New England Oddities

The Perils of Believing One’s Eyes

There is perhaps no photographic evidence of the paranormal more prevalent than that of so-called orbs. Orbs are delivered up as evidence of ghostly energy at every turn, often heralded as irrefutable proof of a haunting. But are they really?

What is an orb?

An orb is a globe or ball of light that seems to hover over or amongst the unsuspecting subjects of a photograph, or against a scenic backdrop. Though often unseen at the time the photo is taken, they appear in the finished frame, in varying degrees of intensity and brightness. They are usually round, but sometimes have tails or motion trails, indicating movement. Orbs are most often photographed at night, showing up as light masses against a dark background, but occasionally they appear in daylight photography as dark or colored globes or smudges.

Most paranormal photographers agree that orbs are the physical manifestation of energy. But what that energy is, exactly, is up for debate. Many argue that orbs are the spirits of the dead, materialized to mug for the camera, while others insist that they are non-human life forms or even nature spirits.

I want to believe

These days, when nearly everybody has access to photo editing tools, it’s harder than ever to trust any paranormal photography, much less anything as simple to execute as an orb. As an example, take a look at the photograph below.

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