The camera exposure was at least an hour long. Could someone have slipped into the chair and then left to have recorded the ghostly image? Or, is it actually the ghost of Lord Combermere?
In 1891, this ghost picture was taken in Combermere Abbey Library by Ms. Sybell Corbet. Many claim that the see-through man sitting on the chair is the Lord Combermere himself, a distinguished cavalry commander of the 1800s. He was killed in 1891 when run over by a horse-drawn carriage and the funeral was underway at another location when this photograph was captured. Also, see a close-up and enhanced version here: 1891 Ghost Picture
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Test photo taken by the Society for Psychical Research...
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1895 research report from the Society for Psychical Research...
The camera exposure was at least an hour long. Could someone have slipped into the chair and then left to have recorded the ghostly image? Or, is it actually the ghost of Lord Combermere?
Like this ghost photo taken with lengthened exposure, we have received several apparition photos that were captured through use of lengthened exposure. Using a tripod is the best way to use this method to photograph ghosts. [Note: Be sure that no one walks into frame during your shots.]
Learn more about this type of ghost photography of apparitions: Slow Shutter Speed Apparitions
Investigation into the Lord Combermere Ghost Picture by the Society for Psychical Research
Sybell Corbet was staying at Combermere Hall with her sister and took the photo sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 PM on December 5th, 1891. It was notably a 60 minute long exposure, and Miss Corbet gave written testimony that no one was with her in the library where the ghost photograph was taken. Notably, this male figure was captured, inadvertently, and at the same time Lord Combermere's funeral was occurring.
According the the Society for Psychical Research who investigated the mysterious photograph, Miss Corbet stated the photgraphic plate had not been pre-exposed nor could there have been any chance of it being double-exposure as the plate was from a new, unused stack (and she didn't photograph people except, maybe, in the far distance of a landscape). However, she was not in the room the entire time the plate was exposed, and the doors to the room were unlocked. The four men who were in the house, at the time, were beardless and much younger than the man in the photo, however.
Interesting half of the people who knew Lord Combermere believe the apparition to be him while the other half do not. The half-bodied man in the picture was not discovered by Miss Corbet until August of the next year when the plate was developed. She never claimed it to be a ghost as she, too, agreed that there was no way to prove that someone didn't enter the library while it was being captured. She did note that she thought the figure does not show an old man with a beard, and there is something around the neck that might also have contributed to some believing it to be Lord Combermere.
An experimental photograph (seen above) made by Professor Barrett and Mr. Gordon Salt who investigated the Lord Combermere picture for the Society for Psychical Research in 1895 may provide answers as it closely resembles the original "half-man." This could prove that the spirit photograph was accidentally caused by someone who walked in the room and sat down temporarily.