Revisiting the Ghost of the Capitol Building
Look at the figure below the window on the lower level far left
Back in April of this year, I posted the photos included here in an article titled The Ghost of the Capitol Building. I more or less gave the details of how I got the image, that there were no people around, and that I didn’t necessarily think it was a ghost.
Close-up version of the unidentified terrestial object
At the time, M. Lail, (of the Raleigh Philosophical Society) commented that the place was known to be haunted. Until reading his comment, I had no idea that the place has been rumored to have paranormal activity. Earlier this week, he again mentions the haunted nature of the Capitol Building.
As I briefly alluded to in that post, I do not believe in the paranormal. Having said that, this photo leaves me scratching my head without explanation.
In the image above, there is no figure, no person, nothing. It was taken at 12:26:01 AM
In this image the figure is in the lower left. This was taken at 12:26:15 AM
Another thing to keep in mind is that the image was taken in an overwhelming downpour. I would have noticed someone standing still long enough for a one and a half second exposure to capture their outline, and thought it to be strange. With so many bright lights around, a person in an exposure of this length would have some color to them, and not be a shadowy figure.
The human eye instinctively sees movement, and I saw none the night I got this image. I didn’t notice anything unusual about the image until after I downloaded it.
What do you think – Photographic evidence? Too busy looking at the in-camera settings and not at the scene? All I know is that I have no explanation for it, but make no claims regarding the evidence this constitutes as to whether or not the Capitol Building is haunted.
Again, I don’t believe in the paranormal.
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10/30/2008
Interesting!
While I have never seen a ghost in the Capitol building, I have been in it at night and strongly smelled tobacco smoke seemingly out of nowhere. I also spoke with a painter who once worked there late at night and also smelled the smoke.
Supposedly its the ghost of North Carolina’s Civil War governor, Zebulon Vance.
10/30/2008
Great story, awesome photos! It is interesting to note that the shadowy figure seen in the 12:26:15 AM photo is standing just outside the windows of the Governor’s Office (where it has been located since 1840). Hmmm, Zeb Vance, perhaps??
Check out other legends of the Capitol here: http://www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol/stat_cap/legends.htm
10/30/2008
“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.”
11/03/2008
What a good idea to go back and check the images you shot just moments before. I don’t think you would have missed a person walking on the grounds, even if you did have your face buried behind your camera. We should stage a séance.
04/07/2009
You definitely have what seems to be a solid piece of evidence and it’ll be hard to debunk in my opinion, but you’ll have an idiot say something like ”It’s someone walking past a light and it’s reflecting his shadow on the side of the building” but even if you do have someone say that crap don’t listen to them. I think it’s a genuine photo of a shadow person.
04/07/2009
I still think this is an awesome sight.
06/05/2009
I told allen that it was just a projector in the bushes and I was the one who saw it allen you copied me.
09/13/2009
check out our website for a picture taken at n.c. state capitol in january 2009. broad daylight-was not visible to eye-autofocus digitalcam caught
him. We have another picture that looks like a face looking off balcony-but its out of scale-too large-could be possibly explained as reflections off old glass and uv filter screens on capitol windows-looks freaky but skeptics can really have a field day with it so it’s not on site.
09/13/2009
david@ripinvestigations.com
Relatives & In-laws Paranormal investigations
Hickory,N.C.
09/24/2009
update-we put other shot taken at capitol on our site-but we don’t claim what it is-you decide.
09/25/2009
If the picture on your website is indeed from January 2009 (and not July of 2004 as indicated by the date on the image) and there is snow on the ground, that was the day of or shortly after the inauguration. And the mysterious figure looks a little like the president.
09/25/2009
i know of four presidents who may have been there-james k. polk, andrew johnson, andrew jackson, and jefferson davis lay in state enroute to his reburial. the first three were carolina natives, and last was president of the confederacy. there are so many possibilities since so many intense events and historic moments happened there.
01/27/2010
Thank you for all your great photos… We are a local research team based out of the Raleigh area who have investigated many locations over the last 18 years. Raleigh has many haunted homes that most don’t know of. Not many owner’s want folks disturbing the spirits that have remained in this places…The Capital has been a very active place as far back as the Civil War… You have what seems to be a very good example of what takes place come night fall in the downtown area….
12/01/2010
You know, I’ve seen a lot of ghost shows. They never use long exposure. This should be brought up to them.
Meanwhile…Creeeeepy!!
06/14/2013
Car headlights projecting a shadow of the Zebulon Vance statue on the building.