Angel or Ghost?
Does this photo have a message?

We took the photo on our webpage, Ghost Hunters - Ecto and Smoke, as part of a controlled experiment. We were demonstrating how smoke can look like "ecto" in photos.

However, although this picture was not taken in a "haunted" location, we wonder if the spirits are having fun with us.

When we look at our original photo--and especially the area in the enlargement above--we see an outline of a classic Christmas angel, or even a cartoon-style ghost.

Or, as another reader pointed out, it also looks similar to the "dove of peace" symbol used in many Christian churches.

We've outlined the general shape in the scan shown on the right, to emphasize where the figure is. (Looking at it again, we traced one of the lines slightly wrong, but the shape is still startling.)

We don't know what to think about this. It's probably a coincidence... but it's certainly an odd one.

In ghost research, we never know what to think when "odd" things happen. We don't want to leap to conclusions, but when something this unusual shows up in our photos, we wonder if the spirits are sending us a message.