This photo may have been proved to be a hoax. An article in the
Shropshire Star presents evidence that the image of the girl in the photo may have been lifted from an old postcard.
Read it here. Following is the traditional story about the photo.
On November 19, 1995, Wem Town Hall in Shropshire, England burned to
the ground. Many spectators gathered to watch the old building, built in
1905, as it was being consumed by the flames. Tony O'Rahilly, a local
resident, was one of those onlookers and took photos of the spectacle
with a 200mm telephoto lens from across the street. One of those photos
shows what looks like a small, partially transparent girl standing in
the doorway. Nether O'Rahilly nor any of the other onlookers or
firefighters recalled seeing the girl there.
O'Rahilly submitted the photo to the Association for the Scientific
Study of Anomalous Phenomena which, in turn, presented it for analysis
to Dr. Vernon Harrison, a photographic expert and former president of
the Royal Photographic Society. Harrison carefully examined both the
print and the original negative, and concluded that it was genuine. "The
negative is a straightforward piece of black-and-white work and shows
no sign of having been tampered with," Harrison said.
But who is the little girl? Wem, a quiet market town in northern
Shropshire, had been ravaged by fire in the past. In 1677, historical
records note, a fire destroyed many of the town's old timber houses. A
young girl named Jane Churm, the legends say, accidentally set fire to a
thatched roof with a candle. Many believed her ghost haunted the area
and had been seen on a few other occasions.
This video, in two parts, looks at some of the other sightings of
appartitions in the building, but questions the authenticity of the
photo. (Unfortunately, they examined a print of the photo and not the
original negative.)
2011-02-21, 3:28 am