A Clip from the movie, Shutter:

Paranormal magazine editor Ritsuo tells Jane about spirit photography: (James Kyson Lee) “Spirit photography has been around from the 1800s, as long as photography itself. All across the world these images have always appeared, connecting us with the unseen. And I think they’re trying to tell us something.” (Rachael Taylor) “Like what?” (Lee) “Well, it depends on the people and the pictures.”

Maybe it was the Asian girl stalking the newly married young couple in the Shutter preview that made me think of The Grudge. The premise of the movie sounded too similar. Because of this, I had a mild desire to see the movie, but wanted to hear what others had to say about it first before I plunked down my cash. In this case, I’m glad I listened to my intuition because the Reuters Review confirmed my suspicions. Today, I talked to a colleague who had seen the movie this weekend and thought it was stupid.

That killed any desire to see the movie, but the subject of spirit photography intrigued me and not for the first time. I’ve been writing about ghost sightings on photos and film since I started writing for this blog, the latest involving a videographer who filmed what looked like the ghost of a Roman soldier. Prairie Ghosts has a fascinating article on the subject, entitled History of Spirit Photography.

The photograph above of Mary Lincoln (allegedly) and her spectral husband, Abe, was taken by William Mumler. Mumler became widely popular in Boston as a “medium for taking spirit photographs” until he was taken to court for fraud allegations. His original photographs may have been authentic, but the lure of money spurned him to take fake pictures for his unsuspecting clients.

This picture of a ghostly young girl was listed as one of the Top Ten Best Ghost Photographs Ever Taken. What makes it so eerie is that no one was in that hall when Tony O’Rahilly took that shot from his telephoto lens as the Wem Town Hall burned to the ground in November of 1995. If there was, I doubt that they would be as calm as this girl appears to be in this inferno.

Clip Source: K-Lite FM