingdoll]

Especially nowdays, with the proliferation of digital cameras and easy phot manipulation software. The days of "The camera never lies" are dead and buried

If they ever existed in the first place; Cottingley fairies, anyone?

Did you know Randi owns the original photos? How cool is that?!

[asthmatic camel]

Especially nowdays, with the proliferation of digital cameras and easy phot manipulation software. The days of "The camera never lies" are dead and buried

If they ever existed in the first place; Cottingley fairies, anyone?

Did you know Randi owns the original photos? How cool is that?!

I knew he possesses some of Conan-Doyle's letters relating to the case but not the photographs. With the benefit of hindsight, they now seem obvious fakes, yet the hoax continued for decades before being thoroughly debunked. What's the betting that there are still a few die-hard believers around?

[tkingdoll]

Especially nowdays, with the proliferation of digital cameras and easy phot manipulation software. The days of "The camera never lies" are dead and buried

If they ever existed in the first place; Cottingley fairies, anyone?

Did you know Randi owns the original photos? How cool is that?!

I knew he possesses some of Conan-Doyle's letters relating to the case but not the photographs. With the benefit of hindsight, they now seem obvious fakes, yet the hoax continued for decades before being thoroughly debunked. What's the betting that there are still a few die-hard believers around?

Your Doyle reference made me think twice, so I went and had a look at the photos of Randi's stuff. I think they are slide negatives, I think they might be part of Doyle's stuff from the case, you are right. Looking at them, the drawings are very well done but the faeries are as big as your head - you'd think they'd have been noticed before :D

Either way, very cool.

[asthmatic camel]

As I understand it, TK, the ladies involved in creating the hoax confessed in later life. The obvious reason why the photographs are faked is that the girls and the fairies are stationary, whereas the stream behind them is not. You'd think Sir Arthur would have spotted that, wouldn't you?

[tkingdoll]

As I understand it, TK, the ladies involved in creating the hoax confessed in later life. The obvious reason why the photographs are faked is that the girls and the fairies are stationary, whereas the stream behind them is not. You'd think Sir Arthur would have spotted that, wouldn't you?

But he wanted to believe. Also, the girls are very beautiful, perhaps he was dazzled

[Melanie]

He did indeed want to believe. He was rather keen on spirit photos too (always remembering that this was in the days before fakery was understood). There's a famous photo of a ghostly monk set against an ancient stone wall - Doyle used to show it and talk about it in his lectures around the country... until the day came when one of his audience stood up and effectively said 'Sorry mate, that's actually me'. Turns out he and a friend at Uni had done the double-exposure as a joke, years before.

[asthmatic camel]

Ahem. Back to basics. Here's the brown lady

.

Almost as convincing as this pic of the Loch Ness Monster



Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer...(sing along)

[sonofajoiner]

Almost as convincing as this pic of the Loch Ness Monster

But not as unconvincing as this one!

[asthmatic camel]

Almost as convincing as this pic of the Loch Ness Monster

But not as unconvincing as this one!

Trust me; you don't want to know what goes on in the cloisters.

[Admin]

You'd think Sir Arthur would have spotted that, wouldn't you?

Sherlock Holmes would have. Coz he was real. :P

It really beggars belief that anyone could have been taken in by that hoax.

Randi covers it in detail in 'Flim Flam'