Ghost or intruder caught on security camera?

[johne1618]

A user on Reddit posted this picture caught on security camera on Feb 19, 2022. He said his mother-in-law sent it to him and says it appears to be his mother-in-law's mother, Nancy, who died in December 2013.

He says it looks just like his mother-in-law's mom. It was taken in the back patio at her son's house in Arizona where Nancy spent her final years in the adjoining guest house. The house has a gated backyard and is in a secluded position that backs out on to the desert. There is no-one living there at the present that looks like the person in the security camera picture.

What's happened here? Is it a picture of a random woman who got into a secluded property with a gated backyard at 8:17 pm and started walking around the house?

Some comments by the Reddit poster

The difference is I knew this person. That's exactly how she looked profile wise and even the way the figure is standing. She had a slight hunch to her. It's freaky to us. Obviously there could be a very not supernatural explanation, but it's straight up weird, especially for us that knew her

I'm not. I'm actually not a believer, but explaining this one is tough. If you saw where the property was and how it's laid out, you would understand

According to my mother in law, her mom was big like that for most of her later years. She had a stroke and lost weight. I met her mom in 2008 and she died in 2013. The resemblance of this figure to that woman is striking to say the least having known her

It's not my property. If it was me I would report it just to be safe. The thing that gets me, like I said, my mother in law sent this to me and didn't say anything. I immediately responded with why are you sending me a security picture of your mom? It's a lot to take in. I honestly hope it's supernatural because a real person out in the desert in a gated yard is scarier

My mother in law doesn't live there. This happened at her brothers house

Impossible with the way this property is gated. Even if they got in somehow, they would have had a very difficult time getting out.

It's my mother in laws brothers house. He also believes it's his mom in the picture. She lived on the property when she died. She lived in the guest house adjacent to the main home.

I have no clue. Again, it's the freakiest thing I've seen and my first gut reaction was it's Nancy. She lived on that property and often walked in the main house through the back entrance to spend time with her son and his wife. Nancy lived in the guest house adjacent to the main home.

They are in the corner lot backed up to the desert. Their only neighbor is on the left and they know the! Well. This isn't the neighbor. Scary if it's a ghost but scarier if it's a person

No, this is the only picture. There are 3 or 4 other cameras on the property and they caught nothing.

My mother in law says she was that big prior to her having a stroke. She fully believes it's her mom. I'm a bit skeptical but honestly this is a tough one to explain. Their house is really out there in a secluded area. It honestly would be scarier if somebody was in their yard.

I thought so as well, but nobody is getting on that property with the way it's gated. Especially not an old lady with that build climbing the walls.

Nobody lives there currently with that build. Why would a random old lady be walking around in somebodys gated backyard in the Arizona desert.

When my mother in law sent me the picture at first she sent no description and I thought it was an old picture taken when her mom was alive. I swear it's real and maybe there is an explanation.. but i've never seen anything like it and can't explain this picture.

Just this still picture, the camera was just set to take a picture when motion is triggered. No activity to speak of

Nobody was out there though. That's a backyard patio and their house is gated and in a rather secluded area.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Ghosts/comments/sz8x8o/my_mother_inlaw_sent_me_a_security_cam_picture_of/

 

[captancourgette]

Looks like the afterlife has been good to her, shes gained a few kilos

 

[Mechanik]

From the chain of custody alone, this one is suspect.

The original photo went from Brother > mother-in-law > Poster > Reddit > @johne1618 > Metabunk. That's a long trail with plenty of opportunity for edits and misinterpretation along the way.

As for edits, obviously the color photos of the deceased were added, as was the emotional and repetitive description added, presumably by Poster.

To be generous, I'd call this mislabeled or misleading as details were added along the way which may or may not make the situation any clearer.

For those of you not familiar with the outdoor patio life in the southwest US, the small lights on the table in the background, near the swinging couch, and scattered through the yard are typically battery-powered (open flames are frowned upon in these dry areas) and are only lit when one is expecting guests or immediate family usage.

