Is This Ghost Real—Or Just a Trick of the Mind? The Haunted Duke William Pub and That Mysterious Photo
During one of my usual deep dives into haunted locations, I came across an article about a spooky photo taken at The Duke William pub in Burslem, Staffordshire—and it instantly caught my attention. The photo, snapped during a paranormal investigation, shows a shadowy figure wearing a top hat standing eerily in the background. If you're into ghost hunting like I am, you know the Hat Man is a common figure that pops up across haunted locations. Creepy, right?
The Duke William is an old pub with a long history, dating back to the 18th century. Locals and investigators alike have reported strange noises, cold spots, and unexplained figures wandering its halls. So it’s no surprise that a team of ghost hunters captured something unusual on camera. What made this photo so fascinating to me was how much it reminded me of an image I captured myself at the Lizzie Borden House—a dark figure with a vaguely human shape that seemed to peer out from a mirror.
Now, when you’re staring at something like that, your brain kicks into overdrive. Is it a ghost? A shadow? Someone playing a prank? Or is it just pareidolia—that weird quirk of the human brain that makes us see faces and figures in patterns, shadows, or even wallpaper? Here's a different mirror perspective. No face. These were the only two times I captured the mirror sadly.
Skeptics will always argue that it's pareidolia, and honestly, as a skeptical investigator myself, I think that’s a valid theory. In both the Lizzie Borden photo and this one from The Duke William, there's no obvious movement, temperature change, or corroborating data. Just a photo. But sometimes, even one image is enough to make you wonder.
Was it really something supernatural? Or just a shadow in the right place at the right time?
The Duke William is definitely going on my list of haunted places to visit. I’d love to run some of my own tests there—maybe see if the Hat Man wants to make another appearance.
If you have been to the Lizzie Borden House and have an image in the mirror, I'd love to see it and discover whether my ghost can be recreated by standing in the same spot. I sadly did not see my ghost in the mirror that night or I would have taken a hundred images of it. So please send me your images if you have one to darkwhimsicalart@gmail.com so I can prove once and for if this is real or fake.
Until then, I’ll keep chasing shadows and sorting out what’s real, what’s psychological, and what might be something else entirely.
Stay spooky, my spooky cats!