Remember “Demi Lovato And The Case Of The Creepy Floating Ghost Head” (a.k.a. what is sure to be the next “Nancy Drew” smash)?
Well, we’ve got some more fuel to add to the ghostly fire in the form of expert analysis — courtesy of Timothy Davis, director of Center for Paranormal Investigation Association.
To back up for those not familiar with the tale: A photo has been making the round on Twitter featuring Demi Lovato sporting a lovely, shiny jacket — which a creepy-eyed ghost appears to be checking out covetously.
Lovato has had her share of ghostly encounters in the past — her house is haunted by a child-ghost (a.k.a. the scariest brand of ghost) named Emily — so the fact that one could be following her around didn’t seem that far-fetched. (Well, depending on how you feel about ghosts).
One expert we spoke to — although skeptical of the validity of the photo — even speculated that Lovato’s messing with the dead could have prompted them to follow her.
Still, when Davis took a look at the snap, he wasn’t wholly convinced. “My opinion is that it is very a compelling photo, but without a better quality photo or more evidence, it doesn’t appear to be supernatural to me,” he told MTV News, adding, “I am leaning toward thinking that the face could be caused by the ‘perfect’ combination of a few random factors.”
“Which random factors?” you may ask. Allow him to explicate:
Sensor Noise: “This photo looks like it was taken with a cameraphone or lower-quality camera in a rather poorly lit space. Camera sensors will try to make patterns in dark areas to reduce the amount of information space needed when saving the photo to memory; this is called ‘compression.’ On lower quality sensors, this compression can lead to weird blotches appearing on solid colored areas, or where there is a dark area.”
Lens Flares/Back-Scatter: “There are a few very bright areas on the photo, which can cause a lens flare on the camera sensor, which is literally just the reflection of the original image bouncing off of the back of the camera lens and hitting the sensor again.
“If you look at the ‘eyes’ of the face, it would appear that there are not two but three bright dots hovering in mid-air next to her. Comparing the distance and layout of the dots, it appears that those dots could be lens back-scatter from her bejeweled jacket. The spacing and layout of the reflections seem to match.”
Sensory Matrixing: “This is a psychological phenomena where people try to make sense of random patterns. Your mind does it without you realizing it because it is so important to our survival as a species, and as a result of evolution, we have become great at picking out faces specifically.”
What do you think? Is the ghost legit — or do Davis’ random factors add up?
Brenna Ehrlich
Brenna Ehrlich is a reporter for MTV News as well as the senior writer/editor for the O Music Awards. In the past, she served as associate editor at Mashable, penned a netiquette column for CNN and co-authored the blog and book “Stuff Hipsters Hate.” She likes trying not to die in moshpits and listening to songs on repeat. Follow her on Twitter @BrennaEhrlich for news on cats and punk bands.
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