First of all, let me just say that we have to be careful throwing around words like "ectoplasm" when describing ghost research. Ectoplasm was actually a substance that allegedly exuded from the bodies of spirit mediums back in the days of Spiritualism, while they were under "spirit control". In most cases, the so-called "ectoplasm" was actually cheesecloth which was swallowed and then re-gurgitated by the mediums during dramatic moments of the seance. Pretty gross, huh? Now can you see why I hate to connect that word to legitimate ghost research?

I prefer to refer to photo like the ones below as "strange fogs and mists" or at the very worst, "ectoplasm-like" images. Whether or not all of these photos (the genuine ones, I mean) are actually ghosts has yet to be determined. Personally, I prefer to think of the images captured in these kinds of photos as "spirit energy".... it remains a part of the paranormal, although we have no real explanation for it yet. These types of photos can be some of the most exciting photos for a ghost hunter to capture, mostly because, unlike most "orb" photos, these images are much harder to explain.

Unfortunately, the best things that you can do when searching for genuine photos of this type is to take your own. In this way, you can be sure of the conditions under which the photos were taken... making sure that no natural fog was present that night; that temperatures were well above the freezing mark; that the camera lens was not fogged over; and various other factors were in place for good photographs.

One other thing to beware of... many people, when viewing photos of this type, have a tendency to look for faces, shapes and forms within the spirit energy of the photo. Don't be sucked into doing this! Remember, the energy itself is enough evidence of the paranormal... by trying to pick out shapes from the images (without some other corresponding evidence) we are falling dangerously close to the status of those who will believe anything! In other words, we step from the realm of investigators collecting evidence into the area of having no evidence to back up some wild theory. This is where the skeptics will target you if you let them!

In this section, I have tried to present only photos about which I felt very strongly were genuine... some I can vouch for personally and some I cannot. For each, I ask you to judge for yourself.

For more information about spirit photography and various images that have been captured on film, see Troy Taylor's Ghost Hunter's Guidebook

© Copyright 2003 by Troy Taylor. All Rights Reserved.