By other causes we mean anything else that could be remotely classed as a manifestation when it is in fact something natural. A classic example and one which both perplexed then upset us was seen on a photograph we took at Chalgrave church just outside Toddington. The photograph is shown in Image 1 and if you click on it you will see a larger version. On the picture you will notice a red patch to the left of the large grave and going up to a small ornament. At first we could not explain the picture. We went back and photographed the same area by day and night but there was nothing there. Was it paranormal, well, no basically! Examination of the three pictures taken prior to that in Image 1 revealed a patch in the same place as the red band on Image 1. The three previous pictures were black in the relevant area but a red patch did show up. The next picture after Image 1 was not taken until the next day in daylight and no patch was seen. And the cause? A fingerprint (or at least a finger smudge). Even though we clean the camera lens regularly (maybe ten times in an evening) it still wasn’t enough and a fingerprint snuck through.

Another example is that given in Image 2. If you click on the thumbnail you will see a larger version of the picture which has a bright streak in the centre. It is not until you zoom in on the patch that you realise what it is, as you will see in Image 3 which is just the area around the streak. In this case it is an insect. This one was not too difficult to work out but if the insect had been moving it would have been harder to decide on the origin of the streak. Remember that virtually anything can give you an anomalous photograph, just don’t believe everything you see until you have fully examined the image and eliminated all natural causes.