This suggests to me that there were people actively using the patio near the time of the photo. 8:17 PM local time.

 

[deirdre]

so she just popped up for this 1 frame in the security footage?

For those of you not familiar with the outdoor patio life in the southwest US, the small lights on the table in the background, near the swinging couch, and scattered through the yard are typically battery-powered (open flames are frowned upon in these dry areas) and are only lit when one is expecting guests or immediate family usage.

yea but the "ghost" is barefoot and wearing capri pants. doesnt it get cold in the desert at night? in feb?

i guess she could have those flip flop type sandals on, and those are her pajamas and she wanted a piece of chocolate cake from the main house so went out in her pjs.

i'm going with photoshopped. because of the 1 frame vs video, the camera? she seems to be holding (dangling) and the weight she didnt have on passing away.

 

[johne1618]

Why is it so light outside at 8:17 pm? Apparently the sun sets at 6:13 pm on Feb 19, 2022 in Arizona. Although it is an IR camera so maybe that's not visible light.

It seems a slightly strange coincidence that the security camera triggered at exactly "00" seconds.

Also is there a creepy ghost cat, looking directly at the camera, with its left leg over the side of the chair by the doorway?

 

[deirdre]

Also is there a creepy ghost cat,

lol. a BIG ghost cat. too cute.

Why is it so light outside at 8:17 pm?

i thought that was the inside of the main house. meaning the door going INTO the house.

the reddit user says she is out in the yard. it is indeed a very fancy patio setup...

 

[johne1618]

I thought that was the inside of the main house. meaning the door going INTO the house.

the reddit user says she is out in the yard. it is indeed a very fancy patio setup...

Ok - that explains the light in the doorway at 8:17 pm. Thanks!

 

[Rory]

the emotional and repetitive description added, presumably by Poster.

I'm presuming it repeats because JohnE compiled a list of their replies, not that it's one long comment. But John can confirm on that one.

Photoshop's a good call. Or an old image with a current date added.

I guess she had a little handbag like that in her actual life too? Good to know things like that make the journey with us when we pass over.

Most likely it's exactly what it looks like: a random person triggering a photo on a motion-sensor security camera.

Why not more photos though? Or is the motion-sensing a one time thing?

 

[Ann K]

Hard to take this too seriously, because the image is so dim and vague, the presentation incomplete (why only one frame?), and the date stamp easy to fake. Plus I've known several women for whom I could mistake that image, and the rambling backstory doesn't clarify anything, just has a lot of "I know nobody else could get in there" stuff.

I agree with @Mechanik and his comment about the "chain of custody".

A quote from the original Reddit poster also strikes a note of caution: "I honestly hope it's supernatural because a real person out in the desert in a gated yard is scarier". Someone who says that this apparently elderly lady is "scarier" is, I believe, trying too hard to push the notion of a supernatural entity, which makes me think that fakery is more probable.

 

[JMartJr]

Also is there a creepy ghost cat, looking directly at the camera, with its left leg over the side of the chair by the doorway?

View attachment 49885

I believe that is a fine specimen of Felis pareidolicus, the American Shorthair Pile of Stuff That Looks Like A Cat.

 

[Rory]

Or maybe the thing in her/his/its hand is a retractable dog lead:

Could actually be a guy - there's not much boobage going on - which would be more supportive of the "sneaking in/over to retrieve an animal" theory.

(But "how did the dog get in there?" I hear them ask. I dunno: maybe a ghost threw it over the fence.)

 

[Rory]

I believe that is a fine specimen of Felis pareidolicus, the American Shorthair Pile of Stuff That Looks Like A Cat.

Or a dog like this one maybe:

 

[JMartJr]

i'm going with photoshopped. because of the 1 frame vs video, the camera? she seems to be holding (dangling) and the weight she didnt have on passing away.

