Artfest 2004 ghost photos
©2004, by Aisling D'Art
All of those round/spherical shapes are "orbs". Read below for more info.]
 guardhouse [photo by aisling] |
 guardhouse [photo by kathy read] |
 battery (no orbs) [photo by kathy read] |
 battery (with orb) [photo by kathy read] |
 dorm 201 [photo by aisling] |
 dorm 201 [photo by aisling] |
 orb at schoolhouse [photo by aisling] |
 orb at castle/tower [photo by aisling] |
The town of Port Townsend, Washington, is famous for its ghosts. Many are related to its seafaring and pirate history. Others are more closely linked to the history of Fort Worden, the site of Artfest.
This year, we started by focusing on the Fort Worden Guard House since that was the "hot" spot for photos last year.
However, the only night that I found significant orbs at the Guard House (top left photo) was Wednesday night after the Kickoff Party.
"Orbs" are the unexplained translucent spheres that appear in photos taken at locations reported to be haunted. We call these and other anomalies "ghost photos", not because we're sure that they're ghosts--we don't have a clue what they are--but because they're popularly called this.Orbs are also caused by reflected light, bugs, dust, and pollen. The characteristics of those orb photos are different, when we analyze the negatives and the prints.
While I'd love to claim that these are, in fact, ghosts, nobody knows what they are. Frankly, I'm very skeptical when it comes to ghosts and hauntings. This is why I take photos and make digital recordings; I'm looking for scientific evidence of what people call "ghosts." But, the stories are fun and the research can be fascinating.
On Thursday, my "Breakthrough Shrines and Eerie Photos" class balanced art and ghost stories, similar to my "Dark to Light Journaling" class in Portland, Oregon the month before. It always surprises me when, in an art context, students ask for more ghost stories.
Thursday evening, we met at the Guard House to take photos. Kathy Read's photos (noted above) included some with orbs, but so far, they're the only successful Guard House photos that night.
Kathy also took some great photos at the Battery at the end of the road, not far from the brick castle/tower. But, it's not easy to spot subtle orbs unless you look closely. That's why I've included a non-orb photo as well as an orb photo.
Several of us commented on the Schoolhouse seeming eerie at night. One teacher had a startling experience there, setting up her class on Thursday evening.
Another focal point is the castle/tower, which was built before the Fort was. And, dorm 201 (the empty one, not renovated yet) produced consistent orbs during Artfest 2003 and 2004.
Individuals told me "ghost stories" about doors and windows opening/closing on their own, in one of the Officers' Quarters/homes (I think that it was 5W). I heard about an unexplained photo that appeared in dorm 202, too.
And, several others at Artfest shared fascinating first-person stories of encounters with ghosts or poltergeists, in other states. At least one Artfest teacher offered some helpful information that could explain some orbs: Weather conditions, described in a book called Heaven's Breath by Lyall Watson. I'm always interested in possible causes of things that we call "paranormal" but can't explain... yet.
