Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

Odd Sighting


Distressed Watcher

Recommended Posts

Hey. While walking around my town upstate of the city yesterday (I do night photography, poorly) I noticed something weird. I thought some guy, dressed in all white, was walking down the train tracks where I usually shoot. When I got closer, however, it didn't exactly look like a person, or at least not a healthy one. It had an odd gait, seemed oddly thin, and I couldn't make out a head or arms. I got closer and took a short video. It was dark, and I was shaky, so I had to max out the levels in post to get it to show anything at all. As you can hear, I called out to the thing (?) and got no real response, though it stopped for a second. I took a picture with a longer exposure, and I trouble keep the camera still, it came out reasonably clear. The video and photo are below:

Picture: 

 

Video: 

 

Eventually, the thing got farther from the road, and I wasn't about to follow it into the dark. At best, it was some lunatic in a costume. Now that it is firmly in the past, I have been asking around to see what people in different communities make of it. Open to and interested in all suggestions, really.

 

Edited by Distressed Watcher
Grammar.
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

If you would genuinely like an analysis, I'd ask you to:

- give us the technical details.
  - Camera/phone brand/model
  - Settings / mode used, especially for the top image - how exactly did you set the 'longer exposure'?
  - Location (roughly is fine).

- return to the scene where this took place in daylight and shoot some footage, same camera, same angle, including the features that are visible in the first image.

 

And may we see some of the other shots you have taken at night from this location, from those other occasions when you 'usually shoot' there.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your photo/video reminds me of something from a few years back called Nightcrawlers, stickmen, or Fresno stickmen. These things were allegedly captured on someone's CCTV camera, and look very similar to what you saw. They basically look like MC Hammer pants that are being manipulated in a puppet-like fashion. I haven't heard of these things in years, so I'm not sure if it's been debunked yet or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, i think I might actually be able to help you:)

It's perfectly fine if you're not comfortable sharing info with a complete stranger (I respect that.), but if you would like some help, I need to know where you shot that image. Just the state and town. I research cryptids (animals that have not yet been proven to exist) and I think I might have an explanation for you. Just send me a message if you're comfortable. 
And again, I completely respect if you're not comfortable sharing that info. ;)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh nooooo !      Pooped me pants  ..... now I gotta walk all the way home like this  !  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like me stumbling home last night.  Does look a little unnerving, but a lot of things do in the wee hours.

 

But yeah, perhaps a drunk enthusiasticly trying to get home... Or a tooth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, that is fine. I can go back to the place today/tonight and take some shots for you. My camera was a Nikon D5300, with a starter lens (55-18), on maximum zoom. I can't remember the exact settings for the image, but I have the metadata. That tells me the aperture was at F8, and it was exposed for two seconds. I can't find the ISO, but I tried to put it as high as I could put it before noise rendered the image unusable. It was pretty cloudy, sprinkling actually. And I live in New York, about six or so hours upstate of the city. I think that as specific as I would like to get. I appreciate the help!

[I will edit this bit when I have more photos.]

Here is an image I took days ago from father up the tracks. It goes on like this for about a mile (there is farmland past the brush on either side of the track) then hits hard woods where nobody lives. The rail line is defunct, has been for ages, which is why I use it.

 

Edited by Distressed Watcher
Just noticed that ChrLzs's query about images might be more about the validation of my story than anything else.
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Creepy, might just be some drunk/disturbed dude in white overalls

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 25/05/2017 at 8:26 AM, Distressed Watcher said:

No, that is fine. I can go back to the place today/tonight and take some shots

Yeah I think he (I am also) was more after a reproduction of the original image, but taken in the daytime. Same frame of reference but a clear daytime image which we can compare to the original and try to draw conclusions from.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a couple of comments - for various reasons (in relation to some now deleted posts..) I won't be doing any additional work on this...

  But on what has already been posted, first up I'd like to make a few suggestions to others who might be out there with capable cameras like that Nikon...

1.  Shoot more than one image.  It costs nothing to take many shots, and that Nikon will happily fire off about 5 frames a second..
2.  Check your results as you go - so if it is out of focus, try again.
3. If it is *still* out of focus - and indeed whenever you are shooting in very low light and your AF isn't that great - put it into manual focus mode.
4. Shoot more than one image.
5. Take a torch/camping light.
6. Did I already say shoot more than one image?

As for this image:

HG1LHhPl.jpg
..it looks odd to me.  Forget the strange object for a minute - Why only one shot?  Why so badly out of focus? (as above, use manual focus.. and frankly that Nikon has a capable AF system that should have done a better job, even in low light)
There is light in the sky and the clouds are evenly illuminated, not directionally as they would be if the moon was in the sky.  It just looks wrong - more like a picture taken in daylight at the wrong settings or post processed..  To see what I mean, google 'clouds at night'.  Note how virtually none of the results show clouds that are evenly illuminated - they will, 99% of the time, be directionally illuminated from above (Moon) or below (city lights).  Similarly, the trees/bushes look more like they are daylit, than the deep shadow effects you get at night.
While the aspect ratio of the shot is right, it is not a standard size from that camera so it has been resized.  There are no obvious signs of 'amateur' editing - I can't really comment on other aspects (eg the noise appearance) given the lack of metadata and the resizing.

Anyway, I'm not claiming 100% fake, but I have some doubts, and when added to just one image... hmm.

BTW, modern camera metadata ('EXIF') contains all camera settings including ISO, so you don't need to remember what the settings were...  It's best to post images that have not had their exif data stripped, as these have.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that.  Have fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much for the information!

I think you may have actually spotted a fresno nightcrawler, or a fresno alien. These creatures are cryptic (animals that have not yet been proven to exist). If you did actually spot one, I'm quite surprised. They are usually found in Fresno, California (hence the name). These creatures supposedly come from Native American folklore. They are said to be creatures from another planet, that simply go around, creating peace. As you can see, they are completely harmless. There have only been a few sightings. One of them, was actually looked at on a television show, called Fact or Faked. If you search YouTube for Fact or Faked Fresno Nightcrawler you should be able to find the specific episode of the show. Thank you so much for sharing this information with me, and I would love it if you could let me know of any other strange sightings! I've been researching cryptic creatures for a while now, and they really fascinate me! I might even recommend going camping in that area to see if you can get some cool footage! Probably in the "Hard Woods" you described. That's usually where they like to be.

Also, In the video, did you see how the creature's legs were bending the wrong way?  (<-proof)

Edited by IronLex
forgot some (more) things
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.