Possibly, but I dont see anything that is not consistent with just a frame of video showing a lady walking in front of a security camera. That would be even easier than doing it in photoshop. Plus if it was shopped, I'd think they'd add something ghostly to it... make her transparent, or hovering above the patio floor, or give her a ghostly glowing aura-- ANYTHING to make it look like a ghost instead of just a person. Because that just looks like a person.

 

[JMartJr]

Or maybe the thing in her/his/its hand is a retractable dog lead:

It has that look, but if so Ghost is holding it by the lead rather than by the handle, not impossible but an odd way to do it. Plus at that much digital zoom we're getting pretty artifact-y, where details get added and shapes distorted. I'd be hesitant to say more than "Ghost has something dark possibly dangling below the left hand."

 

[Rory]

I'd be hesitant to say more than "Ghost has something dark possibly dangling below the left hand."

You are wiser than I am. I'm going to stake everything I own on it being one of these:

 

[deirdre]

Possibly, but I dont see anything that is not consistent with just a frame of video showing a lady walking in front of a security camera. That would be even easier than doing it in photoshop. Plus if it was shopped, I'd think they'd add something ghostly to it... make her transparent, or hovering above the patio floor, or give her a ghostly glowing aura-- ANYTHING to make it look like a ghost instead of just a person. Because that just looks like a person.

i was thinking more just the time stamp.

but actually now that i look at the dangly thing again.. im not sure that is her stomach. she could be carrying something. i dont think its a pillow per se, but if you picture her carying this pillow you'd get about the same look in grainy old footage.

 

[NoParty]

Well, IMHO everything about this one reeks! From a stated desire for it to be supernatural,
to the sketchy "chain of custody," easily faked timestamp, single mysterious frame
and lack of corroboration from the 3 or 4 other cams. I guess what got my
spidey senses tingling most though, was the assertion that the fuzzy clump of pixels
at the top was supposed to be a recognizable representation of "Nancy," as evidenced by
pictures that in no way resemble the gray blob...but
"Trust us: If you knew Nancy like we knew Nancy, you'd agree that that clump is Nancy's head!"

 

[deirdre]

Or a dog like this one maybe:

View attachment 49893

i'm nixng the photoshop timestamp and going with runaway doggie,, cause cute cute cute!

 

[johne1618]

I'm presuming it repeats because JohnE compiled a list of their replies, not that it's one long comment. But John can confirm on that one.

I just compiled a list of replies by the original Reddit poster to other users. That's why the information is repeated.

 

[jarlrmai]

Something about the way the date/time noise looks compared to the general noise on the image is making me wonder if it was overlayed later or if this is just the way the camera adds it, they also line up exactly with the macro blocking of the compressed image. Possibly indicating it as added then recompressed.

This is also an black and white image apart from in and around the date time where there are sections of teal and red coloured pixels, ie pixels with hue and saturation values rather than brightness value, these pixels only show up in/around the date/time. Again possibly indicating an image edited with a full colour palette application. But we'd need to see other images from the same device to compare.

Additionally the zoomed in images on the original reddit, have a lot more detail and less bad compression indicating there is a higher quality version of the image somewhere.

 

[jarlrmai]

The text is also an exact height match for size 14 text size in Adobe Photoshop.

I also looked at the post history of the OP and they do a lot of drone photography and video meaning they likely have image editing skills and software.

They would also, with a genuine image be likely to understand posting the originals would matter and you can see from the other edits they posted in the OP on Reddit they have done some selection/cropping in some tool.

 

[jarlrmai]

It's one of those, until they show is the unadulterated image from the device with some other example images I have my doubts.

 

[JMartJr]

It's one of those, until they show is the unadulterated image from the device with some other example images I have my doubts.

