Since its invention, photography has been used to capture stunning images that record human life as we know it, as well as some pivotal moments throughout recent history. However, the pictures a camera takes aren’t always easily explained. Sometimes what’s caught on camera puzzles the mind, from hidden figures to unsolved mysteries.
Despite experts’ best efforts, here are fifteen photos science just can’t explain.
An extra thumb
This seemingly normal photo shows four young boys posing for a picture. But on a closer look, you will notice an extra thumb sticking out behind the kid on a black t-shirt.
Both the photographer and the boys are unable to explain who owns the thumb or how it appeared in their picture.
Cooper’s family photo
The Cooper family took this picture after they moved into a new home in 1950.
A shadowy body can be seen hanging from the ceiling in the developed film. The family claimed no one else was with them in that room and there is no plausible explanation for the extra figure in the photo.
This led to the speculation that the house is haunted by the ghost of the former homeowner.
The Bachelor Grove phantom
Bachelor Grove cemetery is one of the most haunted places in the United States and the subject of several ghostlore stories.
In 1991, members of the Ghost Research Society were called to investigate the supernatural occurrences in the cemetery.
This picture was taken by one of the members. You can see a ghostly apparition sitting on a tombstone. There was no one else in the cemetery on the day this picture was taken.
The backseat passenger
Mabel Chinmery visited her mother’s grave site with her husband. She took this picture of her husband sitting alone in the car.
From the image, you can see another passenger who apparently doesn’t belong in this world sitting behind Mr. Chinmery.
A time traveling hipster
This ordinary-looking picture looks like every normal picture taken in an early period. But on closer inspection, you will notice this young man who looks out of place in the picture. The youngster is dressed in a fashion that is too modern for the 1940 timeframe of the picture. The only explanation, although implausible, is time travel.
The Tulip staircase ghost
Rev Ralph Hardy, a retired priest, had only wanted to capture the elegance of the Tulip Staircase when he took this picture. The picture not only captured the elegant staircase but also captured something chilling – a dark ghostly being was also there.
According to experts, the film was not tampered with. So what was that on the staircase?
The 9/11 survivor
In this picture, a lone woman is standing and probably calling for help on the debris of the South Tower after it was destroyed in the infamous 9/11 terrorist attack. She survived the initial deadly attack but her whereabouts after this picture was taken have not yet been accounted for.
Mysterious satellites
At a time when there was no technology to launch a satellite into space, the US air force detected two satellites orbiting the earth.
There have been so many conspiracy theories surrounding the strange satellites yet no logical explanation.
Freddy Jackson’s ghost makes it to the group photo
Freddy Jackson tragically lost his life while fixing an airplane. His funeral was held two days later.
Somehow he appeared in this group photo taken two days after his death. His baffled crewmates had no answers to how their dead crewmate appeared in their group photo, two days later.
S. S Wartown’s water ghost faces
Two crewmembers died while cleaning the oil tank aboard the S.S Wartown ship and were given a sea burial.
The next day, visible faces of the two men were seen in the water. The faces were clear and unmistakable that the captain of the ship had a picture taken.
The most beautiful suicide
What pushed the beautiful Evelyn McHale to jump to her death from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, we may never know.
But the intriguing thing is, for someone who fell from such an enormous height, her body remained strangely intact. Robert Wiles, the photographer who took this picture of her corpse was shocked at the phenomenon.
Elisa Lam’s death
Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old student was found dead in the water tank of a large hotel in Los Angeles.
How the student got to the locked roof and barricaded tank was not the only mysterious thing about her death. An elevator video footage on the day she disappeared showed her acting paranoidly, gesturing in the hallway, entering and exiting the elevator, and trying to hide inside the empty elevator which was strangely malfunctioning.
The Amityville ghost boy
Famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren captured this image with an automatic camera.
The photo was taken inside the Amityville horror house. The new owner called the Warrens to investigate the strange happenings in the house. What they caught on camera would turn out to be one of the creepiest photos ever taken.
A student’s dream
It was not unusual for medical students to pose for a picture with their deceased patients. But this particular medical student had always wanted to switch places with the cadavers he worked with and pose with them. How he managed to arrange the cadavers and take this spooky picture remains a mystery.
A baby ghost
An Australian mother visiting her daughter’s grave took this picture and caught more than just an image of her late child’s resting place. She caught a ghost baby on camera. The graveyard was investigated in 1990, and they discovered that two infants were buried in graves nearby.
A time traveler
This image is from footage shot for Charlie Chaplin’s film, in 1928. There is a woman who appears to be talking on a mobile phone which looks perfectly normal. The odd thing, however; is, as of 1928 mobile phones were not yet in existence.
Worstead church ghost
Peter Berthelot took a picture of his wife Diane when they visited the Worstead church in Norfolk, UK. What they discovered in the developed picture terrified them.
Diane wasn’t the only person he had captured in the photo, a ghostly figure was sitting right behind Diane.
The figure was believed to be the White Lady, the ghost of a healer who has been sighted several times around the church.
The babushka Lady
When JFK was assassinated, people took cover and ran away to protect themselves from the gunshots. But several photos from that day show this woman in a bahuska dress who stood unaffected and still taking photos of the scene around her.
To date, no one has found her or the pictures she took.
Solway Firth spaceman
To date, no one has given a reasonable explanation for this famous mysterious photo.
In 1964, Jim Templeton took this photo of his daughter. You can clearly see a figure resembling a spaceman behind the young girl. However, there was no one behind her when her father took the picture that day.
There have been suggestions that the mother of the girl had her back turned in the picture. But that figure is not in any way feminine.
Hook Island’s sea monster
This looks like a giant snake-like creature resting in the water. The French photographer who had taken this picture had thought so.
Turns out it wasn’t a snake or any known sea creature. Is there a sea monster lurking in the ocean that humans haven’t discovered?
