A spectral snap!
A couple claimed they were photobombed by the ghost of a soldier while out dining at a celeb hotspot in London, which has a history of haunted encounters.
Georgia Renshaw-Smith was celebrating her 26th birthday at Quaglino’s, a restaurant located less than a mile away from Buckingham Palace, with her boyfriend Ross Cheeseman and her family when the couple decided to capture the joyful occasion with a selfie, according to The Mirror.
What was meant to capture a loving keepsake for the couple ended up as a terrifying picture of a spirit lingering behind them.
A translucent white figure is seen hovering behind the couple, with Cheeseman, 35, believing it looked like a “military man in uniform.”
“I had taken one or two photos that my partner wasn’t happy with so I took another, this was the picture that when we looked at it revealed what looks like a ghost in the background,” Cheeseman chillingly shared, according to the outlet.
“I think the ghostly figure looks like some sort of ex-military man with broad shoulders in uniform looking over the shoulder of me or my partner.”
The atmosphere suddenly shifted once they noticed and showed Renshaw-Smith’s family the spooky specter lurking behind them in the photo.
“Georgia’s family thought I had doctored the photo but then realized that’s impossible given the time in between taking it and showing them – I have absolutely no explanation for what it is that’s behind us,” Cheeseman said.
“It looks see-through as you can make out a spine and ribs, I think it also looks like he’s got some sort of headband or hat on.”
Their ghostly moment spooked the wait staff and the restaurant’s manager, who told the party they’d never seen such solid evidence of a haunting but that the popular eatery has a long history of haunting.
“We then showed the waiters and waitresses and asked if they had ever witnessed anything else similar. All the waitresses and waiters were spooked.”
Quaglino’s, which opened in 1929, has hosted a variety of celebrities such as Elton John, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, and members of the Royal family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, who visited in 1956, the restaurant manager Leslie Kwarteng told The Standard UK in 2019.
“Everyone has a story to tell about Quaglino’s,” Kwarteng said of the haunted establishment.
Cheeseman, who said he does not believe in ghosts, admitted he has “not done an extensive amount of research on the restaurant but I know it’s very old and has housed guests such as the Kray twins and the Queen, so it’s a very fitting place for a ghost.”
The image, captured in 2021, is still a popular subject among his family, and many online have come to share their interest in the photo, with some dubbing it “the best ghost picture ever.”
“I have shown various people and posted on various sites and only ever get the same response, that it’s the most insane ghost picture ever captured on camera. My partner is still baffled by the photo, as is the whole family. It comes up in jokes all the time with people mimicking the ghostly figure.”