“Whenever someone asks if I believe in ghosts, I instantly shout ‘YES’ because one time I had the most bizarre experience that convinced me that there are, in fact, spirits existing amongst the living. Most of my friends think I am crazy and hardly believe this story but I am going to tell it to you anyways.”

“So when I was 15, my family moved in to a new, smaller home on a creepy street in New Jersey. My dad lost his job so we had to downsize big time. The house gave off a haunted vibe but I swallowed my pride and acted content with our new place. The previous owners had cleared their things from the house but decided to leave a single painting hanging above the fireplace. Of course this painting was an outdated portrait of an old couple; both the woman and man depicted in the painting looked pretty creepy and somber. My brother and I were not fans of the portrait and demanded that our parents find a replacement for it. They laughed at us because we were so freaked out by it but they agreed.”

“Before they even had the chance to take down the painting, I experienced some really freaky paranormal activity in my new home and I am convinced that painting has everything to do with it. I had just gotten a new phone so my little brother begged me to play with it before he went to sleep. I handed him my phone and went in my room to watch some Netflix. In the middle of the night, around 4 AM, I realized that my brother still had my phone so I went in his room to grab it. I was shocked to see that neither my brother or my phone were in my room, so I walked in to the living room.”

“My brother, who almost always sleeps through the night in his own bed, was sprawled out on the floor in the living room sleeping right under the painting. I picked up my phone, woke up my brother, and put him back in to his own bed. When I got in to my own bed to go to sleep, I decided to check out my phone and see if my brother had done any damage. When I opened up my photos, there were about fifteen new photos on the camera roll. They were photos of my brother sleeping, above the painting, with the shadow of an old woman in the corner, taking the photo. I jumped up, went in to my parents room, and asked them if they had taken the photos. ‘Honey, no. I’ve been asleep since 11! You must have done it in your sleep’ my mom told me. I know for a fact that I did not do this in my sleep. I’ve never slept walked in my life and I am also a light sleeper! My parents took the painting down shortly after but the event was so weird that I looked in to it further. Turns out that the painting was 100 years old and depicted the faces of two serial killers. Try telling me that’s not a coincidence!!!”

My Interpretation of the story:
I have heard many ghost stories throughout my life and this one seems to be the most fascinating to me. There are many aspects to a ghost story that can help support the idea that it is true. In this story, there is photo evidence of a shadow that is thought of to be the ghost. In many myths and tales, ghosts are thought to be invisible to the naked eye, but sometimes can generate shadows. This story seems like a classic case of a shadow ghost. In addition, all other events leading up to the photos support the idea that there was actually a ghost haunting this house. The house contains many aspects of something that could be haunted. It was originally owned by someone else, therefor it has a history beyond this specific family. The fact that the painting depicts serial killers from over 100 years ago enforces the mystery of this story and gives it some sense of truth, noting that it could be possible that this painting is the link between the weird stuff that had been happening in the house.