Elderly ghost with dog?

[johne1618]

A 14-second clip from an outdoor security camera pointed at someone's garden seems to show a shadowy figure walking from the top left of the image down to the bottom right. Around 6 seconds from the end of the video you can see a flash of what seems to be a walking stick. In the last second, just as the figure exits the picture, you can see what seems to be a dog at the figure's heels.

Is this just pareidolia?


Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ghosts/comments/rl1imb/caught_this_on_my_camera_a_few_nights_ago_what_is/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

 

[JMartJr]

Here is a test. Show it to 100 people, or as many as you can, without telling them anything about what to look for and have then describe what they see. See how many see an old man, a cane or a dog. I suspect that the number will be very very low... even being primed to look for those items, I dont see any of them, at least on this size screen.

 

[johne1618]

Here is a test. Show it to 100 people, or as many as you can, without telling them anything about what to look for and have then describe what they see. See how many see an old man, a cane or a dog. I suspect that the number will be very very low... even being primed to look for those items, I dont see any of them, at least on this size screen.

Fair enough though I think most people see some sort of blob moving across the image from top left to bottom right. Apparently the camera had a motion sensor which was triggered by something (presumably not by the rain).

Someone on Reddit called Cokedupshrimp thinks the camera has picked up a real person walking in this guy's backyard:

Ok. So it's raining and night time. Meaning the camera is currently using IR to see. When the sensor array can't hit the object it causes this You may of genuinely had a person walking In your yard. And it showed up like that because of the IR camera array not being able to detect/ hit the moving object in those weather conditions.

Edit: 100% a human in your backyard looking into your home dude

I find it hard to believe that the image was due to a real person even if the camera capability was degraded by the rain. It seems too grainy and transparent. Also the visible-spectrum spotlight that turned on when motion was detected seems to illuminate the backyard (including the child's slide) adequately enough to clearly show any real intruder.

The following video (4:30 to 6:45) shows that real people can look ghostly on IR cameras but generally only if they are outside the range of the IR LEDs mounted around the camera:

 

[JMartJr]

Oh yeah, I see the blur. I just don't see an old man, a cane or a dog. Can't honestly say I see a human figure. Just a blur/blob. So I guess to answer your original question, while I don't have a good guess as to what it is, I would feel comfortable concluding that seeing a man with a cane and his dog is indeed pareidolia.

It looks to me like there is still something going on near the edge where the blur moves off-screen as the video cuts. I wish they had let it play a little longer so we could see what that is. It would be helpful if folks would include a bit of the vid before the ghost/ufo/whatever shows up, and not cut it off immediately when it is gone -- or often before it is gone -- sometimes stuff goes on that might shed light on what was causing the thing seen in the vid. But what we got is what we've got...

 

[JMartJr]

Does it look to you like the highlights on the wet plastic of the sliding board are changing as the video progresses? It also looks to me like the light inside the "hut" at the top of the slide changes, it seems to become better lit, but I am less sure of that (might just be the low quality of the vid.) If there are moving/changing lights off camera,changing illumination in the yard, might that play a part in what is happening?

 

[johne1618]

hi

Does it look to you like the highlights on the wet plastic of the sliding board are changing as the video progresses? It also looks to me like the light inside the "hut" at the top of the slide changes, it seems to become better lit, but I am less sure of that (might just be the low quality of the vid.) If there are moving/changing lights off camera,changing illumination in the yard, might that play a part in what is happening?

The Reddit poster stated that the only lighting was the spotlight on the camera. Perhaps the camera software is readjusting the brightness of the video as it progresses?

 

[Mendel]

The last time I saw something like this, I believe it involved analog video tape that was recorded over, and the "ghost" was a real person that was recorded on the tape before.
So the question would be, did that camera record to tape?

 

[JMartJr]

Perhaps the camera software is readjusting the brightness of the video as it progresses?

That is possible I guess... looks like that also happens with the light in the upper left at the beginning, maybe? But on the slide, it looks lik the highlights change position... that seems more like a moving light than an adjustment. I'm wondering if a moving light like a car parking or something might be what's happening.

The last time I saw something like this, I believe it involved analog video tape that was recorded over, and the "ghost" was a real person that was recorded on the tape before.
So the question would be, did that camera record to tape?

That may be the Captain Disillusion debunk of the Disney theme park security camera ghost:

Source: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XE1OmvERQek

 

[Ravi]

The last time I saw something like this, I believe it involved analog video tape that was recorded over, and the "ghost" was a real person that was recorded on the tape before.
So the question would be, did that camera record to tape?

Would be surprising if OP used an analog VHS recording system. But, you never know.

In any case, this print-through effect does not happen in modern (25 years or younger) digital systems, obviously.

 

[johne1618]

Half speed gif of figure walking past slide. What I though was a stick might be just streaks of rain.

Half speed gif of dog-like shape exiting bottom right of picture.

