Shropshire Star

Put pictures together to solve Wem Ghost riddle

The mystery of the Wem ghost is back in the headlines after a reader noticed uncanny similarities between the image of the phantom and a girl photographed in the town in 1922. A computer programmer has now put the two images together - and the result is startling.

Published

The mystery of the Wem ghost is back in the headlines after a reader noticed uncanny similarities between the image of the phantom and a girl photographed in the town in 1922.

A computer programmer has now put the two images together - and the result is startling. (Click here to see for yourself)

Richard Deeson was intrigued when he read claims that the girl in the nostalgia picture was the same girl photographed in the burning town hall in 1995.

Tony O'Rahilly, who took the world famous ghost picture, went to his grave five years ago denying that it was a fake.

As a result, the legend grew that the girl in the flames was the ghost of 14-year-old Jane Churm, who accidentally started the great fire of Wem in 1677.

The similarity between the pictures was spotted by Shropshire Star reader Brian Lear.

Although the two girls look the same to the naked eye, Mr Deeson was interested to see what happened when their images were resized and laid on top of each other.

So Mr Deeson, who has an interest in mysteries, built a website that did just that, allowing people to fade between the two pictures.

And the result? "I would say that there cannot be a lot of doubt," said Mr Deeson, of Birmingham.

"The hat and the belt in both pictures line up, and it's the same for her shirt."

Indeed, it is remarkable just how similar the two are.

Mr Deeson said he was amazed that Mr Lear had spotted the girl in the newspaper and made the connection to the ghost picture.

"That guy must have eagle eyes," he added.

NOW CLICK HERE TO SEE MR DEESON'S WEBSITE AND SEE HOW THE TWO IMAGES COMPARE

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.