Sunday May 16th started like any other day in early Summer.
 | | Chris' original image with a ghost? |
The sun was shining and like many of us, Southern Counties web surfer Christopher Petty decided to make the most of the weather and get out and about. He and his brother decided to visit the National Trust's historic Sheffield Park Gardens in Sussex. They took their cameras; it is a particularly beautiful spot afterall, and a few photographs of the day would serve as a nice reminder. So, when they started snapping away, neither of them expected the following results, once the pictures were developed... Chris explains: "On the photo there appears to be a shadowy figure of a woman to my right which I can't explain as: a) There was no-one beside me at the time and b) There was no statue in that part of the garden. On the picture there is a mark on the subject's shirt which looks similar to the sunlit leaves on the shrub behind, as visible to the right of the picture. After much consideration I can only guess that there is either a photographic explanation for this, or that the shadow is in fact a ghost". At first glance we agreed with Chris. There does appear to be a statue behind him, but he says there was nothing there when the photo was taken. A National Trust representative has confirmed with us that there are no statues in the park. So we subjected the image to a series of rigorous scientific tests, conducted by our leading paranormal experts....(well, Heather and Ed) Our advanced testing methods have proved it to be.... er....um, not quite as spooky as it first appears.... We have decided, after much learned discussion, that the "paranormal phenomenon" which haunts Chris' photo is in fact somebody's granny. How we came to this conclusion: 1) We lightened the photo. 2) We sharpened the photo. 3) We took the background out. 4) We increased the
colour saturation, which showed the ghostly apparition to have a pink face, a blue rinse and fuchsia lippy. So not your average ghoul.
5) The "spook" also appears to be wearing a rather fetching V-necked, smart but casual pullover, which is as far removed as you can get from the usual long white robes and chains etc... However, the plot thickens... Chris says there was no-one beside him at the time of the photo being taken, and who are we to disbelieve him? So how did this nice old lady get into the photograph unnoticed? Did she leap out from behind a bush only to hop back into the shubbery again once the flash had gone off? Possibly. Was she wearing a Cloak of Invisibility, which she whipped off, to reveal herself at the very second the camera took the photo? Highly unlikely. Or is she, as Chris suggests, a ghost? | 
