Ghostly image shocks St. John's wedding guests

People at a wedding reception at the Newman Wine Vaults in St. John's believe they caught an image of an uninvited and otherworldly guest.

Newlyweds Matt White and Danielle Hann said one of their friends was shocked by the digital image she took at the June 18 event.

"Karen [Hanlon] was staring at this camera and she came running out with the camera saying, 'Look what I just took! Look what I just took! There's somebody in the picture," said White.

On the right-hand side of the photograph, some see a figure that seems to be wearing a white top and floating in the air.

"Somehow it's not as creepy in the daylight," said White.

But it still makes Hann uneasy.

"I don't know, it's still creepy," she said.

St. John's folklorist Dale Jarvis said it might be explained away as a reflection or a light flare, but he added that the Newman Wine Vaults does have a haunting history.

"It is one of those places that continually generates new ghost stories. So, this is part of that tradition for the space," said Jarvis, who has collected many St. John's ghost stories.

Jarvis is the organizer of the city's "haunted hike" – a tour of the downtown area that recounts many of the stories he has been told.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage website said the history of the wine vault is unclear.

It's believed to have been built in the early 19th century, and was used by the English mercantile firm Newman and Company to age port wine from Portugal in St. John's – a tradition that began in the late 17th century and continued until the late 19th century.

The building is a Provincial Historic Site and operates through an agreement with the Newfoundland Historic Trust.

The Trust has developed the vaults into a museum dedicated to recounting the history of Newfoundland's liquor trade.