False Orbs - Holiday Lights
©2006 by Fiona Broome and the Hollow Hill Staff
False 'ghost orbs' can be caused by holiday lights. It's fairly rare, but worth mentioning. Take a look
at the bluish orb in the picture below. It's at the far right side of the photo, almost at the middle of that side.
This false orb was only one in about 50 photos taken at this site,
so it is rare.
The small, bluish orb at the upper right side of the haunted railcar is the product of a reflection
from a Christmas decoration. Here it is, enlarged:
As you can see, the orb hovers over a blue holiday light, and the bulb is almost exactly in the middle of the orb.
Because this railcar is haunted, we'd love to say that the orb is evidence of a ghost. And, it might be.
However, unless we are certain that an orb is paranormal--and has no reasonable explanation--we have
to point out the possible "normal" causes of it.
In this case, we're about 99% certain that this orb is caused by a small, reflecting light bulb.
On the other hand, you can see (probably) genuine orbs in our ghost photos
at this same railcar at Romantic Ghosts - Katy Depot, Texas.
Of course, when you look at those photos, you may ask, "Why aren't those false orbs from
Christmas lights?" And, that
is a possibility. The more skeptical you are, the more you're likely to seize that explanation.
When we analyzed those photos, we considered normal and likely causes, as well as related information about our ghosts.
As Psychic Disturbance Investigators,
we look for obvious, logical explanations for phenomena, including orbs. In this case, it's a 50/50 guess
whether or not the orbs are real.
So, we then considered the rest of our evidence.
We have two sets of orbs in a setting where we have two, linked ghosts. We picked up their energy in
close proximity to the orbs in each photo. Further, we've noted a consistency to orbs; often, they share
almost "human" characteristics with the ghosts that they represent. Of course, we may be imagining that, but
when the link seems clear to us--as with these twin orbs--it's difficult to dismiss the notion.
Then there are the orbs themselves. These other orbs aren't
close to the holiday lights; the false orb--shown above--is directly on top of the source of the reflection. Since the
source of the reflection is less than an inch tall and only slightly reflective, it's unlikely that it would cause orbs
many feet away.
In addition, we have hundreds of photos taken around holiday lights this year. If those tiny light bulbs regularly
caused false orbs, we'd know it.
There are few "sure things" in ghost hunting, with our current understanding of phenomena. However,
we're fairly certain that the orb above was caused by the holiday light it encircles. And, because it could be a factor
when you're investigating psychic disturbances, we feel that it's important to note this rare cause of false orbs.
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