A photo of the Cooper family with a falling body has passed many rounds in paranormal communities. Many alleged photos of ghosts will remain a mystery, but maybe this secret behind the photo is now solved?
Although the last evidence in this ongoing case with photography at the top of the majority of haunted photography lists was abandoned in 2020, there are still stories about the terrifying history of the spirit behind the image, and articles describing the exposed mystification on this subject, rarely mentions its last part.
So let's take on who the Cooper family was, what happened in the picture and who is behind this indefinite legend that has been passed on the internet for a long time? Let's enter the story behind the picture and many twists and turns that they did along the way.
History of the Cooper family and a falling body
Although the details differ in different repetitions, there is mainly one way to start the falling body of Cooper Family. In the 1950s, the Cooper family in Texas bought an elderly house and moved to it. On the first night my father took a photo of mother and grandmother posing two children at the dining room table. Everyone was cheerful and smiling. They lived an American dream.
But when the photo was developed, they saw, to their horror, that what looked like a body falling or hanging from the ceiling materialized after them. It wasn't there when my father took a picture.
So where did it come from? Was it a revelation of the deceased former tenant of the house? Nobody knew. Since then, many theories have been issued, just like this house was built at the top of a place where many Black Americans were lynched and, for example, it was a spirit.
According to some varieties of legend, petite boys had nightmares for years because of this photo. Some versions ended when the family decided to move out of the house because they could not cope with ghostly visiting that happened at home.
True behind the picture
So what really happened? Double exhibitions were not a infrequent thing in analogue photos before the digital era, but not all photos attracted as much attention as this. According to many “experts“, They thought the image was justified. At least according to posts without any sources. But the truth was not as the internet treated him.
It seems that the photo was transmitted on the lists, such as the most mysterious photos or terrifying photos of ghosts since at least 2009, when it was published on the page of fans for horror writer Thomas Ligotti. As for the history of the photo, it seems that a conversation about showing the Cooper family from Texas seems to be invented in 2013.
And what happened to the Cooper family? The fact is that they were not even called Cooper, but copper and somehow on the way to copying and pasteing, it has been changed. One of the boys in the photo recognized himself when he became viral and did not seem too amused by this photo.
He said: When my older brother sent me this link, I was the floor. We are two boys in the picture. We returned in 1959. I have many such photos, but not this one. My mother used to throw photos she didn't like. In the end, the ones she kept was told to me. I am annoyed by the fact that someone had a family photo. History is almost completely fiction. Our name is copper, not Cooper. Does anyone know who did it?
In 2015, photographers and others Metabunk I immersed myself deeply in the photo in the forum Robert Copper, who sent him. Is it even a man in the picture? Some pointed out that after turning, she looks more like a woman hitting a ballet pose, even moving as far as the identification of a person hanging from the ceiling, because she is a ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn, applied to the photo among the photos.
Thinking that it would be the end, people rested the case for some time. But this has not yet been resolved.
The perpetrator appears
A book called it is written “Urban Legend: The True Story of the Cooper Family Photo”. Richard Ramsdell. People began to question this publication so close Metabunk debate. However, in 2020, in the same thread in which Robert Copper appeared as one of the boys in the photo, he now appeared as Richard Ramsdell, the author of the book, as well as the one for the photo, as well as in the photo.
He wrote: I want to thank everyone for many hours of entertainment. I am a younger boy in the picture and I am Richard Ramsdell.
I came across this thread in May 2015 and I was shocked, seeing that my early works gained so much attention and speculation. (I was imprisoned by the very number of websites that consolidated the history of Cooper Family.)
I created this picture in 1981 in the darkroom. I used to have a page where it was displayed and others. Someone had to catch the picture and create the story of Cooper Family. The original story of “mystification” is not mine. But it's hilarious!
I am one of the 2 creators of Bristel Goodman online arg. We just tried to make a website and came across the world of Arg. It was a random ar. Then it seemed obvious to create Robert C. to mess with you. I'm sorry, I couldn't facilitate myself. The whole thing was so crazy. (And so, for many nights I could have fun at the pub.)
I quickly thought about writing a book. I just created 2 apples, so I had some skills there. (Amazon books have been converted from iBooks. I agree, they look like nonsense in comparison.
Of course, the book is a complete fiction (mainly), the truth is simply not so hard for me. Apparently I am not a qualified author, but I was hoping that photos combined with a entertaining story would facilitate me earn a few bucks. Thanks to those of you who bought it. I smile when I know that several of you liked it (Dierdre, Ray von G).
So who is Richard Ramsdell? In addition to being a little boy in the photo, he now claims that in favor of edition of the spirit in the photo. According to his IMDB, there is: Richard G. Ramsdell, editor, colorist and producer, known for Briste Goodman (2014) and Speed of Love (2010). Born and raised in Upstate NY, he graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Salzburg College and the University of Florida. He has been a visual artist for over 30 years, with many scholarships, subsidies and international exhibitions.
It is worth noting that some of his photos have a very artistic operate of double exhibition. Is the story of this strange photo finally solved or is there even more layers to tear? Mystification in mystification.
References:
Debunked: Cooper/Copper Family Ghost photo | Metabunk
Photography of Cooper House ghosts Ghosts and Nawiedziny The nation of the fortress
https://www.ligotti.net/photoplog/index.php?s=603c6358A4C4C4550F05B422DC56CC32F0&N&N=2112
Photo of Falling Body Family Cooper
Debunked: Cooper/Copper Family Ghost photo | Page 4 | Metabunk
Richard G. Ramsdell – Biography – IMDB
Image Source: Pixabay.com
