Providence Hotel Ghost

[SharpEye]

Bit of an older video but still one that I'm puzzled by. A man records a light flicking off and on in his hotel room, before it eventually starts to swing continuously on its own without stopping. I thought it was string at first but it doesn't appear to reflect off the light when it goes on and off. I also don't see any cuts in the video. Is there another way for the light to move like that without stopping? What do you guys think?


Source: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=830fKjMIBYw

 

[Calter]

I'd reckon if you give that thing a push then it will swing for a decent amount of time. Given the way the dude operates the camera, it's very possible that there's someone else in the room that's just moving around to not be seen.

 

[SharpEye]

I'd reckon if you give that thing a push then it will swing for a decent amount of time. Given the way the dude operates the camera, it's very possible that there's someone else in the room that's just moving around to not be seen.

The only problem is that it doesn't seem to be slowing down, which is what you would expect if someone was swinging it.

 

[Calter]

It depends on the friction the lamp has with the pivot, it would be easier to measure if the dude could stay still for a minute but it's hard to tell if it's slowing down or not. I can imagine a pendulum lasting around a minute without someone being able to tell the arc got smaller just by sight, especially if there's no constant frame of reference.

 

[JMartJr]

A man records a light flicking off and on in his hotel room, before it eventually starts to swing continuously on its own without stopping. I thought it was string at first but it doesn't appear to reflect off the light when it goes on and off. I also don't see any cuts in the video. Is there another way for the light to move like that without stopping? What do you guys think?

I think he walks up directly under the light, and, as he turns to walk away at 0:53, he reches up and gives it a little push to get it swinging.

it's very possible that there's someone else in the room that's just moving around to not be seen.

This is also possible.

The only problem is that it doesn't seem to be slowing down,

I disagree, it seems to be swinging MUCH less at 2:00 than it was at 1:17

 

[Ann K]

It's a thing that's very easily faked, so that would be my first guess. Another person in the room with him only has to stay behind him when he pans the camera around, then can flick the light switch or set the light swinging.

 

[SharpEye]

I think he walks up directly under the light, and, as he turns to walk away at 0:53, he reches up and gives it a little push to get it swinging.



This is also possible.



I disagree, it seems to be swinging MUCH less at 2:00 than it was at 1:17

I don't see it swinging less personally, though I guess the angle makes it hard to determine. Could the friction of the pendulum be decreasing as the light's swinging?

 

[Mendel]

Reminder about pendulum physics:
The frequency of a pendulum is fixed, that's how grandfather clocks work.
As the pendulum runs down, the amplitude gets less, i.e. each swing still takes the same time, but is less wide than before.

 

[SharpEye]

Reminder about pendulum physics:
The frequency of a pendulum is fixed, that's how grandfather clocks work.
As the pendulum runs down, the amplitude gets less, i.e. each swing still takes the same time, but is less wide than before.

Thank you! I guess I'm not seeing the swinging get narrower throughout the video, though the changing angle makes it hard to tell. What do you guys see?

 

[John J.]

I'm not saying it's a hoax.
But it would be really easy to pull off a hoax showing exactly the same stuff, particularly if you had help.

(1) Assistant flips the light switch. Quickly and quietly moves behind the filming guy- has approx. 6-7 seconds to do this (from 00:46 to 00:53), maybe 5 or 6 steps.

(2) Note the light starts swinging off-camera. The assistant stays while film guy moves to film hallway light switch, bathroom, bedroom. Assistant gives the light a good nudge.

(3) Assistant hides- I couldn't see any obvious hiding places. Maybe gets back behind film guy- difficult because of confined space and bathroom mirror, but if it's a hoax, they can make as many attempts as they like until they get a good outcome.

Or assistant could be crouched on floor between hallway light switch and bathroom door, perhaps to the right of film guy as he moves back towards main room (approx. 01:13 to 01:16), so on floor near the wall opposite the bathroom. I think there's enough of a blind spot.

Another option might be an assistant in the room above gets access to the light's power cord.
Genuine question: Surely not all US light switches are "off" when down? My (UK) hallway and living room each have light switches at two locations, so e.g. push a switch up for "on", if the other is in the down position, flip it up and the lights go off.

Anyway, easy (if irresponsible) to temporarily re-wire the light switch so light is on when switch is in down position, and cut one of the leads to the light if you can lift the floorboards. And a pull on the power cable (being careful to avoid any wiring you've left exposed) might be enough to get the light swinging.

There is a Wikipedia article on what I think might be this hotel, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_Biltmore.
It's been used in several films/ TV dramas (including a supernatural themed one, NOS4A2) so I wondered if the YouTube vid might be a bit of viral (and possibly unofficial) marketing, but if it was uploaded in 2014 it doesn't match with the NOS4A2 timeframe (S2, E6, The Hourglass, first aired 2020).

 

[JMartJr]

Thank you! I guess I'm not seeing the swinging get narrower throughout the video, though the changing angle makes it hard to tell. What do you guys see?

To clarify, it seems to me to be swinging through a much smaller arc as the video progresses -- of course at the same frequency.

Edit to add: Which I'd expect whether a ghost, the camera operator or an assistant gave it the initial push. Whatever does the push at the beginning, it will thereafter swing less and less until it stops again. Unless the hypothesis is that the ghost is still pushing it back and forth, rather than it swinging like a pendulum?

 

[Calter]

Maybe it's just my eyes playing tricks on me, but to me the lamp starts off swinging in a more circular pattern and then it stabilizes quickly on one axis (due to how it's attached to the pivot), which could serve as an indication that it is indeed slowing down. But it could also just always be swinging the same way and I'm wrong about the circular motion.

 

[SharpEye]

To clarify, it seems to me to be swinging through a much smaller arc as the video progresses -- of course at the same frequency.

