Facebook users claim that they were able to see faces in the flames of a burning church. The images of the devastated chapel have triggered a sort of social media storm after the claims of faces in the flames. Users are claiming that these faces are nothing ask if “the haunting faces of lost souls screaming in the flames of a burning church.”
Facebook users see faces
On Thursday evening, Park Congregational Church in Llanelli, South Wales caught fire, and Robert Davies took a photograph of it. Later he posted it on Facebook where several users commented on it, claiming the phenomenon to be quite spooky. Users claimed they could see the visages in the image of the burning church.
One of the Facebook users, Dai Thomas, said, “Am I the only one that can see faces in this photo?” Another user, Marc Spalding, said, “I can see four faces. Two on the left, one in the middle and one on the right.” One more user, Jenifer Gilmore added, “Your picture has freaky faces in it. LOTS of freaky faces x.” Replying to these comments, Robert said he took the photograph from his phone, and straightaway uploaded it to Facebook. He told Wales Online that he had not altered the image with any software.
This fire incident at the Llanelli church forced 50 residents to leave their homes, and it took 30 firefighters to put the fire out. No one was injured in this incident. Five boys aged 15 and 16 were arrested in connection with the blaze.
Nothing unusual
Experts claim that it is nothing but a psychological phenomenon called pareidolia, in which a familiar pattern is perceived by the mind, such as seeing faces in random images or patterns of light and shadow. There are examples of several images and patterns being observed in clouds such as faces or objects. Some people also say they are able to see a man in the moon.
This is not the first time when this type of phenomenon has been recorded. In 2011, a picture of a house in Fabian Way was posted on Twitter by someone who felt the slanting roof and front door lintel made it look like a dead ringer for Adolf Hitler.