A hiker in Sichuan province, China thought they were seeing a ghost because they thought they could see the shape and image of a “ghost” in the distance, along with halos. Bright light and rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds. The hiker thought the creature was waving at him from afar as he studied the shape. After a longer thought, the hiker realized that it was a rare natural optical illusion that gave the impression that there were “ghosts” on the mountain top. However, the walker quickly realized that his mind was just playing tricks on him and he wasn’t seeing ghosts. Through an illusion commonly known as the Brocken ghost, he can see his own shadow.
What is the Brocken Ghost?
According to Britannica, this natural phenomenon was first recorded in the Harz mountains of Germany in 1780. A specific peak of this mountain range is called the Brocken. Johann Silberschlag, a missionary from Germany who frequently visited the Alps, made the initial observation. This happens when sunlight passes through the light that has been refracted and damped. There may be rings or bands of different colors around the observer. According to Brittanica, these phenomena occur due to the diffraction of sunlight by nearby cloud droplets. Authors such as Charles Dickens and Lewis Carroll wrote about this common phenomenon in Europe, in international literary works because they considered it an omen. Over time, hiker-like stories have emerged. A British hiker captured evidence of what he saw with his camera after spotting an “unknown figure” near him in the Lake District in November 2022. Just a year earlier, another hiker claimed to have seen the same figure in the Lake District. same area. This hiker was certain he saw a ghost following him. Florian Clément, a French climber, claimed to have witnessed a figure who was always being followed. He then realized that what he saw was probably Brocken’s ghost.
