Pareidolia

Ahhh, pareidolia. One of the most frustrating natural phenomenons that paranormal researchers and investigators have to wrestle with. Also known as matrixing, pareidolia is the tendency to see familiar shapes in groups of random data. To put it simply, it is why we tend to see shapes of bunnies or faces in clouds, or why people claim to see the face of Jesus on their toast. Now obviously none of us look at an odd cloud in the sky, see a bunny, and think its paranormal. But if we replace the sky with an old mirror, and the clouds with some dirt or tarnish, add a dash of poor lighting, then you get the perfect recipe for a ghostly face. A well known example of this is the mirror in the lobby of the Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana, which supposedly holds the spirits of Sara Woodruff and her two children. For years people have who have photographed the mirror claimed to see a face or object in the corner. The anomaly has been described as a few things, ranging from a young boy, to a soldier, hand prints, to Sara Woodruff herself.

The famous mirror has been debunked for over 10 years and serves as a fantastic example of matrixing. The mirror is said to be 100+ years old, and is a silver back mirror (simply meaning that they used real silver to cause the reflective service). As most of you know, over the years, silver begins to tarnish and turn brown, creating imperfections on the metals surface. Since its so old, the paint that served as a seal around the edge of the mirror began to break down, exposing the silver to the environment and allowing it to degrade. Anyway, enough about old silver mirrors. Let's talk about how many of us will likely encounter matrixing. Some very common causes of faces and ghouls in photographs are: Dust Dirt Reflections Rust (Especially when taking photos through fences or door windows) Smudges on glass Lens flare Dirt on lens Bugs Webs Rain Snow Fog Smoke Ect.

Great, a lot of things can explain away the freaky figure in your photo, but now how are you supposed to know whats a spirit and what is well timed bug or speck of dust? How can we rely on any pictures if they all seem to be tainted? Well, there's no need to fear, the answer is pretty simple. Just take multiple photos from a few different angles and then compare them. Note any differences or similarities, and see if you can explain it away. Try the photo from different angles, in varied lighting, with fans on and off, ect. The goal is to try and recreate the image as closely as possible and as many times as possible.

Remember, your goal should never be to PROVE a haunting, but rather DISPROVE it!