A few years ago, I set out to get the truth behind the shadow man photograph seen on SyFy’s Ghost Hunters back in 2006. What bothered me was that Polly’s story of how the event happened did not play a role in the recreation or “debunking” of her photograph. Looking at her photo, one has to admit that it is an incredible image. Could it be her own shadow? Could it be the product of photo editing software?
Many do not realize that the shadow man of Moundsville prison has been photographed at least a second time. This photograph was taken near the hallway where Polly had her experience: in the cafeteria. When compared, these shadow men are strikingly similar. See: Moundsville Ghost Picture.
My son and I worked with Polly on-site to try and produce a shadow that might have looked like the one in her famous photograph. We also listened to her story firsthand as she walked us through the incident on location. She had many details about the event, obviously something that she truly experienced. I also found Polly’s personality to be very down to earth, nice and not one who would be out to fool people. She took her ghost investigations serious.
Recently, I laid out my case in support of the Moundsville Shadow Man photograph. Polly Gear posted some more details about the incident and the Ghost Hunters episode on my Facebook page. Here are some excerpts:
“…the camera, CD, and photograph have been analyzed in a forensic photograpy lab. They found no tampering with any of the equipment and admitted the figure has mass to it.”
“I should also add that TAPS came to me to be on the show — I did not seek them out. I told them no but was continually harrassed by phone until I agreed…sound like a set up?”
To read about our examination of the debunk, visit this page: Moundsville Shadow Man Investigation.