It may well be faked, Jarlrmai's two immediately preceding posts are very interesting. I'm not as impressed by the differing noise around the date, but the color showing up there, and the matching font size, is at the very least pretty suggestive. Still, what would be the point of faking the timestamp? What does the timestamp prove in terms of ghostliness?

But I'm not sure what the point of faking this image would even be. Nothing about it needs to be faked. It shows somebody walking in front of a security camera. She(?) is not ghostly, transparent, hovering, or doing anything else that suggests "ghost" instead of "person." There is nothing to be debunked in the image as it is in no way supernatural looking, beyond the alleged claim of somebodty that the person looks like her mother-in-law, Nancy. Maybe she does, though you can;t see the "ghost's" face clearly so I'm not sure how anybody can tell who she looks like. But that's the only claim made, really. I would be comfortable accepting that the person in the picture looks something like Nancy. OK. And?

This is a nothingburger.

 

[jarlrmai]

It may well be faked, Jarlrmai's two immediately preceding posts are very interesting. I'm not as impressed by the differing noise around the date, but the color showing up there, and the matching font size, is at the very least pretty suggestive. Still, what would be the point of faking the timestamp? What does the timestamp prove in terms of ghostliness?

But I'm not sure what the point of faking this image would even be. Nothing about it needs to be faked. It shows somebody walking in front of a security camera. She(?) is not ghostly, transparent, hovering, or doing anything else that suggests "ghost" instead of "person." There is nothing to be debunked in the image as it is in no way supernatural looking, beyond the alleged claim of somebodty that the person looks like her mother-in-law, Nancy. Maybe she does, though you can;t see the "ghost's" face clearly so I'm not sure how anybody can tell who she looks like. But that's the only claim made, really. I would be comfortable accepting that the person in the picture looks something like Nancy. OK. And?

This is a nothingburger.

I agree I didn't really think the timestamp was fabricated as it makes no sense. But when I looked at it in detail (just to check that claim out) there are some oddities.

Thinking about it more, it's claimed this is a still photo from a camera setup to take still images, lets say it's actually a frame from a video that otherwise shows some very normal behaviour and is being misrepresented.

It is 16:9 aspect which is generally a video resolution, but without knowing the specific device it's hard to verify anything.

 

[Rory]

One of my first thoughts was that the timestamp font looked iffy and that maybe it was a genuine (old) picture of 'Nancy' with the top cropped off and a newer timestamp added.

That would be a lot of years to wait though. Probably even more likely is it's some other more recent picture not of 'Nancy' at all.

Aspect ratio would be the stumbling block there; but maybe they had the foresight to clip a little bit off the side too.

 

[Rory]

The text is also an exact height match for size 14 text size in Adobe Photoshop.

Is it only Arial Rounded MT Bold that matches or does plain old Arial fit as well?

 

[jarlrmai]

The font is not a match but the height is

 

[Rory]

Just confirmed that SCasie (the poster's) mother-in-law's mother did die in Arizona in December 2013 and that her name was Nancy. He seems like a straight-up chap probably not given to pranks that might upset his family if they found out about it.

Also found a property belonging to one of her sons that backs on to the desert, appears to have a sizeable rear patio, has a guest house, and has Nancy listed as a some-time resident.

Doesn't look like it would be too difficult to get into the yard. But there are barely any neighbours who might qualify as candidates.

 

[gabelewis]

I think she is photoshopped in.

The way the lens is stretching most objects in frame doesn't match the figure for my eye. I also think she is a weird size compared to the objects in the background. Maybe I'm not picturing it correctly, but if you imagine her walk towards that bar shelf just behind the pillar, it seems that she would be very tiny.

None of the shadows make sense to me, but I guess maybe Ghosts don't catch light like we do .

I think the pillar is part of the photoshop. It helps sell the proportions and might be covering up something from the original image.

A bit of a weird place for a random white pillar - it's unclear how it's connected to the ground.

There is what looks to be another support beam on the far right that doesn't match well to this one. Did the redditor post any day time pics of the patio?

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