http://www.ghostsamongus.net/v2/ My Dragonfly Site en-us Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:59:52 GMT 1440 CPG-Nuke Dragonfly Ghostsamongus News http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.ghostsamongus.net/v2/images/logo.gif http://www.ghostsamongus.net/v2/ http://www.ghostsamongus.net/v2/News/article/sid=43.html Ghosts seem to be popping up more than usual these days. You can see various websites dedicated to the paranormal that are constantly screaming "ghost" in every picture they take. Common sense and reading up on photography makes no difference to these amateur ghost hunters. Since camera phones are very easy to carry and manage, they appear to be very popular for the wannabes out there. Words and phrases like low resolution, slow or fast shutter speed and even “hold the camera steady” mean nothing to these intrepid photographers. They point and shoot and if they see a smudge that they think is not accounted for, they say it’s a ghost. They are oblivious to pareidolia (matrixing) and fail to understand even the simplest rules of basic photography. “The term pareidolia (pronounced /pæraɪˈdoʊliə/), referenced in 1994 by Steven Goldstein, describes a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hidden messages on records played in reverse. Carl Sagan hypothesized that as a survival technique, human beings are "hard-wired" from birth to identify the human face. This allows people to use only minimal details to recognize faces from a distance and in poor visibility but can also lead them to interpret random images or patterns of light and shade as being faces”. (Definition taken from Wikipedia) Very recently we conducted an experiment on the site. People were asked to take pics with their camera phones and then shake the camera around to see what popped up in the picture. To our surprise, not only did the picture turn out strange, but also appeared to have certain faces in it. Had we unwillingly captured the image of a ghost? On investigating further, we came to understand that when the area of a photograph is blown up to the max, we can see faces in the pattern. These are not real faces, nor ghostly ones. They are merely our brains straining to make sense of the anomaly we see. Thus, by cropping a small portion of the pic, and zooming in on it (blowing it up) we join and connect the dots and form a face or several faces depending on the shot. This is especially true if we over enhance the pic. We also have to admit that there are some great programs out there for ‘enhancing’ photographs. Indeed, Photoshop is the greatest program for creating ghost images. By applying certain filters one can get astounding results. Take the photo below for example. This was taken by one of the members of the site. It is a picture of her computer screen monitor. She moved the camera phone on purpose to get the blurred effect: If this picture is cropped, so that the screen monitor becomes less noticeable you can get this one below: If it is darkened and blurred using Photoshop, you can get this image below. The smudge tool is also applied to get the desired orb effect as well. If you look at this picture, you have a perfect example of a picture of a ghostly apparition. Furthermore, if you combine this picture with another one of a cemetery and use layers you can get a fabulous ghost picture, as demonstrated by another member with this picture below: What people don’t seem to realize, is that light plays a very important part in camera phone pictures. They take the pics and don’t care if there is little or no light in the room. One of our members illustrated how easy it is to confuse real people with ghosts in a room where there is little or no light. They excitedly see a figure and lighten the picture up to prove that they have got something, and when they see the result, they almost fall off their chair, for there is a figure there! On inspecting it closely, a part of them realizes that the figure looks like their brother, sister, partner, and so on. However, they push the thought away and the more they look at it, the more they convince themselves that it is the real thing. Another factor that people fail to consider when taking a cam phone pic is that if you enable the zoom in feature, you are invariably going to take grainy pictures, thus resulting in even more anomalies which can be mistaken for faces. If you add to this a shaky hand, the results will be even more confusing. There are many more pictures that our members have taken using their camera phones to experiment how easy it is to get anomalous results. We urge you all to click the links below and take a look at the results as well. http://www.ghostsamongus.net/v2/Forums/viewtopic/t=3497/postdays=0/postorder=asc/start=0.html http://www.ghostsamongus.net/v2/Forums/viewtopic/t=3512.html A word of advice to all when looking for ghost pictures on the net: When you come to a site that advertises having taken real ghost pictures or pictures of demons using a cell/camera phone, do your homework first. Read up on the different features that a camera phone uses, and use your common sense when you are looking at the pictures. Not everything is as it seems, and certainly not everyone is for real. Not even the ghosts or demons in the pictures themselves! Pictures taken by AshelyElizabeth, Munchkin1973, and hdhse. Special effects by BeyonderBill and Pattyhap1863. