Where Do We Go From Here?

One of our class projects was to create a manipulated ghost image using different digital tools, and create a back story. I used an original image of the main street of my hometown at night, which looked creepy by itself, and manipulated an image of my roommate to create the ghost.

The Unfortunate Demise of Sarah Whitman

Everyone at my high school knew the story of Sarah Whitman, and it went something like this….
Sarah went to Gloucester High School back in the 1980′s. She was a very gifted student and popular with her classmates. Sarah had one dream–to escape from her small home town, and her mother, and to go to New York City to study theatre. She lived with her mother (her father had died when she was very young) in the rooms above their small restaurant on Main Street. Her mother was a harsh and bitter woman, and treated Sarah very poorly.

When Sarah was accepted to The Juilliard School of Performing Arts with a full scholarship, her jealous and hateful mother was furious. Why should her daughter have it so easy when she had such a hard life? Shortly after the acceptance letter arrived, Sarah and her mother fought. They were on the balcony at the front of the building, where Sarah would often sit and read or do homework in the afternoons. The fight became violent, and Mrs. Whitman shoved her daughter right over the edge of the railing. Sarah landed in the street, and died there from a broken neck.

It’s said that the ghost of poor Sarah Whitman can be seen at night sometimes, on her old balcony. I used to live off of Main Street, and my friends and I would walk there often. I took this photo of the the deserted main drag in my small town one night, just for fun. You can see Sarah Whitman’s balcony to the right of the photo. When I took it there was no one on that balcony. You can imagine my surprise when I developed the film. Is that Sarah Whitman’s ghost up there or a trick of the light? I’ll let you decide.