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Photographer Spots Creepy ‘Ghost’ in Window During Prom Shoot

petapixel.com 2 days ago

A woman in a long black dress stands on grass in front of a white building with large windows. There is a red circle with an arrow pointing to one window, highlighting a shadowy figure behind it.

A photographer discovered a terrifying ghostly face of a woman in a window multiple times after taking photos of a prom couple outside a historic house in the U.S.

In mid-April, photographer Tatiana Paperini took prom photos for her client Emma, who requested to do the shoot at the back of an old house in historic Fort Reno, Oklahoma.

A man wearing a cowboy hat, black jacket, and jeans stands facing a woman in a long, flowing black dress. They are standing in front of a white brick building with two large windows. Both figures are looking at each other, with the woman holding her hand near her face.

A blurred image of a window with white frames, obscuring any details behind the glass. The window is divided into smaller panes at the top and a larger pane at the bottom. The background appears dark and indistinct. The window is part of a light-colored wall.

Fort Reno is a former military post that was the home base for cavalry and infantry units of the United States Army from 1875 to 1907.

“She said she wanted to do the photos at Fort Reno on historic Route 66 in El Reno because her stepmom works there and she always thought it was beautiful. I had no idea what the place was,” Tatiana tells PetaPixel.

“When I pulled up, I followed them to the back corner of the property to an old house.”

Side-by-side images of a couple standing outdoors in front of a white brick building with square and rectangular windows. The woman, in a black ruffled dress, stands behind the man, who is in jeans, a jacket, and a hat. The man looks down, holding his hat.
The first two photos in which a ghostly face appears in the left-hand side window.
On the left, a woman with long, wavy blonde hair wears a black strapless gown with ruffled layers and poses outdoors. On the right, a man in a black suit with a bolo tie and orange shirt, wearing a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, adjusts his jacket in front of a white building.
The face appears in most of the photos taken on one side of the old house.

During the shoot, Tatiana, who runs her own photography business Tati’s Snaps Photography, says that she felt she saw something in her peripheral vision.

“When I was taking their photos on the side of the house, out of my peripheral vision I thought I saw someone or something that was white,” the Oklahoma-based photographer says.

“But I looked up and didn’t see anything so I figured it was a bird or something. I didn’t think it was anything creepy.

“But I knew that I had definitely seen something and whatever it was I would see it when to edit the photos.”

A couple walks hand in hand down a path in front of a rustic two-story house. The man is wearing a black suit with an orange tie and navy jeans, while the woman is dressed in a long, black strapless dress. Both are smiling as they stroll together.
The front of the house where no faces were visible.

However, then Emma and her family told the photographer more about the history of Fort Reno and the location that they had chosen for the prom shoot.

“About five or ten minutes later, I was asking about what this place was because the property was really cool. Emma’s dad explained that it was an old military camp,” Tatiana recalls.

“Then, Emma throws out a comment about how a lady died in this house back when it was a military camp.

“After that, I started thinking maybe what I saw was not just a bird. But I was also telling myself ‘Don’t be crazy.'”

‘Out of My Peripheral Vision, I Saw Someone or Something’

Tatiana says she returned to her home and immediately uploaded the photos from her camera to her computer so she could edit a selection of preview images for Emma.

However, Tatiana was stunned when she looked closely at the pictures and saw a ghostly “face” in the window of every single photo taken at the side of the old house. (PetaPixel has viewed the edited and unedited RAW files from the shoot.)

“I was getting some sneak peeks edited for Emma. Then I saw the photos taken on the side of the house and froze in shock,” the photographer says.

“I then yelled for my husband and showed him every single photo. We were both just in awe of how clearly you can see a face and how the face shape doesn’t change.

“But you can see it look one way then back the other way and in some photos, the face is closer to the window and more defined.

“Then in others, the face is further and less noticeable.”

A man wearing a cowboy hat, a dark suit, orange tie, and a boutonnière stands outside against a white brick wall, with a woman's back facing the camera. The woman, with long blonde hair, wears a black strapless dress with a ruffled skirt.

A woman in a black ruffled dress and a man wearing a cowboy hat and dark clothing stand closely together on a grassy area in front of a white brick building with two windows. The woman grasps the man's arm and leans her head towards him.
The face wasn’t visible in every shot.

‘I’m Really Unsure of How I Feel About It’

Tatiana’s creepy photographs went viral online after her client shared images of the ghostly face in a TikTok video that amassed over 10.7 million views and thousands of comments.

Tatiana says she still does not know what to make of the face in the window in her photos. However, the photographer believes that she may have captured the ghost of the woman who died in that house with her camera that day.

“I still really think I captured the soul or spirit of the lady who passed away in that house,” she explains.

“But sometimes the more logical side of me comes out and thinks maybe there is just some dust or grime on the old windows and it just happens to look like a face and move directions.

“I really am unsure of how I feel about it.”

A woman with long, wavy hair stands on grassy ground in front of a white building with two windows. She is wearing a black, layered strapless gown with red high heels and a wrist corsage. She is looking down while slightly turning away from the camera.

A person wearing a cowboy hat, dark blazer, jeans, and brown shoes leans against a white brick building with three arched windows. The ground has patches of grass. The person is looking at the camera with one hand in their pocket.

The photographer is aware that there will be people who will be skeptical about the images and their authenticity.

“So many people commented saying they think the face in the window is either edited or that it’s clouds, tree shadows, torn curtains, or spray paint,” Tatiana says.

“But there are also lots of people who believe it like I do!”

More of Tatiana’s work can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and her website.

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