It is not often that we get an easy analysis like this. Typically our analysis' take hours, as we sift through EXIF data, get background information on the photo, photographer, etc. This particular image happened to be sent to us by a tour group where a guest sent them the image claiming to capture a ghostly image while on a tour. The original image was cropped short and we were unable to conduct a thorough analysis, so our team requested more information and the original, un-cropped photo, if possible. We received a reply by the group with the new photograph and some basic background information.

(Original Image sent to PSIRO) - "It was around 8:30 pm, so it was dark, lit by street light...it was taken on an I Phone by a woman from Michigan...Thats all we know...63 guests were on the tour at the time of the photo, the photo was immediately shown to our tour guide, many witnesses to the photo came back confirming that they all had a good view of that small hill no one saw anything there.The photo was forwarded to another guests cell phone who finally uploaded the photo to our site. The original guest has yet to upload her photo..."

Immediately after reviewing the second photograph (pictured above) and reading that the photograph was taken with a camera phone, we started researching popular ghost creation applications. Frankly, we were not convinced that the photo was genuine. The contrast alone seemed out of context with the rest of the photograph. The image was darker than it should have been. The darkest areas are in the background, yet the figure was darkest in the foreground. It seemed odd. Knowing about the applications and how others have been duped by these same apps, we searched out the application images. Our first Google search turned up exactly what we were looking for, images and all.

FINAL ANALYSIS - Hoax or Faked