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:59:52 GMT http://www.ghostsamongus.net/v2/News/article/sid=42.html The execution and hauntings of 'Queen for nine days' Lady Jane Grey Born Oct 1537 - Died Feb 1554 The King of England was King Edward VI and his health was deteriorating. Upon his death, succession to the throne should have gone to the daughter of Henry VIII, Princess Mary. However, King Edward had successfully introduced Protestantism to the country and his forces wanted it kept that way. Should Mary have been crowned she would have reintroduced Catholicism. So it was arranged that Princess Mary would be bypassed, and her Cousin the beautiful and erudite Lady Jane Grey would become Queen. And so following King Edward's death on July 6th 1553, much to her surprise and dismay, Jane was declared Queen and the announcement of her accession was made on July 10th. However, Mary, intent on claiming the throne for herself, had Jane and her husband Guilford Dudley imprisoned in the Tower of London. Jane's reign lasted a mere nine days, as Mary was declared Queen on July 19th 1553. Lady Jane Grey Guilford Dudley Jane was held prisoner in No 5 Tower Green next to the Queen's House, and her husband Guilford was held at the Beauchamp Tower. Their trials took place on November 13th 1553, where they were charged with high treason and sentenced to death. Jane's sentence being given as - "She should be burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases". Beauchamp Tower. Photo by Lara E. Eakins Some months later on Feb 8th 1554, Jane was informed that her execution would be carried out the next day. However, it was postponed for four days, as Queen Mary was anxious to spare Jane her life and so sent her chaplain, Father de Feckenham, to try and convert Jane to Catholicism. But even in the face of death Jane refused to renounce her faith. However, Lady Jane did take a liking to the chaplain and requested him at her side during her execution. Guilford Dudley was granted a last wish to see his wife on the morning of their executions, but Lady Jane could not bring herself to see him and refused the meeting. A London Tower diarist who had dinner with Jane shortly before she died, recorded events leading up to her and Guilford's death. He told how she had to endure the trauma of watching her husband go to his death on Tower Hill, and later seeing his body returned in a cart with his head wrapped in a cloth. Tower Green And so on Feb 12th 1554, it was Lady Jane's turn to be taken to Tower Hill for her execution, though the Queen had afforded her the privilege of a private execution. With courage and dignity, Jane addressed a small crowd and admitted to treason but was insistent of her moral innocence. Then she recited the 51st Psalm: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions". Finally, she thanked Father de Feckenham for his kindness, and asked the executioner for a quick death; then she blindfolded herself and turned to the execution block but stumbled, unable to locate it, and said "What shall I do? Where is it?" Upon which, Father de Feckenham stepped forward and gently guided her into position. She lay her head upon the block and awaited the falling of the axe. Only a single blow was used. She was sixteen years old. The execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul de la Roche. There have been numerous reports of sightings of both Jane and her husband. The ghost of Guilford has been seen silently weeping in the Beauchamp Tower where he awaited his execution; and Jane's serene ghostly figure has also been seen many times on the roof of the tower, especially on the anniversary of her death. One of the best documented sightings happened on February 12th 1957 when a guard at the tower called Johns, saw Jane materialising as a white form on the battlement above him. He called his colleague over who also witnessed the apparition. It was exactly 403 years to the day since her execution! Perhaps less believable, is the story where one Christmas Eve, a spectral coach drawn by four headless horses is seen sweeping up to the ruins of her home, Bradgate Park in Leicestershire. Jane sits inside the carriage with her head on her lap. As the coach arrives at the manor, Lady Jane gets out of the carriage carrying her head, and disappears into the ruins. It is now over fifty years since Lady Jane Grey has been seen, which hopefully means she is now at peace. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:37:15 GMT