Many have experienced the dreaded 3am wake up. Not necessarily from anything paranormal, just a jolt awake. That time isn’t the height of comfort though, is it? Folklore and legends recount a lot of creepy things about the so-called witching hour which are easily remembered in the middle of the night. It’s scary. But it can be worse–
Nature calls. Oh no, not now! Already frightened, but unable to hold it until morning. [Groan] Sleuthing towards salvation, eyes cast down at all costs, away from the restroom mirror. Old tales of covering mirrors with cloth when someone passes away, trapped souls, seven years of bad luck for breaking one, spying the murky future, and ghostly portals spring to mind. Mirrors are excellent for touching up makeup in the crisp morning sunshine, but everyone knows, they are best avoided after dark. Untold imaginings are sure to be staring back, unwelcome and sinister.
A very brief history on mirrors
Mirrors have a long history, dating back thousands of years. While someone once looked into a stream and screamed, the oldest known human-made mirror is often said to have been uncovered in modern day Turkey, dating from about 6500 BCE. While reflective in nature, the mirror was constructed with obsidian (a very shiny, smooth black rock formed from cooling lava). 16th-century polymath John Dee, a mathematician and astronomer who communicated with angels, used a rather large piece of obsidian for scrying. Perhaps he also used it to fix his hair at some point? [Shrug]
Later examples of mirrors found in the ancient world include flattened, polished bronze circles affixed to carved handles. (1) Examples of blown glass tiles specially crafted and adhered to polished metal exist from the 3rd century BCE. (2) Around the late medieval period, mercury mirrors (a skilled but toxic method of combining tin, glass, and mercury) leaped to popularity and remained a reflective staple for about 400 years. (3)
In the 1800s, a non-toxic silver version was invented and today, modern mirrors mainly use aluminum.
Why have I been researching the history of mirrors? Not only am I not in the middle of marathoning a favourite show, but after years of avoiding mirrors at night and snapping pictures of them at museums and heritage sites, I finally caught evidence of a ghostly presence. Maybe. Keep reading and see what you think.
Mercury mirror mirror on the wall
Many of the antique mirrors from the 19th and early 20th century hanging in heritage villages are mercury mirrors. They can be identified by touching the glass and seeing if there is a space between your object and the glass or if they appear to be touching. If there is no gap, it’s highly likely to be a mercury mirror. Though good visitors will keep from touching off-limit items while visiting a heritage site. Experts use other techniques but I am, sadly, not a mirror expert. Moving on…
Mercury is the only known metallic element to be in liquid form while at room temperature. This may not be relevant to the photo I captured, but it makes for a more interesting read. Plus, it’s thought inspiring to note that mercury has a long connection with mysticism, folklore, historic medicine, and traditional magics. So if the mirror I photographed was a mercury mirror, may that have affected the image? [Lazy shrug]
Ghost tour at Discovery Harbour
Located in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada by Georgian Bay is the heritage village of Discovery Harbour. Replicating life as it would have been lived in the early 1800s, the site depicts a British naval military base. While some properties on the location are reconstructions from the 1970s, the land and artifacts hold hard truths of the past including a cemetery and burial of two men and a girl.
With many of these historic locations, hauntings are part of the charm and add an additional layer of interest. Besides, if any candlelight tour is offered, it’s best to say yes and sign up. And it just so happens that Discovery Harbour offers ghost tours by lantern light and that’s how I captured the photo.
Our tour guide walked us through the village stopping at locations to share the history and any spooky stories connected to them. She had a great mix of humour, heart, and atmospheric storytelling.
After stopping at the marked gravestones, we headed toward the Commanding Officer’s House, also known as the Roberts’ house. We gathered in the yard, milling around, awaiting the ghost stories. While my eyes perhaps should have gravitated toward our speaker, they instead became transfixed on a nearby window. I felt a woman’s presence standing there, looking at us. I saw nothing, but I am not particularly gifted with clairvoyance. I sure felt her though. My thoughts were confirmed when our guide recounted a story of a ghostly figure of a woman having been spotted in that very window. [Dun, dun, dun]
Inside, the house is fantastic, warming, and cozy like all good historic homes. It’s pretty much two tiny houses with a little outdoor walkway connecting the two spaces. What a fun feature! Back on topic, I entered the building, and turned to the left.
Reports in this living room claim that a pioneer woman has been photographed in the antique mirror hanging on the wall. I always take photos of mirrors, but now I was all in. Shuffling along, waiting for the crowd to clear, I snapped a couple photos. I moved along toward the far side which has a door opening to an outdoor porch. Looking around outside in the dark for a moment, I headed back inside. While the other visitors exited the room, fearing I would be left behind, I snapped two photos of the mirror on my way past. I did a quick poke around in the other half of the house before rushing back to the group who was ready to roll.
Capturing a “ghost photo”
I thought nothing of the photos I had taken. If anything, I was curious if I would see anyone in the window that had captured my attention. We wrapped up the tour after several more outdoor sites and buildings and a lengthy atmospheric moonlit walk alongside the Georgian Bay waters with sounds of lapping on one side and crickets singing in the forested area opposite. I had a few more experiences on the outing including predicting a spot where other ghostly encounters have been reported, but let’s get to the photo. Here it is. What do you see?
I returned back to the hotel for the evening exhausted. I flipped on the TV, kicked up my feet, and began scrolling through my photos. Nope, nope, nothing, that looks pretty. Wow, my phone is excellent at creating long light streaks while being unable to focus in the dark. Nope, nice pic, hot blurry mess, wait! What? [Zooms in] Umm. What?!
