DR Melvyn Willin

caught on filMPARANORMALAmAzing photogrAphs of ghosts, poltergeists And other strAnge phenomenA

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Ghost in the Kitchen SinkThe details behind this curious photograph from 1992 are somewhat bizarre and involve places as far apart as Sheffield in Yorkshire and Tunisia in Africa. Researchers from the popular British television programme, Schofield’s Quest, forwarded the picture and this accompanying letter to Maurice Grosse, an expert in photographic anomalies. He was equally puzzled by it:

My name is Walter Collins, aged 15. Please, please, please help me and my mum to solve this mystery. The photograph appeared in our holiday ‘snaps’ from a two week holiday in Tunisia in 1992. The film was used and taken out of the camera in Tunisia. The strange thing is that the picture is in our kitchen at home. Another spooky thing is that there are two negative images on the negative strips, but only one print. HELP! It cannot possibly be someone dressed up because the person would be standing in our sink! (The side would not take the weight!) It has puzzled us for two years! I hope you can help!

If the story told is true then this is a very strange image indeed. Perhaps a combination of faulty memory and a double exposure produced this shot, or perhaps there is something more mysterious happening.

‘It cannot possibly be someone dressed

up because the person would be

standing in our sink’

‘It cannot possibly be someone dressed up because the person

would be standing in our sink!’

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Ghostly Figures

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‘If one cannot accept that such a character actually

exists, then another possibility might

suggest that a thought form is

being created here’

Reaper at the WaterfallThis atmospheric photograph was discovered on the website ghoststudy.com. The picture was submitted by one of the site’s visitors, with this note:

‘I’m not the person who actually took this picture. It was sent to me by a friend. This photo was captured on West Java in Indonesia at the bottom of mount Gede. The people in this photo are high school students who held a camp on that mountain.’

The site operator appealed for anyone to provide evidence against its authenticity and did not receive any replies. It was suggested, however, that the figure might be part of the mountain’s rock formation, since the texture was similar.

The image of the ‘grim reaper’ is popular in folklore and in the minds of people through films and the media generally. If one cannot accept that such a character actually exists, then another possibility might suggest that a thought form is being created here, but as to why it would occur in this form and on this occasion baffles me.

‘If one cannot accept that such a character actually

exists, then another possibility might

suggest that a thought form is

being created here’

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Simulacra

Spirit in the TreesThis bizarre photo was sent to the psychical investigator and professional photographer Cyril Permutt in the late 1970s.

There are different ways of interpreting the image according to one’s belief system. As we have seen before, the sceptic will claim it is simply a double exposure or simulacrum, of which there are many examples to be found in gnarled tree trunks and the like. However, a believer in pagan elementals may be easily persuaded into accepting that a tree spirit has been caught on film here. Part of some pagan religions allocate entities to all aspects of nature and specifically earth, air, fire and water. Furthermore, in line with pantheistic beliefs, trees have their own ‘souls’ (for want of a better word) which may become visible at unknown times and in similarly unknown circumstances.

Because such appearances, if they exist at all, are extremely rare, should we discount them all as unacceptable? Does hard science always provide the correct explanation? So many questions to ponder.

‘the sceptic will claim that it is simply a double exposure or similacrum, of which there are many examples to be found’

‘the sceptic will claim that it is simply a double exposure or similacrum, of which there are many examples to be found’

caught on filMPARANORMALTHE

ISBN: 978-0-7153-2980-1

Imprint: D&C

RRP: £12.99

Format: Hardback

ISBN: 978-0-7153-2980-1

Imprint: D&C

USRRP: $16.99

Format: Hardback

Size(HxW):168 x 200mm

Size(WxH):7¾ x 6¼in

Extent:144pp

lllustrationsColour: 65

Edition: First

WordCount: 20,000

publication date SepteMbeR 2008

RightsAvailable: World

Category: The paranormal

BICCode1: VXQ

Unexplained

phenomena/

the paranormal

BICCode2: VXQG

Ghosts & poltergeists

The Paranormal Caught on Film is a mysterious and mesmerizing collection of photographs

depicting ghosts and other extraordinary phenomena from around the world.

Believers will marvel at the range of unexplained activity captured on camera and sceptics will not be able to resist debating the

provenance of these enigmatic images.

Five chapters cover everything from the unfathomable to the downright spooky: eery lights, fogs and auras, astonishing appearances, levitating children and

spontaneous combustion.

Each compelling picture is accompanied by illuminating commentary from ghost expert

and psychical investigator, Dr Melvyn Willin.

Previous D&C title Ghosts Caught on Film has sold over 13,000 copies since it was

published in September 2007 •

Perfect gift format and content for Halloween 2008

•Public interest in the paranormal continues to be fuelled by TV shows and websites, and even themed weekends at haunted locations, where people can participate in ghost hunts

and paranormal investigations

Specifications DescriptionSpecifications

Description

Marketing pointsMarketing points

dr Melvyn Willin is Honorary Archive Officer for the Society of Psychical Research (SPR) and has been a council member of the Ghost Club and the SPR.

He gives talks on the paranormal and has carried out investigations at alleged hauntings throughout the UK.

Dr Willin is the author of numerous articles on this subject and previous D&C book, Ghosts Caught on Film.

He lives in essex, uK.

About the authorAbout the author

ContentsContents• Foreword• Introduction1 Ghostly Figures2 Simulacra3 Strange Lights & Apparitions4 The Unexplained: Poltergeists

& Other Phenomena5 Back from the Dead?• Acknowledgments, Picture

Credits and Index