Compelling evidence of the paranormal is extremely hard to come by. Most evidence falls into one of two categories: way too good to ever be true, or so vague/faint/fuzzy that nobody can rally even identify it. The “too good to be true” variety is usually the work of clever (or sometimes not so clever) hoaxers. And more often than not, we are dealing with the other category, blobsquatches and smudges of light or whatnot. These can sometimes be interesting, but are not in any way compelling, at least to critical thinkers. If there is no detail, or if a red circle needs to draw someone’s attention to something, or audio enhancement software is used so that others can hear the alleged EVP, it can’t be considered paranormal. Interesting, sure. But nothing beyond that. I came across this story, and while the video is interesting to me, I have a few theories on what it might be, other than paranormal. Honestly though, after watching the video, I’m not sure how anyone can say this is Queen Elizabeth I, much be certain that it’s even a woman. There is absolutely zero detail in the figure, and bears no resemblance to a human being, other than being somewhat vertically oblong. But check out the video, read the story, and check out my thoughts below, and let me know what you think.
The exceedingly rare Yellow Circle of Paranormal Certainty
A ghost hunter says he caught the spirit of Queen Elizabeth I on camera at a stately home – 600 years after she secretly stayed there.
Steve Wesson, 44, visited Strelley Hall near Nottingham during an investigation with UK Ghost Hunts in the hope of snapping a spook.
However, the paranormal event company co-founder got more than he bargained for when he unwittingly filmed what he thinks could be the Virgin Queen silently hovering in a cellar archway.
The video posted on YouTube shows a translucent figure appear for 10 seconds before vanishing into thin air.
Dad-of-one Steve has since returned to where he believes the Tudor monarch appeared and claims to have possibly caught her on camera a second time.
Steve, from Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, said: “There is nothing plausible that it could be apart from an apparition.
“There was no one around, I just can’t explain it.
“I have been through so many hours of footage and never seen anything like that before – it’s just amazing.
“Apparently Queen Elizabeth I slept above where this was taken as that’s where the old rooms were.
“No one ever talked about it as for some reason she wasn’t supposed to be there – it was all a bit hush hush – some sort of secret.”
Fascinated by the footage, Steve returned to the spot last week and claims to have caught Her Majesty on camera again.
Steve said: “I stood in the archway where the figure was after taking the picture and there was nothing there. I don’t know if it’s Queen Elizabeth I but it would be really cool if it was.”
UK Ghost Hunts lead investigator Vicky Grant said: “I think the figure looks like a female as when you look closely it’s almost like a flowing dress.”
Steve said: “I remember it clearly popping up, it just appeared for a few seconds and then disappeared.
“It’s just amazing – for something to just appear and disappear for no reason is quite shocking.
“There are times when you still get freaked out and squeal like a girl but I usually have a bit of an explanation, however, this one still makes me shiver.
“I was excited as well as being freaked out – I was over the moon.
“You hear the stories about these sort of things but it’s so hard to get them on camera.
“You can run cameras for so long and get nothing but to come across something that can’t be explained is just incredible.”
The team visited the hall on October 31, 2015 and returned the day after in a bid to find an explanation for the figure on screen.
Steve said: “We went back to the exact spot under the archway where the figure was seen to manifest and we tried to debunk it by trying different light settings to create shadows.
“We even tried to experiment with a real person but the figure was too whole and you could clearly see it was a person.
“We were overjoyed at our capture, something like this is extremely rare in the paranormal community and we feel very privileged that we captured this amazing piece of evidence.
“This will forever be one of our greatest captures.”
As far as I’m concerned, there are a few explanations we can come to here to explain this, before ever getting to the “It’s the ghost of a famous monarch” one. First of all, any video or photographic evidence must be examined for fakery. This could be a hoax. Honestly, unless I know the paranormal team personally, I always have to consider hoaxing. Too many groups out there want the publicity, to make a name for themselves, or just to make other believe what they believe. So for me, it always has to be considered a possibility. The second possible explanation, and this is what I personally feel we are seeing here, is that this is simply a matter of these low-resolution night vision cameras trying to compensate for the light/dark contrast, which these types of cameras have a habit of doing. I’ve worked with these cameras for many years, and have recorded many things just like this, which at first made us do a double-take and say, “Wait, what was THAT?” But on closer inspection, we could see that it was just the camera trying to resolve the lighting issues. And again, I think that’s what we’re seeing here. The investigators who captured this obviously see something more, and that’s a normal psychological reaction: sometimes, we see what we want to see. But try as I might, I could not see any “flowing dress.” I could not see arms or legs or a head. It’s a fuzzy, amorphous blob, which doesn’t show any human characteristics. This could be the ghost of a horse or a bull or Bigfoot, for all I know. Of course, it’s entirely possible that this is, in fact, something paranormal. But I think that’s extremely unlikely.
I understand this team’s enthusiasm over capturing something on film. But as paranormal investigators, we all have a duty to think critically and responsibly regarding any of our findings. If there was no information regarding this video, yes, people would have noticed a white fog-like thing appear and disappear. But would people see a man or a woman? Something else? Would anyone ever even claim that it was Queen Elizabeth I? The power of suggestion is strong. Investigate a place where Queen Elizabeth I once resided, and any evidence you get must be her, right? It couldn’t be anyone who lived there prior? Or in the 600 years since? It reminds me of past life regression, where everyone was a king, or a queen, or Napoleon. Nobody was ever just a farmer, or a factory worker, or a front-line soldier in a war. This video is interesting, but unfortunately, I’m pretty sure this is just a quirk of the camera.
