I don't think I've ever been more thankful for the invention of digital cameras. Over the last few weeks, I've asked you, the loyal and wacked-out readers of the Weird Chronicles, to send in your own snapshots of spectral occurrences. I couldn't be happier with (or more spooked by) the response! For those of you who may have sent in a picture that doesn't appear this week, my apologies. For space considerations, I had to do some weeding.

Now, these pictures are presented as they were sent to me. The ONLY thing I have done is crop them and/or resize them to fit on the page. I have not altered the images or enhanced them in any way whatsoever. Take a look and decide for yourselves!

I've arranged these in no particular order as far as how much credence I give them, but they DO get a little creepier as we go along.

Don't worry about the kiddos. There are none of those annoying "look at the picture and then something horrid pops up" tricks here.

The Dog And The Orb

There have been many theories over the years concerning animals and their sensitivity to spectral presences. Here, Jennifer Anderson has sent a picture of an "orb," or a ghostly light, in the stairwell of her house. Orbs are the topic of much debate in the paranormal community, as they seem to appear only in photos and films, never visible to the naked eye. Of late, I have seen a few reports of people seeing orbs without benefit of photographic device, but nothing terribly credible.

What's remarkable here is the dog. He appears to be looking directly at the orb. His body posture indicates that he's not feeling threatened by it, but is rather curious.

It's been well-proven that dogs see the world differently than we do. Could their senses allow them to detect presences that we don't see with the naked eye?

Or could this ghost perhaps have had poor personal hygiene in life, thus resulting in an after-death body funk detectable by the highly precise canine sniffer?

Katey's Angel

Betsy Garno sent this one in. She was using up some film, taking pictures around the house, and snapped this one in her daughter Katey's bedroom. When the pictures were developed, she saw the light figure in the window.

She's been to several photo labs, and they've all assured her that the apparition is not a trick of the light or reflection from the camera flash.

The first person I showed this to immediately identified the figure as an angel; and it does in truth bear some resemblance to other purported angelic pictures found in numerous places online.

If you look closely, there is an appearance of depth. You can see the center post of the window frame clearly, and while the glow is bright it does appear to be somewhat beyond the plane of the window glass.

Or that could be my 20/200 vision talking. What do you think?

Off With 'is Head!

Alert reader and frequent correspondent T.R. Talbott sent me this picture, which has appeared on a couple of Web sites previously. It was reportedly captured by a surveillance camera at Hampton Court Palace in London.

Now, the backstory goes that the staff at the palace had a problem with finding these fire doors left standing open, so they rigged up a camera to catch whoever was doing it. At the time this picture was taken, there was a group of tourists and employees standing in the courtyard out of frame. They saw the doors fly open, but didn't see anyone (or anything) standing in the doorway!

To me, this can be only two things: Either it's the most clear photo of a ghost I've ever seen anywhere, anytime or someone put on a Henry VIII costume and upended a flour bin.

This picture has been the topic of abundant discussion, and you're invited to form your own opinion. But if any place on earth was ever going to be haunted, I'd think any castle where ol' headchopping Hank laid himself to sleep would be high on the list.

What's That In The Window?

This picture, from a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, just about didn't make the cut. The original shot, of a converted garage, had numerous windows and the person who sent it in simply gave me a cryptic comment about "something" in "the window" to go on.

I looked and looked, and I'll confess I didn't see a blasted thing. I enlarged, cropped and did everything but enhance or contrast colors trying to make out what was being shown to me.

As any man can tell you, what was needed in this situation was a female perspective. As soon as my partner took a look, she nailed it on the head, in the window shown here.

That's all I'm going to tell you. Do you see anything here? Tell me what!

If you'd like to know what my partner saw in the window, click here.

The Real Thing?

And I've saved the best for last.

Peter Justice sent me these pictures. The one on the left is the "pure" digital picture he snapped of some framing in an addition to the 250-year-old house in which his family lives. Right before he took the picture, his dog spooked and ran from the room. It wasn't until he looked at the picture on his computer that he noticed the apparition.

The picture on the right, which makes my hackles stand up, is a contrast-enhanced version of the raw picture. You can clearly see what appears to be a human form in profile.

I don't think this is smoke or steam, as the concentration is too even top-to-bottom in the form. It could be some sort of photographic trick beyond my layman's ability to dice out, but then we get into the question of motive: none of the submitters received any sort of remuneration for their efforts. If Mr. Justice went to this much effort to "manufacture" a ghost just to get his name in my column, he could have saved himself some trouble and just sent me cookies.

I'm no paranormal expert, but any pic that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up like this one does gets at least a probationary OK. I don't think I'll be weekending at Casa Justice anytime soon.

Columns By J. Scott Wilson Diary Of A Fat Man Ask The Cook Short Orders The Weird Chronicles

Want to do some ghost hunting of your own? Check out the Ghost Cam set up by affiliate NewsNet5 in Cleveland.

Got a bat in your belfry? Zombie in the hedges? Let me know. Professions of undying love and large cash grants are always accepted.

And be sure to check outour Spooktacular Halloween Section!

Previous Stories:

• Oct. 15, 2004: Going Ghost Hunting, Part 2
• Oct. 8, 2004: Going Ghost Hunting, Part 1
• Oct. 1, 2004: So Weird It's Scary
• Sep. 24, 2004: I'm A Lumberjack ...
• Sep. 17, 2004: Barkeep, More Grog!
• Sep. 3, 2004: Enjoy The Ride
• Aug. 27, 2004: Fuzzy Menace IV: The Sugar Land Incident
• Aug. 20, 2004: Fuzzy Menace III: The New Breed
• Aug. 13, 2004: Fuzzy Menace II: Rogue's Gallery
• Aug. 6, 2004: The Fuzzy Menace