A famous ghost picture mystery has been resolved after 15 years – thanks to an eagle-eyed pensioner.
A photograph that apparently showed a schoolgirl standing in an inferno was actually combined with an image from an old postcard. The ghostly snap was taken by amateur photographer Tony O'Rahilly, who caught a 1995 blaze that destroyed Wem Town Hall in Shropshire on camera. Then he set about fooling the world.
After he developed the film he claimed that his camera had picked up the ghost of a young girl standing in the fire. She became known as the 'Wem Ghost' and the image circulated the world.
Locals were convinced that it was the wraith of 14-year-old Jane Churm who set the town hall on fire by accident in 1677. Mr O'Rahilly died in 2005 and had always insisted that his photograph was genuine.
However, 77-year-old Brian Lear spotted a postcard printed in the Shropshire Star's Pictures from the Past section that shows a street view of Wem in 1922 – and a little girl standing in the doorway of a shop who bears an uncanny resemblance to the so-called Wem Ghost.
Mr Lear said: ''It is interesting to compare the two pictures.
''I was intrigued to find that she bore a striking likeness to the little girl featured as the Wem ghost.
''Her dress and headgear appear to be identical.''
So it appears that the mystery has been solved once and for all. However, Mr Lear's eye for detail could cost the town dear – it's been marketed as a 'ghost town' and attracts hundreds of tourists every year who are fascinated its supernatural heritage. But on the plus side, the town will seem a lot less spooky for its residents…
/Metro.co.uk/
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