Prepared by Becky Ray

 

My team had been in Cell 1, which is supposed to be quite active, but we weren’t experiencing anything that night and were getting a bit slap-happy. So, we decided to move across the hall to Cell 4. As soon as we stepped through the cell door, everyone's mood changed. I left my video running as we switched cells, and you can hear us talking about how we were feeling in this cell.

Just like in Cell 1, we each picked a corner and set up again. Within the first four minutes, we all mentioned feeling tired, sick, and somewhat nauseated. I aimed my 8mm camera through the doorway where we had seen some possible unexplained shadows to film. It wasn’t until I reviewed my footage at home that I realized I had captured something strange. In the clip, you'll hear us talking about not feeling well. Then, my teammate Angela took a photo, but before you can hear her say, "Flash," and see the flash.

* We say the word “Flash” to warn others about a bright light so they can shield their eyes and indicate that a camera might be filming at the time. This helps us understand that the bright flash is from a camera and is not something we need to worry about.

Then I took a photo, and you can hear me say, "Flash," as the camera's flash goes off.
Next, I say, "I'm going to take another one," and suddenly, there’s this strange anomaly that quickly appears on the wall just before my next camera flash. No one saw it at the time, and we have been there many times. I always try to recreate this, but haven't been able to. It was a film camera, but it didn't have “red eye” settings, and this never appeared with any other photos I took with that camera.

Since discovering it, I have shown this video to many people, hoping someone could explain it, but so far, it remains a mystery.

It looks a bit like a Civil War-era playing card to me, and others have mentioned that it resembles a lock, like those on cell doors.

My team is leading investigations at the 1859 Jail every weekend in October, and I will continue trying to recreate this.