Connecticut resident documents 'Ghostly Photographs' in new book

Paranormal photographer Julie Griffin presented 'Ghostly Photographs' at Babcock Library in Ashford on Nov. 10. The presentation was based on her newly-released book of the same name. Photos by Lauri Voter.

Pam McCormick, program coordinator for Babcock Library in Ashford, said that she gets several of her program ideas from the Connecticut Library Consortium. “They have a list of performers,” she said, from which she found Julie Griffin's name. Griffin is a paranormal photographer who presented her work during “Ghostly Photographs,” an event held at Babcock on Friday evening, Nov. 10. McCormick said that the ghostly topic interested her, due to personal experience from having lived in what she believed was a haunted house in Windsor. So, she invited Griffin to Babcock.

Griffin's presentation was based on her newly-released book of the same name. Her interest in the other-worldly began in 2008 when she began working with a group of paranormal investigators. She said it was not long after she started investigating that she started getting good photos by catching anomalies - things that could not be explained.

“I was hooked,” she said. “I've been out there constantly shooting and exploring new locations ever since, and I've had a lot of success with catching 'things.'” Griffin says those things are spirit energy. “They manifest in a huge range of shapes, sizes, colors and such,” she explained. 

Griffin said she seeks out opportunities to explore and photograph public venues. She has traveled all over the Northeast in pursuit of her passion. She said she has had significant luck with paranormal photography in Gettysburg, Pa., and Rolling Hills Asylum in New York. She hopes to visit other former large institutions that are considered to be paranormal hot spots such as Mansfield State Prison in Ohio and Waverly Hills in Kentucky. “They've got a lot of history, a lot of turmoil, a lot of death – and that tends to be your better location,” she said.

While Griffin said that taking lots of photos - she is approaching her 50,000th photo – contributes to her ability to document the paranormal, she says it's her own experience that guides her instinctively to point and shoot in the proper location. Growing up in Ohio, “I lived in two houses that were active,” said Griffin. “I knew what it was like to be around activity. I get a feel for where energy is, and I think that's part of why I have so much success.”

Griffin said she never actually saw with her eyes the images that she captured with her camera – a device that she says is nothing more than a common digital camera. “It's a regular camera. It's nothing special.” she said. In general, she sets her 10-megapixel camera on automatic and uses the eyepiece, rather than the viewer screen when taking her photographs. Part of her technique, said Griffin, is to avoid using the flash feature, except for when absolutely necessary.

“Ghostly Photographs” is available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as through the publisher, www.authorhouse.com. “They're ghost stories you can see with your own eyes,” said Griffin.

On Dec. 14, at 7 p.m., Northeast Connecticut Community Orchestra will perform a holiday concert at the library. Babcock Library is located at 25 Pompey Hollow Road in Ashford. For more information, visit www.babcocklibrary.org or call 860-487-4420.