Modern paranormal investigation has inherited more than a century of fascination with visual evidence. From Mumler's spirit portraits to today's smartphone anomalies, the belief that ghosts can be captured on camera remains one of the most persistent ideas in the field. What has changed is the technology available and the expectations that come with it. Today, investigators and the general public often treat photographs and video as trustworthy records, even when the circumstances of capture are less reliable than they seem.

Many people approach paranormal images with the assumption that "the camera can't lie." A camera is often seen as a neutral witness, free from the limitations of human perception. The irony is that cameras have their own limitations - and their own ways of misleading us. Modern digital sensors, automated exposure systems, and image-processing algorithms can introduce artefacts, distort subjects, and amplify tiny environmental effects that our eyes would barely...