10 More Famous Photographs That Fooled Everyone

And you thought your Instagram filters were impressive...

Loch Ness
wikipedia

Witness the terror of the Loch Ness Monster, or not. Everybody knows by now that Dr. Robert Wilson's infamous snap of 'Nessie' from the 1930's was a fake. It's not alone either, because there have been countless photographs throughout history that fooled people at the time they were released. We've already taken a look at some of the most notable.

It's time to do so again, and trawl through the archives of photography to find those pics that had people gasping, fainting or (in the case of one example) reaching for the nearest flamethrower and never going outside again. Rest easy. None of these photos are real, or are they? In the case of some at least, that's up for debate.

When the public got a peak at them back then, even the most obvious hoaxes or photoshop jobs seemed legit. It may seem hilarious now, but people were tricked into believing that giant spiders were roaming Florida, man-eating sharks were attacking military helicopters and poor children were being placed in nearby bins...

10. William H. Mumler Captures Spirits

William Mumler Spirit
Wikimedia

William H. Mumler was a famous 'spirit photographer' back in the 1800's. He specialised in capturing ghosts who seemingly couldn't leave the side of loved ones and thus showed up regularly in their most famous portrait photos. It happened with Mary Todd Lincoln and ex-US President Abraham Lincoln, and again with Master Herrod and John J. Glover.

One of Mumler's most famous works was an image of Waverley Magazine editor Moses A. Dow posing for a quick snap. Directly to Dow's right, a ghostly female can be seen, and Mumler claimed it was the journalist's assistant, a woman called Mabel Warren. It'd take years for people to have their doubts.

Mumler was never found guilty of fraud, but he was accused of it and later died in poverty. His photographs remain curious though. How did he manage to put those spirits in without photoshop?

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood.