False positives are phenomena, most often considered to be of evidential value, that may appear to be anomalous to the untrained eye or upon initial inspection. However, they are not anomalies at all and have a very natural and known causation for their existence. False positives are perhaps the most important phenomena a paranormal investigator should learn before doing so much as learning what EVP or EMF stand for.

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Have you ever taken a picture that you thought had something paranormal on it and/or thought you could have possibly picked up a picture of a “ghost” or "spirit"? NEARPS has performed many investigations and took thousands of  photographs that we thought could have been paranormal. When we analyzed the pictures in detail we found that some of these photographs were not paranormal but instead caused by normal or natural means and are easily explained by a seasoned investigator who has been properly trained. This basically means that other objects were picked up in the pictures that initially seemed to be paranormal but had very natural origins.

Some examples of those kinds of "fake" or "false" paranormal pictures are:

Taking pictures during rain or snow, or at night with mist could mean that its rain drops looking like orbs.

Your own breath in a humid environment can easily produce dramatic though false images which can easily be mistaken for mists or ectoplasm.

One of the most accidental and often photographed anomalies is the camera strap. This usually shows up like a streak in the photograph and people tend to think it’s paranormal. We tell our investigators: "The strap goes on your wrist or around your neck or don't use it!"