Episode 024 - Ghost Photography Part 1

Has a ghost ever been captured on film?

Thanks to everyone for their patience. I'm well into the production of the next two or three episodes, so hopefully, you won't have to wait long for episode 25!

In regards to the Brown Lady, I was very unclear in the exact order of events during Provand’s photographic session. The ghost was captured on the second of two photos (hence CVC Herbert’s later statements). I should have stated: ‘after one of the photos’, not ‘after one photo’.

Dr. Nandor Fodor, a well-educated man and well-regarded writer, was a particularly colorful character, known for several investigations into wild claims, the most whimsical of which is that of a talking mongoose named ‘Gef’ on the Isle of Man. Dr. Fodor is often noted as being either British and/or American (of Hungarian origin). I referred to him simply as American for no particular reason. Also, I have a bad tendency to mispronounce the man’s name. His last name should sound like ‘foe-door’, with two long vowels, not ‘fodder’ as I repeatedly stated.

While on the subject of colorful characters, I should mention Sir Victor Goddard, one of the great aviators of British (and world) history, was a man full of paranormal tales, such as passing through a time warp during a flight over the English countryside to catch a fleeting glimpse of the future. Understandably, this may cast doubt about the reliability of his opinions.

Also, despite its ubiquitous nature, the pedigree of the ‘Goddard’s Squadron’ photo is stupefyingly hard to confirm. As stated, the photo may have been taken at Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), but there is a great deal of evidence that it was taken at Cranwell. At the time, Lee-on-Solent was commanded by Squadron Commander Douglas Evill, and Cranwell was overseen by Longcraft. To make matters worse, Longcraft was only appointed to the Cranwell position in early November 1919, which would make sense if the photo was taken around Armistice Day of 1919 (the interpretation which I favor). It is important to realize that the phrase ‘at the time of Armistice’ does not necessarily mean November 11th, 1918 any more than ‘at the time of Christmas’ means December 25th, A.D. 0.

As always, I don’t claim any of the information I present is unassailable, though I have made my usual concerted effort to present facts accurately. Feel free to correct any of my assertions in the comments.

Blake Smith has written a pair of very good articles on Goddard’s Squadron (the accompanying comment sections are very informative as well):

https://www.skeptic.com/insight/should-goddards-squadron-drop-dead-fred/
https://www.skeptic.com/insight/new-facts-concerning-goddard-squadron-photo/

Here is a very good book about hauntings in general (with an extensive section on the Brown Lady):

https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Natural-History-Years-Searching/dp/1250076099/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2T3OGS7RK7LML&keywords=roger+clarke+ghosts+true+stories&qid=1661379848&sprefix=roger+clarke+ghosts+true+stories%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-1

And an excellent collection of scientifically-oriented essays on the subject:

https://www.amazon.com/Hauntings-Poltergeists-Multidisciplinary-James-Houran/dp/0786432497/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3VSILU3IE1GJK&keywords=hauntings+and+poltergeists&qid=1661380027&sprefix=Hauntings+and+Po%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1

I hope you all enjoy and bid you all good health and happiness.

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