Despite the modern age of digital camera phones and CCTV every which way you turn, capturing an elusive ghost on film is harder than you would think.
Even when a passing spirit is snapped in a London theatre, the paranormal photographer must state that his pic is the genuine article to a skeptical public.
However, the superstitious Victorians didn't seem to have any trouble catching a ghoul, as these vintage 'ghost' pictures prove.
A man clinging to a tree in the face of an apparition in a forest, circa 1865.
From Mrs Bentley's deceased sister photo-bombing her portrait, to ectoplasm oozing from the neck of medium Marthe Beraud, it appears that those from other side were itching to make an appearance in family photo albums.
Flick through our slideshow of some of the spookiest snaps of vintage Victorian 'ghosts':
