Spirit Orbs?

The subject of photographic orbs pertaining to ghosts and spirits is something that has not been discussed for a very long time, but has shown up increasingly in photos since the dawn of the digital camera.

For the record, the scientific definition of a photographic orb is a circular artifact that appears in flash photography, especially common with the use of modern digital cameras. The term orb is sometimes referred to as backscatter, orb backscatter or near camera reflection, according to Wikipedia.

The free encyclopedia also states that these artifacts occur when a flash is used in low-light instances. These anomalies can also occur where there is a bright source of light near the camera.

 Orbs typically occur due to a decreased angle of light reflection off the lens, which typically is a result of the relatively short distance between the lens and the flash. In this case, the decreased angle of light reflection directly illuminates particles facing the lens, increasing the camera’s ability in capturing the light that reflects off these particles.

According to Wikipedia, these particles could be any number of different types of anomalies, including dust, pollen, liquid particles, water droplets or even foreign matter within the lens. Orbs may also appear in underwater photography where the visible light is limited.

Apart from this scientific explanation of orbs, many people still believe they are seeing spirits of lost ones when they find the circular globes within their photos. While many of these orbs are defy normal reasoning, especially when some seem to contain faces within them, most (if not all) orbs can be easily explained as particulate matter.

Because of this easily explainable definition of orbs, most ghost hunting teams do not report them when they capture them in their investigations. They are almost always debunked as just matter within the view of the camera. These orbs, however, are not to be confused with other anomalies often captured, such as rods and so-called video-captured spirit orbs (which have motion and may not be otherwise easily explained as particulate matter).

Another reason people tend to believe the orbs they capture are of the spirit world is because they are often captured in cemetery photos. It is more likely than not if you go to a cemetery at night and use a modern digital camera, you are going to capture some type of orb in your images. And in some images, thousands of orbs can appear.

So why do so many orbs appear in cemetery photos? Well, if you think about it, if you are investigating at night, there is more of a chance the grass is cooling down from the day’s heat and dew may be forming on the grass. In some cases, the wind may help vapor particles rise into the air, causing tons of particles of water to be floating around. Also, many cemeteries are placed near wooded areas, where tree pollen and insects may be more common, allowing to be imaged much more readily than in a home or other area.

I have taken many photos and have found a few of these orbs in my images. We had investigated a cemetery about four years ago and of the 40 pictures I took, we found orbs in 31 of them (28 orbs in one photo alone).

At first, I wanted to believe that we had captured spirit orbs, but after doing my research, I can come to the conclusion that my orbs are not ghostly or spiritual in any way. Of course, I cannot say with 100% probability that every orb ever captured is not of the spirit world. There may be instances out there that possibly prove that they are spirit orbs. However, because they can be very easily debunked, they will be hard to prove true.

Cannock Chase Black-Eyed Child

Cannock Chase, a mixed countryside in Staffordshire, England is the setting for a recent rash of sightings of the so-called Black-Eyed Child of Cannock Chase.

The most recent encounter occurred on October 10, 2015. A team of paranormal investigators known as Haunted Finders was scouring the English countryside in search of paranormal activity when they claim to have captured proof of the being’s existence.

The video purportedly shows a brief sighting of the being moving left to right as the crew filmed. The team, which claims to have spent several hours filming in the area, had hoped to catch the apparition on film.

 The footage was caught by Tom Buckmaster, who said it looked like a 

“child dressed in white” as it walked away. He said he did not initially see the apparition until he later checked the camera.

While there have been several reports of the Black-Eyed Child, the purported video footage is, at best, grainy and blurry. As well, it is difficult to even tell if the figure captured in the video is a person, or just an anomaly of some kind. And there are no black eyes to be seen.

For the record, black-eyed children are considered an urban legend. These creatures are claimed to be child-like and have black eyes with no other color. Most reported sightings are of children between the ages of six and 16 years old.

Black-eyed children have been reported for more than 15 years with the first supposed sightings coming from Abilene, Texas in 1996, started by a reporter by the name of Brian Bethel. Since then, hundreds of claims of Black-Eyed children have been reported.

The phenomenon has grown so quickly that these creatures have been repeatedly portrayed in media, including in a 2012 horror flick titled Black Eyed Kids. In Sept. 2014, a British tabloid reported on three apparent sightings and claimed there was a shocking rash of sightings all over the world.

In the latest claim, the Haunted Finders team state that the apparition was definitely not a human because it held its “own source of light within the darkness of the woods.”

The team also claim that there have been a string of sightings of the Black-Eyed Child in the area, but their footage is “the best visual evidence” that they have ever caught. They further state it became an Internet sensation a year earlier after the first reports came to light in that area in more than 30 years, which goes back much farther than the earliest knowledge of black-eyed children reported in the US.

Opinions

It is hard to actually determine what we are looking at in the video because it goes by so quick. Because the footage lasts just a few seconds, one would have to rely on slow motion to get a better look, which the team did. However, even in the slow-motion footage it is difficult to determine what it could be.

If you watch the video long enough you can see what looks like a person’s illuminated head and a pair of dark eyes. But it also looks like a person wearing a glow-in-the-dark mask. As well, I could even picture an alien walking in the woods, which perhaps could be what all these black-eyed children are.

At any rate, I am neither debunking nor approving the video footage. I think there is not enough footage to make a claim either way. But if I was to guess, I would say this is likely a hoax, not knowing the team that gathered this footage.

Read more about Black-Eyed Children

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