Orbs in the Salem Cemetery
Salem, Massachusetts, is considered by some to be one of the most haunted locations in the United States. Every October thousands of ghost hunters descend upon the historic city to get an authentic taste of the macabre. The infamous Salem witch trials still haunt the city. Between 1692 and 1693, over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, nineteen of which met their fate on Gallows Hill. One poor soul was crushed to death under a pile of heavy stones laid upon him.
While one would hardly consider Salem a romantic getaway spot, Ray F. and his new bride Alisha found themselves in Salem on their honeymoon. They had flown to New England to catch the fall foliage, and their travels led them to Salem shortly before Halloween. Following the old adage, "When in Rome...," the couple signed up for a candlelit ghost tour of the city's spookier locales.
Ray recalls, "From the outset we could tell this wasn't going to be some lighthearted romp through a cheesy haunted house." The locations they visited were steeped in tragic history. "When we arrived at the Salem Cemetery, I really started to get creeped out." The candles they carried didn't illuminate much, and as Ray stared out into the darkness of the graveyard, he felt like someone, or something, was watching him. "I can't describe the feeling I got. It was just creepy. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I just felt like something was just beyond the light, looking back at me."
To ward off the dark, Ray took several flash photos of the cemetery, finding relief in the momentary flashes of light. It wasn't until they got home and viewed their vacation photos weeks later that he noticed something in his photos of the graveyard. There--just to the right of a broken headstone, where he had felt the presence that night--there in the photo, clear as day, was the image of a ghostly orb. "I had heard of orbs showing up in photos before, but I always dismissed them as dust in front of the lens or some other non-ghostly phenomenon. But the fact is, the only place where orbs showed up in our honeymoon photos was in the Salem Cemetery. In fact, the only orb photos I've ever taken were at that cemetery, and I've taken thousands of photos in my lifetime. I simply don't know how to explain that."