Fact or Faked Paranormal Files: Ghostwriter

Fact or Faked Paranormal Files took on the challenge of debunking the famous Ghost Writer images on their July 29^th episode. John Hucket, a homeowner from California invites Fact or Fiction to investigate the strange appearance of words in photographs taken in his home. It is thought that these ghostwriter images are created by a spirit or ghost in an attempt to communicate with the living.

First Ghostwriter Images Appear

According to John, the first image appeared on Christmas 1991. He explains that he had felt a presence in the home since moving there in 1990. When his father gave him a Polaroid camera for Christmas in 1991, he thought it would be a good idea to see if he could capture the ghost on camera.

While he was sitting and relaxing, the bathroom door mysteriously opened on its own. John took a shot of the area and the picture came out normal with no signs of paranormal entities. He then closed the door, but was surprised when it opened on its own again. He again took a picture of the area, but this time strange lights appeared in the photo.

John's Friends Communicate with the Ghostwriter

After several attempt to determine why the images appeared, John invited friends over to show them what he had captured. One of his friends asked if the ghost was still present and shot a picture to see if he could capture anything.

The picture contained blotches of light that they later discovered spelled out the word "YES". When the visitors asked the ghost what his name was and then took a picture, the image of the name "Wright" appeared. When the guests pursued with further questioning and asked if he was a good ghost or a bad ghost, the words "FRIEND" are reported to have appeared in the photo. When asked if it was difficult to communicate with them, the spirit responded with "takes a dead lift".

Psychic Explains Spirit Vortex and Portal

John goes on to explain that a psychic had informed him that there was dead body located under the house. He claims the area over the body is a vortex or portal to the spirit world. The area is located in front of the bathroom door. He claims entities enter via this portal, zoom across the room and exit by the stove.

Fact or Faked Team Attempt to Debunk Ghostwriter Images

The Fact or Faked Team attempted to take photos of the area with a Polaroid camera. None of the photos revealed anything unusual. At this point, they decided to explore the possibility that John and his friend's film had been altered prior to taking pictures.

Fact or Faked Pre-exposes the Film

The team painted clear acetate black and scratched words into the acetate to remove the paint in the letters. They then opened new film, in a makeshift dark room, and placed the acetate with the words scratched into it over the film. Holding the acetate onto the film, the team then used the flash to another camera to expose the acetate and film to light. The film was then fed back into the Polaroid cartridge. The cartridge was then loaded into the camera and attempts were made to photograph the spirit portal.

Fact or Faked Declares Ghostwriter Case Inconclusive

The resulting photos revealed both the scratched words and light anomalies that could not be explained. The team declared the experiment inconclusive, as they could not explain the appearance of light in other areas of the photos.

An Explanation for the Light Anomalies?

I was a bit disappointed that they did not repeat the experiment. It seems obvious to me that the light anomalies were the result of stray light that exposed the film during the debunking exercise.

At one point in the video, Chi-Lan appears to hold the acetate over the film with one hand as it is exposed by the light of a camera flash. It seems that if the Fact or Faked team were serious about debunking the ghostwriter pictures, they would have taken more care in preparing the film.

Personal Reactions

I, for one, am not convinced that the light anomalies in their photos are paranormal, and I have doubts about the whole Ghost Writer claims. Could it be real? Yes, I suppose it could be, but the skeptic in me senses it is highly unlikely.

This episode of Fact or Faked left me feeling a bit duped by the half-hearted attempts to debunk or verify paranormal claims. To gain viewer confidence, they will need to work a bit harder to produce quality work for the show. Putting viewers in the position to questions their procedures, and ultimately their results, does little to build confidence in Fact or Faked's ability to take on the task of debunking the paranormal.