Mist (paranormal)

Mist refers to a fog or smokelike haze that appears in photographs and video taken by paranormal teams while touring or investigating reportedly haunted and cursed sites. The popular belief among paranormalists is that this mist is the visual representation of ectoplasm that accompanies the presence of spirits/ghosts when they are active in the area. Many paranormalists will deny having seen any fog or mist during the filming and photography process and claim that these vaporous forms only appear on the film after the fact. Skeptics and photography/videography experts point to a variety of reasons for these misty forms to appear, including cigarette smoke, candles burning, the frosty breath of the photography on a cold night, or other natural vapors in the air which are only visible when the flash or lights reflect off the haze and back into the lens.