Do You Believe In Real Ghosts In Photos And What The Dead Have To Say To Us Or Show Us?
...Or, are they just showing us the way?
Rev. Ralph Hardy, a retired clergyman from White Rock, British Columbia, took this now-famous photograph in 1966. He intended merely to photograph the elegant spiral staircase (known as the "Tulip Staircase") in the Queen's House section of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Upon development, however, the photo revealed a shrouded figure climbing the stairs, seeming to hold the railing with both hands. Experts, including some from Kodak, who examined the original negative concluded that it had not been tampered with.
It's been said that unexplained figures have been seen on occasion in the vicinity of the staircase, and unexplained footsteps have also been heard.
Write a poem inspired by the picture or just your view on ghosts.
I am allowing prewrites but would prefer fresh ones. Prewrites must relate to the prompt or they will be DQ'ed.
Credit pic to googleimages.com
...Or, are they just showing us the way?
Rev. Ralph Hardy, a retired clergyman from White Rock, British Columbia, took this now-famous photograph in 1966. He intended merely to photograph the elegant spiral staircase (known as the "Tulip Staircase") in the Queen's House section of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Upon development, however, the photo revealed a shrouded figure climbing the stairs, seeming to hold the railing with both hands. Experts, including some from Kodak, who examined the original negative concluded that it had not been tampered with.
It's been said that unexplained figures have been seen on occasion in the vicinity of the staircase, and unexplained footsteps have also been heard.
Write a poem inspired by the picture or just your view on ghosts.
I am allowing prewrites but would prefer fresh ones. Prewrites must relate to the prompt or they will be DQ'ed.
Credit pic to googleimages.com
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on December 4, 2008
- Rewards: Gold: 450, Silver: 150, Bronze: 75, Honorable mention: 3 people
- Final notes: Thanks to all for your spooky writes. Congratualtions to all winners! Blessings, Patty
- To judge this contest, you need to have at least as many finalists as you have rewards. You have 4 awards but only 3 finalists.
Contest Winners
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Darkness falls upon the walls
Upon the staircase gliding high• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
I see three tiny babies, their mouths are open wide
Their mother on the staircase, she looks at them with pride• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
There was peace in the abandoned cemetery but it was a dark peace and I was eager to get back to the resort, and to living.• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
Gold trophy winner
Silver trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
Entries [7]
1 - 7 of 7
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See them over there?
Here they come out of nowhere!• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
As I float on uneven clouds of consciousness, I can't help but wonder where have been lead
by stella rose 29 lines, 4 comments, on Nov 23 2:32 PM 2008• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
Goosebumps travel up my back
at this momentby FaerieNWonderland 8 lines, 4 comments, on Dec 3 4:27 PM 2008• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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I have good evps from beyond the grave i investigate ghosts but find them hard to write about
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entered if you don't know about shadow people look them up
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I like this contest and will see what i can come up with, if anything.
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Great! I look forward to it!
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Many thanks for the Silver
, Ros
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Thanks for the bronze. I didn't think I'd win anything since it's a lonnnnng story and not a poem but since the contest was about ghost photos and I think I caught one on film, I had to enter it. Glad you enjoyed it.
One thing I've always wondered about ghost photos is why they were more bizarre and numerous when photography was a newer medium and hardly anyone could afford a camera than they are today when everyone has cameras, cell phone cameras, security cameras, etc. One would think that we'd be catching ghosts constantly. I think it has something to do with the emulsion - the old fashioned way of exposing film. I was reading about a ghost recently that can only be captured on Polaroid film. (The one that writes messages in the air with some kind of ectoplasm, like he's moving his hand fast for the camera to create a readable message. Very bizarre story. Sorry I can't remember the name.)
However, I also think there were more ghost stories in the early 1900's because people were more interested in exploring all the possibilities of the new medium of photography, manipulating photos in the dark room with overlays, etc., and because it was a period of intense interest in the occult.
Since shutters had to be kept open for 10-20 seconds with the first cameras to burn the image onto the plate, it is also possible that a "ghost" could have just been someone who was standing there and suddently had to run out of the room. lol
Thanks again.
Mark
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