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Jim Morrison Is Not in This Photo

Chalk up ghostly image to wishful thinking

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 13, 2009 6:27 PM CDT

(Newser) – Jim Morrison is still dead. Repeat: Still dead. Unfortunately, and just in time for Halloween, researchers in a new book assert that an old photo taken of a visitor to Morrison's grave does indeed show the singer's ghostly image rising, complains Lou Carlozo. These supposed experts rule out weird lighting or trickery in the well-known image taken of rock historian Brett Meisner near the grave. But guess what? "My 5-year-old daughter ... could probably Photoshop this up in five minutes," writes Carlozo for True/Slant.

"How utterly sad and predictable. When people get into paranormal stuff—past lives, for example—they never say, 'I used to be an ugly Russian woman who milked yaks.' Instead, everyone is a princess, a general or a concert violinist. It’s as if people live vicariously through their past lives, a real contortionist twist if you ask me." It's a shame, Carlozo sighs. "And for the love of Jimbo, let’s let his soul rest in peace. Don’t we have enough smug classic rock jocks calling him immortal already?"

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

This 1971 file photo shows the grave of Jim Morrison at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. (AP Photo/Joe Marquette,File)

The photo claiming to contain Jim Morrison's ghost (center-right). (YouTube)

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Here's the video stoking the urban myth. (YouTube)

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They never said John Lennon was alive, but Morrison is alive. After his death, he was sighted all the way around the world. I get people telling me that his spirit has leaped into their bodies. That’s what I have to put up with.
- Ray Manzarek, keyboardist, The Doors

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Jim Morrison Is Not in This Photo