Here are those pictures I told you about. The following images were taken in Saint Michael Cemetery in Hong Kong. I’ll stress that I touched nothing. Not at any time did I adjust settings of any kind. These images are one after the other in succession. I’ve re-sized the images in photoshop to fit this page, otherwise, no further adjustments have been made.  

Image 01 I came across this lovely set of steps and decided to take my picture sitting on them. I set the timer on the camera, placed the camera atop a tombstone facing the steps, sat down and waited for the shutter. After it clicked, I stood up, walked back to my camera and saw this image, which turned out great. I must be going through an Andy Warhol phase or something.

Image 02 I thought I’d take another one. I clicked the shutter button, walked to the steps, sat down and waited for the timer. It clicked and I walked back to see what I’d taken. The image was over-exposed and blurry. I deleted it immediately, without even thinking, placed the camera back onto the tombstone and took another one. I repeated my previous steps. When I checked to see what I’d taken the third time around, I got this:

Image 03 That’s weird, I thought. Wondering what had happened, I set the camera down again and took another picture. I got this:

…as you can see, it’s even more exposed and blurry. It sort of looks like the same picture, but it’s not.

Image 04 I began to wonder if something were wrong with the camera. I’d take a test shot of the steps all on their own.

Perfect. It came out great. I cocked my head in confusion. The wheels started turning and I began to wonder if something other-worldly was happening.

Image 05 Just to be safe, I took another timed image of the steps on their own. Again, it came out great.

A sense of wonder. Had I just experienced something? Paranormal activity? Ghosts? Many of the tombstones in Saint Michael Cemetery are decades old, some are several hundred years old. Written in Chinese, I wasn’t able to determine names nor dates. Most of the tombstones have photographs of their residents set into them. I looked at the photograph of the man whose tombstone I’d used as a tripod. He had a slight smile and I suddenly felt as though he were playing a trick on me. No matter which vantage point I took, it appeared as if he were looking at me, watching me. In highschool, I had this poster of Robert Smith. It always felt like he was looking at me, his eyes following me, creeping me out. Science has explained that the eyes of someone in a photograph will appear to follow you if the person is looking straight into the camera. Science, however, cannot make that eerie feeling go away. I didn’t feel as though this had been done maliciously. It sort of felt as though he were telling me to ask next time. I couldn’t read his name, but I apologized and thanked him for letting me get one good shot of myself.

Saint Michael Cemetery is a vast collection of weathered grave sites and magnificent markers. Because space is an issue in Hong Kong, the grounds are leveled into approximately 6 tiers, which from far away look like grandstand seating at an event. Unkempt, some of the tombstones are knocked over. Lush trees green and some brown and dead. Climbing through the labyrinth of steps and levels, high atop you can see a fantastic view of the city. Despite being located near a major street and in the middle of 7 million people, it’s quiet. It was a cold day, the sky was grey. A chilling wind blew and I felt anxious, alone. At the end of long and dark corridor, two very old people sold flowers at the gate. I could feel an energy in this place, as if the dead walked about at night, as if grim grinning ghosts danced and wandered. I’ve been to many cemeteries in my day, I’ve never felt this same sense of quiet, eerie, as if life after death might really exist. It still might not. Maybe it’s all over when we die, maybe this is it. Either way, something strange happened. Something happened. The images in the collection above seem as though the film has been tampered with, but there isn’t any film in a digital camera.

After my experience at the steps, I walked around some more. I climbed to the highest level and starred out onto the city. Lower levels on another side awaited. I made my way and was encountered by a rather large red dog. Shocked, my first instinct was to make haste and away. I walked back up, taking two steps at a time, my heart was racing and I almost couldn’t believe I’d just seen a big red dog. What?! Like with the ghost photos, I was in disbelief and almost couldn’t count on my own mind. What would I have done if he’d chased me? I’m not a runner and my brain whizzed around worst case scenarios. Could I have climbed a tree if I’d needed to? I felt like I was in danger. I was afraid and my heart was still thumping. From a safe distance, I got a picture of the dog:

I’d get a few more pictures in before my batteries died. I carried a spare set in case. New batteries and a few more shots later, the batteries died. The camera wouldn’t start. I was a little upset that I’d purchased cheap batteries and was paying the price. I couldn’t go, not just yet. This place was amazing! I wanted to, at least, get a shot of the front gate. Once outside the grounds, the camera started just fine and I got a full day’s worth of photographs. Another ghostly encounter? It sure seemed that way. The spirits were telling me it was time to go. I thanked them all and left. I’m still working on the rest of my Hong Kong photos and will have them online soon.