The two images of the mirror I took entering the fairly crowded room appear normal, but the two images I snapped on my way out are different. Two black shadowed figures are in not just in one photo, but the second one taken about a second later. One is blurred and the other is clear. There appear to be two women in period dress reflected in this antique mirror. Women who were most certainly not in the room with me. At least, not that I could see.
The figure on the left is facing sideways, looking to the right and is dressed all in black and wearing a bonnet or possibly a ladies cap. The bonnet even shows details of a bavolet (sometimes called a neck curtain), an extra ruffle or bit of fabric to cover the neck for sun protection and defence against biting bugs. (4) The dress she wears seems to fade outward at the waist and details around her shoulders and arms indicate the presence of a cape (less superhero, more old-timey shoulder cover). Her fashions are in line with the early 1800s, the same period as the site. When zoomed-in, details appear that may show a nose, face, and perhaps suggest the woman wore spectacles. It’s not at all what I expected to find!
Next to the woman appears to be a second figure that is less clear. Is she wearing a mourning veil? It’s difficult to tell, but the bonneted figure is defined enough for me to seriously consider that I captured a real, unedited, unaltered ghost photo. No, there were no mannequins in the room and no one on the tour, not even our guide, was dressed in period costume. Could something else have caused the spooky reflection? Perhaps a piece of ornate, curved furniture reflecting back into the old mirror? I had to know. I needed to return to the site in the daylight and try to recreate the photo.
Daylight trip to debunk a photo
I returned in the daylight two days later to explore Discovery Harbour again. It was raining and the village was all but deserted. Good. The rain will charge the air and it won’t be busy. So, the ghosts will have more energy and no one will block my photos. Eager as ever, I couldn’t wait to get back to the Roberts’ house.
Upon entering, I said hello as I often do when entering a home that is empty, yet feels occupied. I beelined for the living room, scanning for furniture or anything that might be reflected into the mirror. There was nothing. I took many photos from different angles trying to recreate the shapes of figures in the mirror. I even took a short video, which was quite brave. [Pats self on back]
The day was overcast from the rain, yet there was significantly more light than the dimly lit candlelight tour from two nights prior. Was that why there was no odd reflection in the mirror? I can’t say, but I do know that I tried a variety of ways to recreate the photo and every time, it looked like a mirror reflecting its immediate surroundings. I could not debunk this photo or find anything that could create a reflection resembling two women.
Other daytime tales
The day I returned to the village, I entered the Home of the Fort Adjutant (James Keating), another reportedly haunted property, and, startled, saw our ghost tour guide working in the house as a day time guide. I couldn’t help myself and told her about the photo. Showed her the photo. Texted the photo. And we talked about it and the history of the Roberts’ house and its inhabitants. Two sisters lived in the house in the 1820s– Captain Samuel Roberts’ wife Rosamond and her sister Letitia. Could these be the women depicted in the mirror? [Grimace]
There’s no way to know for sure, but as someone who worked at the site almost daily, she boldly acknowledged there was nothing in the house that would cause a reflection like that. What’s more, while we were speaking, my left ear became hot. Very hot. So what? Well, I stepped outside and it returned to normal. It wasn’t until I crossed the threshold of another haunted property, the Original Officers’ Quarters, that my left ear decided to burn again. This time it was so hot, my husband commented on how red it was. My left ear has proven to be a bit of my sixth sense guide, so though it may not seem like much, it meant more to me. Time to go.
Another photo: debunked
Another odd photo was captured on the night of the ghost tour. It looked like an AI generated monster or maybe it was a Halloween decoration that was not visible in the night but caught by the camera in the dark. It’s a creepy photo and after seeing the ladies in the mirror, it piqued my interest. This tale, however, proves how important it is to investigate a strange picture and not just accept it as fact. Speaking to the knowledgeable tour guide, she identified the architecture and pointed me back to the Roberts’ house yet again. This time, after a bit of guesswork, I noticed the palisade-style fence posts lined up with the door and railing. The creepy troll-like skeleton caped figure? A zoomed-in part of the wood from the fence post. Debunked.
Overall thoughts?
I am honestly a bit frightened when I look at the photo of the mirror that appears to depict two women. I was not scared at the time and did not sense anything sinister, yet there is something about seeing anything in a mirror that is not supposed to be there that creates a sense of unease. Could this truly be a ghost photo? Did the mirror reflect a glimpse of the past, a time slip of sorts? Or perhaps, there is another alternative explanation I am overlooking that would explain the figures. If you can think of one, please let me know!
Sources
Visit Discover Harbour and experience the tour yourself! https://discoveryharbour.on.ca/
Endnotes
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- “The History of Mirror: Through a Glass, Darkly.” Bienenstock Furniture Library website. Accessed, September 2026. https://www.furniturelibrary.com/mirror-glass-darkly/
- Ibid.
- “Mercury Mirror.” Marc Maison website. Accessed, September 2026. https://www.marcmaison.com/architectural-antiques-resources/mercury-mirror
- “A Shield Against the Cold: an 1820s winter bonnet.” Maryland Center for History and Culture website. Accessed September 2026. https://www.mdhistory.org/a-shield-against-the-cold-an-1820s-winter-bonnet/
Illustrations
Ancient Egyptian mirror from The Met Collection, New York.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545165
Ensemble ca. 1843 from The Met Collection, New York.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/108049
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this article to the late Brent Thomas of Paranormal Portal who passed away in July 2026. I was an avid listener of his podcast and I think he would have enjoyed seeing this ghost photo.
Published September 4, 2026.