Ghost World

Do you believe in ghosts? Maybe, like me, you find the idea fascinating, but there’s that whole science thing and the need for evidence bringing you down. If so, you might want to join author and paranormal researcher J. Allan Danelek’s Spirit Photography class at Colorado Free University today. The course promises a balanced and skeptical look at the practice of spirit photography, or capturing pictures — as well as other impressions, such as electronic voice phenomena — of ghosts by film, video or digital image. Danelek says it will help people understand what exactly they’re looking at — and how they can be fooled — when they look at alleged ghost photos.

“We’re going to look at some of the more famous hoax photos out there and determine how to figure if a photo is a hoax,” he explains. “It’s to make the consumer more savvy about how photography works and what kind of anomalies you can pick up pretty easily without realizing it and how to tell those from genuine spirit photos.” The class will include a demonstration of how hoaxers use Photoshop to create convincing fakes, as well as photos Danelek considers to be authentic images of ghosts caught on film.

Spirit Photography runs from 1 to 3:30 p.m. today. Registration is $46 for non-members and $34 for members. And if you miss today’s session, another one will run on July 17. Danelek also offers a separate course on the basics of ghost hunting. To register or get more info, call CFU at 303-399-0093 or visit www.freeu.com or Danelek’s site at www.ourcuriousworld.com.
Sat., May 23, 2009