2015, March 11 (ca.): The Purple Dress

On March 11, 2015, the Irish Mirror website reported something odd that happened when Bethany Harvey, living somewhere in Northern Ireland, took a selfie and posted it to Snapchat to share with friends.

       Harvey was hanging out with her sister and nephew that day, and took a selfie of herself and the youngster... and, because her sister dove into the background of the shot last minute, Harvey titled it "Photo bombed!" before she shared it on Snapchat.

Harvey's Snapshot selfie. [Larger version here]

        It was only later that evening that Harvey realized something strange had happened, when a friend came by to visit and pointed out the person wearing the purple dress in the background of the shot, clearly visible between Harvey and her nephew.

        Harvey, her sister, and her nephew were the only people in the room at the time the shot was taken.

        In fact, for where they had posed, Harvey was sure that only the living room door should have been behind her and her nephew; not a person sitting, where there was nowhere to sit. When interviewed for the Irish Mirror article, Harvey stated that "a lot of creepy things have happened in the house," and that the living room especially bothers her. She doesn't enter it when its dark because she fears she might see something.

Things to Consider

        This story was first published on the Irish Mirror website, and the Irish Mirror -- any of the Mirror websites and papers, really -- is not the most reliable source for news. It needs to be noted, also, that their website includes a prebuilt sub-index for 'Ghosts', showing they have posted a great deal of ghost stories and plan to post a great deal more, having recognized it as an important income stream for their site.

        All the Irish Mirror tells us about the location of the apparently haunted house above is that its in Northern Ireland. More importantly, ignore the photo when considering if this event happened or not... because the photo shows nothing paranormal. What makes the photo paranormal is the statement that no one was sitting behind the three identified people, and that is what must be questioned and tested; because the photo could be produced by just having someone sitting there.