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Wakefield Roman ghost?

T

TheQuixote

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Click here - Wakefield Express - to see video footage of what may or may not be the ghost of a Roman soldier.


A GHOSTLY apparition which appeared on footage filmed by an amateur video club has left members mystified.

George Gunn, a member of Outwood Community Video, captured the mysterious figure while filming on a local footpath.
It was not until he got home to edit the footage that he noticed the figure, which he said seemed to resemble a roman soldier. Mr Gunn, 75, said: "It's too weird. I can't explain it.

"I wouldn't like to say whether it is a ghost or not.

"Some of the club members said it was a trick of the light but some thought it was definitely a ghost.
"
A lot of people have said it was flare from the sun. What I can't understand is that it was underneath branches.

"There was a terrible breeze at the time and if there was movement above and around it that should have shown up on the camera, which it didn't. [...]
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via The Anomalist


I'm not particularly sure that my first thoughts would be that it was Roman soldier-like. Anyone fancy speculating as to what may have caused the anomaly?
 
I don't think it is underneath the branches, it's a flare and he is facing the sun as well. Why was he filming that path anyway?
 
gncxx said:
Why was he filming that path anyway?
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Maybe he was filming the runners? They look like they may be taking part in some sort of event?
 
Could be. Or maybe he was roamin' about? Did you see what I did there?
 
Interesting how it fades a little more every time someone passes through it.
 
Also interesting how it changes with the strength of the sunlight.

My more observant Other Half reckons it could be moisture on the lens that disappears over time due to the sun and wind...
 
That was cool. :yeay:

The thing that seemed wierd to me (Appart from the shape that was deffinatly there, but didn't look like a Roman soilder to me.) was perspective.
When the figure first appears, it seems to me like it's standing on the edge of the pathway, facing outwards, a fair distance down from the camera man.
However, when people ran past that perspective was distored and the figure seem a lot closer and kind of hovering, if you see what I mean?
 
Wakefield Harriers is a well known running club, so I'd guess he set his camera to catch an advertised event.

Not sure what the 'ghost' is - doesn't look Roman, and doesn't seem to move at all. Only when the runners pass through it does it become clear that (if it is at the same distance from the camera) it's above human size.

Normal lens flares don't have so much structure to them. My first thought was some sort of smear on a lens shield, but not sure why it fades in and out. It could be the change in light level - in brighter sun, the aperture of a regular camera would stop down, giving a wider depth-of-field, thus sharpening the image of a smear near the lens.

Anyhow, more interesting than most ghost videos! 8)
 
I'd have to agree with everyone else. If he were moving around on patrol, then yea, we'd have a definite ghost. But the fact that whatever it is is motionless, and then fades when people run past, just says to me it's sunlight.

Dang shame though!
 
looks like a french maid with one leg, to me :D

it is also (if it's a physical object) somewhere around 7ft tall...
 
Roma soldier ghost?

'Soldier ghost' caught on camera

The group now plan to research the area's Roman history
A group of amateur film-makers believe they may have proof that ghosts really do exist after one of them caught something strange on camera.
George Gunn said he captured pictures of a ghostly apparition while out walking along a footpath in Outwood, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Mr Gunn, a member of Outwood Community Video Club, said he thought the figure looked like that of a Roman soldier.

He said he had heard tales of ghosts being seen in the area.

But he added: "I still don't believe in them."

'Something peculiar'

The apparition appears to be still in the footage, but fades momentarily as two people jog through it.

Mr Gunn did not notice the figure until he reviewed his film later in the day.

Mr Gunn said: "I've had the camera for quite a while now and I have never had any problems with lighting or sun glare or anything like that.

"There is something peculiar about it."

Mike Hooley, who is also a member of the video club, said: "George rang me up and said: 'Do you believe in ghosts?'

"I said 'no' and I still don't but when I saw the film I was quite amazed really."

Members of the video club are now planning to do their own research into whether there were any Roman settlements in the area.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/7029051.stm
 
Video here ~ http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/video ... 3373004.jp

(EDIT: Woops, didn't see this had already been posted - I should pay attention)

Fake as anything.

Why would anyone film an empty footpath? Madness.

Furthrmore, a tripod or some other mechanism was used to secure the camera. The ghost didn't move either. Clearly the person faking the video wasn't too experienced in the art of motion tracking or computer animation.
 
So does anyone else think 'Video club = video effects' and 'Roman = jogger in freeze frame' then?
 
My initial thought on reading the article was "video club = faked for publicity", then on seeing the footage my thought was "how on earth could anyone think THAT was a ghost?" How did they get from 'smudge on the lens' to 'roman soldier'? I just hope nobody tells them about orbs.
 
It looks superimposed to me. If it were sunlight it would still be moving about because of the trees shadows.
 
Ronson8 said:
Interesting how it fades a little more every time someone passes through it.
Click to expand...

Actually it gets brighter and fainter as the sunshine gets brighter and fainter. Just as you'd expect with lens flare. :)
 
Just another example of how good the human brain is at seeing patterns IMHO. It also seems to sway slightly as the wind blows the bushes doesn't it?
 
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