Edit to add: Which I'd expect whether a ghost, the camera operator or an assistant gave it the initial push. Whatever does the push at the beginning, it will thereafter swing less and less until it stops again. Unless the hypothesis is that the ghost is still pushing it back and forth, rather than it swinging like a pendulum?

It's definitely hard to make out due to the changing angle of viewing. Is it possible that the larger weight of the light gives it more momentum?

 

[SharpEye]

Maybe it's just my eyes playing tricks on me, but to me the lamp starts off swinging in a more circular pattern and then it stabilizes quickly on one axis (due to how it's attached to the pivot), which could serve as an indication that it is indeed slowing down. But it could also just always be swinging the same way and I'm wrong about the circular motion.

I noticed the same thing, it seems to be circular at first before turning to a side by side motion.

 

[Trailblazer]

Also the light seems to only flash when the camera is pointing right at it - or at least there is no noticeable change in the illumination of the room when he is talking to camera.

 

[Ravi]

Yeah, probably he has a hiding girlfriend (double bed room). It is late in the evening (pitch dark out) and obviously bored to death, so there you go.
Compulsory explanation that it cannot be explained included.

 

[JMartJr]

to me the lamp starts off swinging in a more circular pattern and then it stabilizes quickly on one axis (due to how it's attached to the pivot),

I think this. The last link of chain would go through a loop, the plane of the loop would make winging easier in one way than the other, dampening a circular sway into a planar back-and-forth -- and also burning off energy, leading to a less extreme swing.

 

[SharpEye]

I think this. The last link of chain would go through a loop, the plane of the loop would make winging easier in one way than the other, dampening a circular sway into a planar back-and-forth -- and also burning off energy, leading to a less extreme swing.

I concur, it seems to be transitioning to another form of motion. I'm still a bit perplexed at the (seemingly) constant width of the swinging. Could it maintain that motion for that long due to the weight of the light?

 

[Ann K]

Could it maintain that motion for that long due to the weight of the light?

There is only the friction of one chain link against another to slow it down, and with a heavy glass globe, the lamp would have considerable inertia. I think it would swing for a reasonably long time.

 

[JMartJr]

There is only the friction of one chain link against another to slow it down

And with the air. It is also conceivable, maybe, that the stiffness of the electrical wires are a factor... with one more conditional maybe!

 

[NorCal Dave]

Thank you! I guess I'm not seeing the swinging get narrower throughout the video, though the changing angle makes it hard to tell. What do you guys see?

I think the light is clearly swinging a bit less as time goes on. If it continued to swing by itself, he should have/could have continued filming it. He stops, likely because the light is stopping.

I suspect he or someone else are flicking the switch, but it does look like an old switch, and I've replaced switches like that before. Sometimes they get stuck in the on or off position and sometimes they kinda short out causing the lights to flicker. So, it's possible the switch is malfunctioning.

Note from his channel, in the last few years he seems to clock 300-500 views give or take, but his 2 ghosts at the Biltmore videos got several thousand:

As in the lamp video, he captures the slamming door in the same room on cue. In neither video does he mention the other occurrences, lamp flickering or door slamming even though it looks like it was done at the same time.

 

[JMartJr]

I suspect he or someone else are flicking the switch, but it does look like an old switch, and I've replaced switches like that before. Sometimes they get stuck in the on or off position and sometimes they kinda short out causing the lights to flicker. So, it's possible the switch is malfunctioning.

Possibly the flickering light inspired using the lamp as being the object with which the ghost could be claimed to be interacting.

 

[kasparovitch]

It's quite interesting how confident the guy is that the light will keep flickering and swinging after his long introduction. One could think that thing would be permanent, but he said it had started some 3 minutes before. Also interesting, the light starts flickering at the exact time guy heads camera to light.

 

[John J.]

I'm still a bit perplexed at the (seemingly) constant width of the swinging.

The guy doing the filming doesn't make any claim that the swinging continued for an unexpectedly long time, so we haven't got any reason to think it did.

 

[jarlrmai]

I concur, it seems to be transitioning to another form of motion. I'm still a bit perplexed at the (seemingly) constant width of the swinging. Could it maintain that motion for that long due to the weight of the light?

You should read up on the physics of pendulums.

 

[Mendel]

You should read up on the physics of pendulums.

What would I find if I did?
(In other words, I don't know what point you're trying to make.)

 

[jarlrmai]

What would I find if I did?
(In other words, I don't know what point you're trying to make.)

They cannot understand why the swinging is so consistent, but this is a feature of pendulum mechanisms.

And ideal pendulum will swing at a constant amplitude, of course as pointed out in real life they are subject to amplitude loss due to internal friction and air resistance, however this is often not noticeable over a short period time as seen in the video

 

[Scaramanga]

Is there another way for the light to move like that without stopping? What do you guys think?

Hmm. Just at the ' I don't know how it is doing this' bit at 1:14 to 1:17 there is a sudden low rumbling sound that wasn't there before. Sounds like possibly a fan, or the air conditioning.

 

[kasparovitch]

On the slamming door video, with a frequency of once every 6th minute, guy did a poor capture inside WC as he rushed to a close-up angle of the bathtub instead of a wide 270º angle or something to demonstrate there was no one inside BARD. It's really a pity especially because the guy claims so many times there was no one else inside the room. Given this case is unconnected to the flickering swinging lamp (no mundane Occam's explanation might work for both), this is definitively a case for Ghostbusters.

 

[Mendel]

no mundane Occam's explanation might work for both

what's wrong with "it's a hoax, and he had a helper", except that it wouldn't satisfy the guy himself if it's not true?

 

[kasparovitch]

No problem at all with a hoax. The guy did this for amusement only. So, we're having fun. Indeed, this is pure hoax in that any person might reproduce it without any effort.