 

[johne1618]

The last time I saw something like this, I believe it involved analog video tape that was recorded over, and the "ghost" was a real person that was recorded on the tape before.
So the question would be, did that camera record to tape?

The Subreddit OP left this message (my boldface):

Funny enough, something has been going to the bathroom in my yard over night so I've been checking the footage to see if I can catch the animal or whatever has been doing it, and thought I noticed movement in the preview for this video next to the others. I was genuinely shocked.

Analog video doesn't have a preview function so this must be digitally recorded.

 

[deirdre]

Half speed gif of figure walking past slide. What I though was a stick might be just streaks of rain.


View attachment 48599

Half speed gif of dog-like shape exiting bottom right of picture.

View attachment 48600

it looks like Barney the dinosaur.

your half speed pretty much explains it, no? look at your ghost raindrops at half speed. they are 1. lit more and 2. closer to the camera, so they aren't quite as transparent as the Barney ghost figure.

you also only know they are raindrops because there are alot of them. if there was only 1 raindrop and no Barney, we would be looking at a "what is this ghost streak?" video.

 

[Mendel]

What we have in the yard is raindrops, so a possibility is a light beam of some kind sweeping the yard and illuminating just that "shape" of raindrops.

If I wanted to hoax it, I'd use a beamer (LCD projector or similar) to project the white image of a walking person. But it could be some other light source that produces this effect.

 

[johne1618]

What we have in the yard is raindrops, so a possibility is a light beam of some kind sweeping the yard and illuminating just that "shape" of raindrops.

If I wanted to hoax it, I'd use a beamer (LCD projector or similar) to project the white image of a walking person. But it could be some other light source that produces this effect.

I would have thought that the beam itself should be visible due to light reflecting off raindrops all the way along it.

 

[NorCal Dave]

As this is a reddit video, I'm having a hard time replaying or looping or even slowing it down, but it does seem that the there are similar light artifacts on the tent roof of the playhouse, that to my eye, correspond to the movement of the "ghost". As others have suggested, possibly from a faint alternate light source.

And, as this guy is getting a lot of love on reddit for this, including that this is his dead relatives visiting for the holidays because that's what ghost do, I'd never rule out a hoax.

 

[JMartJr]

Does anybody have the ability to boost contrast and adjust lighting on video? I do not. But I could almost convince myself that I am seeing traces of a beam of light coming from camera left into the patch of light. Maybe consistent with a large flashlight panning across the yard? However, I am aware that I am as likely to see what I am looking for in ambiguous imagery as anybody else is, and the "trails" left by the raindrops, analogous to phosphorvteails on the old tv sets I grew up with, may be causing what I'm seeing. I'd love to see if what I think I am seeing "pops" with some adjustments to the vid.

 

[Ravi]

Does anybody have the ability to boost contrast and adjust lighting on video? I do not. But I could almost convince myself that I am seeing traces of a beam of light coming from camera left into the patch of light. Maybe consistent with a large flashlight panning across the yard? However, I am aware that I am as likely to see what I am looking for in ambiguous imagery as anybody else is, and the "trails" left by the raindrops, analogous to phosphorvteails on the old tv sets I grew up with, may be causing what I'm seeing. I'd love to see if what I think I am seeing "pops" with some adjustments to the vid.

I have downloaded the video, imported into iMovie. Changing the contrast and dynamic range etc, does show something looking like a light beam. Specially in the first 3 seconds.

 

[Ravi]

 

[Mendel]

I have downloaded the video, imported into iMovie. Changing the contrast and dynamic range etc, does show something looking like a light beam. Specially in the first 3 seconds.

Interesting!
It doesn't show up in the original footage because the ground in the foreground is brightly lit.

 

[Ravi]

Interesting!
It doesn't show up in the original footage because the ground in the foreground is brightly lit.

I must admit that the "evidence" of a beam is weak.. It can still be all pareidolia imo.

 

[johne1618]

As this is a reddit video, I'm having a hard time replaying or looping or even slowing it down, but it does seem that the there are similar light artifacts on the tent roof of the playhouse, that to my eye, correspond to the movement of the "ghost". As others have suggested, possibly from a faint alternate light source.

And, as this guy is getting a lot of love on reddit for this, including that this is his dead relatives visiting for the holidays because that's what ghost do, I'd never rule out a hoax.

The original video can be downloaded here.

Reddit videos can be downloaded by using:

https://redditsave.com

 

[johne1618]

I have downloaded the video, imported into iMovie. Changing the contrast and dynamic range etc, does show something looking like a light beam. Specially in the first 3 seconds.

How about uploading an enhanced image of the figure moving in front of the child's slide? I don't think there is any evidence of a light beam shining across the yard towards the figure at that point in the video - which would falsify the hypothesis that it is produced by a light beam at all times.

 

[Mechanik]

Watching the half-speed videos, it looks to me like a camera or processing artifact, possibly of a real person.

