Ghostly mystery comes to screens

THOSE of a nervous disposition look away now.

This is the spooky snap of ghostly goings on at an Ipswich graveyard that is set to be featured in a new TV documentary.

The picture was taken way back in 1959 by Ipswich woman Mabel Chinnery who was visiting the graveyard of her mother.

After taking some photos of the gravestone she took an impromptu pic of her husband in his car.

It wasn't until the film was developed that she saw an image of a woman sitting in the back seat of the car wearing glasses.

She immediately recognised the spirit as her departed mother.

The supposed spectre is currently rated one of the top ten ghost photos ever taken by several internet websites on paranormal phenomenon.

It is now set to feature on a French TV documentary which has been filmed in a part by former managing editor at BBC Radio Suffolk, Ivan Howlett.

Mr Howlett, who now runs a TV production company, said: “This is one of the most famous examples of a ghost appearing in a photograph.

“The Sunday Pictorial (which became the Sunday Mirror in 1963) ran the story and hired a photo expert who staked his reputation on the picture being genuine.

“My own view is it is likely to be a trick of the light.

“The woman's scarf seems to follow the line of the back of the seat.

“As light shines in through different windows of the car it can create odd patterns.”

Mr Howlett is keen to find out more about the circumstances surrounding the photo having attempted to find the gravestone of Mrs Chinnery's mother.

However it is not known what Mrs Chinnery's maiden name is.

Meanwhile it is unclear exactly where at Ipswich Cemetery the photo was taken.

Mr Howlett is hoping relatives of Mrs Chinnery or anyone with knowledge of the photo will shed some light on the situation.

Do you know anything about the mystery of the woman in the car or have you taken a ghostly photo yourself? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

Suffolk spectres

Ipswich - Ipswich Town FC, Portman Road

Back in 2002, medium Sue Knock claimed a bad run for the Tractor Boys could be explained by a 900-year-old knight who had been disturbed by the construction of the new North Stand. After working to “cleanse” the area the team's fortunes took an turn for the better. However the exorcism didn't prevent Town being relegated that May.

Ipswich - Great White Horse Hotel

A ghostly woman has been observed walking through a wall. She is said to have died in a fire on the site.

Ipswich - Pipers' Court in the mid 1990s

The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of a teenager who died within.

He appears on CCTV cameras, but is not visible in the real world.

Ipswich - The Rep public house (former theatre)

A ghost known as “Alfred” was frequently seen when this pub was still a theatre.

A visit from the ghost was considered by the acting troupe to be a lucky omen.

He would sit in the fourth or fifth row, silently watching performances.

Ipswich - McGinty's public house

It is said that if you place your ear on one of the walls of this Irish pub, you can hear the faint beating of a human heart. It has been suggested that it may be the same entity which once turned the all the fuses off at a junction box, saving a landlord from electrocution.

Ipswich - Christchurch Mansion, summer 1995 and prior.

A woman with her daughter watched a Victorian woman walk by them before passing through a closed glass door.

A much older report stated that the mansion was haunted by a maid with two children, who laughed and danced around the building.

Ipswich - private home along Skylark Lane in 1998 or 1999.

A woman alone in a house looked down from the landing to see a slim old man dressed in a suit holding the banister.

The man appeared “real”, but the woman knew he wasn't.

The two stared at each other for a while before the woman briefly turned away - when she turned back the man had vanished.

Weblink: www.paranormaldatabase.com