A ghostly face gazes at the camera from the back of an old-fashioned carriage at one of York’s most famous attractions…
Zoe Callow was visiting York Castle Museum when she took a photo of the Victorian street scene on Kirkgate.
At the time, the 52-year-old – who runs Gwynedd Paranormal Investigations – wasn’t conscious of anything spooky going on.
But when she got home, a fellow ghost hunter spotted something to make the blood run cold – a spectral face in the middle of the photo.
Zoe said: “We were in the Victorian Street part of the museum, there were not many visitors and I was taking a lot of pictures as I walked around the exhibits.
“I didn’t feel or notice anything unusual at the time and wasn’t aware of anything else of an unexplained nature occurring on the day.
“I didn’t even notice the strange anomaly in the picture, either at the time or after.
“In fact it was pointed out to me by Llywela Wharton – one of the members of our paranormal team.”
In Mrs Callow’s photo, something that looks like a face is visible in the back window of an old carriage, with two eyes and a nose discernible.
“I have no idea what it could be,” she said.
“Every time I look at it, I see it differently – first of all it looked like a woman, then a child, then it seemed to distort into a cat.”
‘No logical explanation’
Zoe, from Gwynedd, Wales, believes it could be a case of pareidolia – the human tendency to spot something like a face where there isn’t one.
But then again, she also says she’s been unable to debunk the sighting.
“I am very much a sceptical believer in ghosts,” she said.
“I generally believe something if I witness it with my own eyes or ears, and I do try to debunk any potential evidence we find including photos or video footage.
“I tried to debunk the image by comparing it to other photos I had taken during the visit and watching a few videos on YouTube of the exhibit in the museum.
“But I was unable to find a logical explanation for it.
“It has what looks like a clear perspex sheet across the front to prevent anyone climbing inside.
“You can clearly see there is nobody inside it, not even mannequin.”
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