Notice that the raindrops show the same scintillation/pixelation as the moving figure. Also note that the raindrops leave trails or afterimages on the screen after they pass by. I think the camera or processor gives weight to pixels that that are bright and change from frame to frame. A poorly IR-illuminated, slow object is largely ignored by the processor in favor of the raindrops and a static background.

It would be interesting to test this by having someone stand still in the middle of the yard for a few seconds. I'm also wondering whether the raindrops themselves affect the processing; giving the processor a brightly-illuminated target (raindrops) to prioritize,

 

[deirdre]

It would be interesting to test this by having someone stand still in the middle of the yard for a few seconds

it's always strange to me when the home owner does no experimentation. i mean, it's not like he has to set anything up, all he has to do is walk in the yard when next it rains!

 

[johne1618]

Watching the half-speed videos, it looks to me like a camera or processing artifact, possibly of a real person.

Notice that the raindrops show the same scintillation/pixelation as the moving figure. Also note that the raindrops leave trails or afterimages on the screen after they pass by. I think the camera or processor gives weight to pixels that that are bright and change from frame to frame. A poorly IR-illuminated, slow object is largely ignored by the processor in favor of the raindrops and a static background.

It would be interesting to test this by having someone stand still in the middle of the yard for a few seconds. I'm also wondering whether the raindrops themselves affect the processing; giving the processor a brightly-illuminated target (raindrops) to prioritize,

Someone on Reddit suggested that the figure was a droplet of water on the lens being blown by the wind. I replied that the streaks of rain frequently obscure the figure so it must be behind the rain and not on the lens. Do people agree with my reply?

 

[Mendel]

A poorly IR-illuminated, slow object is largely ignored by the processor in favor of the raindrops and a static background.

Could you provide an example video that shows this? I have a hard time imagining this in the context of this video.

 

[johne1618]

it's always strange to me when the home owner does no experimentation. i mean, it's not like he has to set anything up, all he has to do is walk in the yard when next it rains!

I've sent a message to the guy who posted the video on Reddit suggesting that he walks across the yard when it is dark and rainy so people can compare the video with his original one. I don't know if he'll reply!

 

[deirdre]

Someone on Reddit suggested that the figure was a droplet of water on the lens being blown by the wind. I replied that the streaks of rain frequently obscure the figure so it must be behind the rain and not on the lens. Do people agree with my reply?

i was wondering about the water drop or a bug on the lens too (as we've seen that before in ghost videos.. like the blue ghost at the gas station).

based on reading about contrails for years, i disagree with your assessment that the raindrops have to be in front of the object. brighter objects may appear in front just because they are brighter.
happens with the moon and sun too.

ex:

https://www.metabunk.org/threads/explained-why-clouds-appear-behind-the-sun-and-moon.7084/

 

[johne1618]

i was wondering about the water drop or a bug on the lens too (as we've seen that before in ghost videos.. like the blue ghost at the gas station).

based on reading about contrails for years, i disagree with your assessment that the raindrops have to be in front of the object. brighter objects may appear in front just because they are brighter.
happens with the moon and sun too.

Ok I accept that the bright rain streaks could look like they are in front of the blob when they are not.

If the blob is a raindrop on the lens blown by the wind then why is it moving at a constant speed to the right whereas the falling raindrops are mostly blown to the left?

 

[deirdre]

If the blob is a raindrop on the lens blown by the wind then why is it moving at a constant speed to the right whereas the falling raindrops are mostly blown to the left?

im not sure why we need wind to move a water drop, but i'm guessing the wind gusts that push rain in a certain direction are likely higher up in the sky then wind that would affect something at lens level. ?

 

[JMartJr]

You could also get local eddie's and such around the camera or the structure it is attached to. Not sure how far away we think the rain drops are, but the wind at the camera lens or "window" protecting it could be from a very different direction than the prevailing wind.

Image source: https://webpages.uidaho.edu/larc453/pages/microclimates.htm

 

[Mechanik]

Could you provide an example video that shows this? I have a hard time imagining this in the context of this video.

I should have put the phrase "In other words, ..." at the beginning of that sentence. I was summarizing my argument. However, this Metabunk thread has a similar discussion of camera capabilities and example videos. None are as extreme as this one, but they accurately discuss my point.

 

[Rory]

Looks like a spider to me.

 

[Mendel]

I should have put the phrase "In other words, ..." at the beginning of that sentence. I was summarizing my argument. However, this Metabunk thread has a similar discussion of camera capabilities and example videos. None are as extreme as this one, but they accurately discuss my point.

I looked at it, but didn't see what you're referring to.

 

[Ravi]

Looks like a spider to me.

Something close to the lens (few cm), indeed can become a blurry blob. However, it would be a darker blob, not a lighter blob. The IR source does not reach that close as well.

 

[JMartJr]

Something close to the lens (few cm), indeed can become a blurry blob. However, it would be a darker blob, not a lighter blob. The IR source does not reach that close as well.

Unless it was acting as a lens for light reflected or emitted "downrange." As, for example, a droplet of rainwater.