Ghost or glare? Creepy photos from dark New Hampshire cemetery trigger online debate
A good old fashioned ghost sighting is being debated in southern New Hampshire, after a series of photos suggested something creepy may have been lurking within the shadows in the 250-year-old Pine Hill Cemetery.
The images were shot in the middle of the night, and the cemetery in Hollis is notorious for being haunted — so Tyler Karanasios had all the right paranormal boxes checked before sharing the pictures on a Facebook page with 72,000 followers.
Something resembling a woman in a veil emerged when the photos were enhanced, Karanasios wrote Jan. 23 on the U Local New Hampshire group page.
“In the last image, I circled the outline of what appears to be some sort of shadowy ghostly figure,” he wrote. “Let me know what you think, New Hampshire!”
The post has since received nearly 1,200 reactions, comments and shares, along with local media coverage. Many among the commenters are sure it’s a spirit, including a few who enlarged the image to show it had a rather skeletal face.
“That is definitely a woman ghost in a wedding type gown,” Tonya Abbott wrote.
“I believe it. My son and I witnessed an apparition in that cemetery many years ago. It’s well known for strange sounds and sightings,” Suzan Labrie said.
“Looks like a female child, long hair in long sleeve shirt ... walking away,” Kitcat Sousa posted.
Skeptics have also commented, sharing their own theories: It was a shadow, a smudge, or a camera flash bouncing off a tombstone, they said.
“It is either a light orb or more likely just a flash bounce from a temperature change between your pocket and outside,” Catherine S. Dragonfly suggested.
“Look, ghost(s) aren’t real,” Chris Be wrote.
But Karanasios, a health care worker, told McClatchy News he believes it is an apparition.
“I see a woman in a long cloak or dress of some sort,” he said.
The photos were taken as Karanasios and a friend indulged in their shared interest of all things spooky. That led them to Pine Hill Cemetery, also known as Blood Cemetery, after dark one night last summer. (The website HauntedPlacestoGo.com says the cemetery is “rumored by many to be an area that is overwhelmed with paranormal activity.”)
A few of the commenters on Karanasios’ post identified themselves as paranormal investigators, but Karanasios says he’s not encouraging them to visit the cemetery.
“I don’t believe anything more needs to be explored. I’d rather leave them in peace,” Karanasios said. “I don’t believe anyone should bring instruments or use any sort of ritual to try and speak to whoever is there.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Ghost or glare? Creepy photos from dark New Hampshire cemetery trigger online debate."