A ghost-hunting couple claim to have debunked the infamous legend of the 'white monk' of Tintern Abbey - with the help of Google Maps. Lee and Linzi Steer visited the 900-year-old ruins in Monmouthshire while investigating a nearby 'haunted' hotel and filmed the historic building as they walked past with their group.
But after the duo posted their gloomy footage on social media, they were inundated with comments from viewers pointing to the 'ghost' of a monk stood watchfully at the doorway. Initially, the pair believed it could be a spook and their research found the tale had existed for 'years and years' - and the exact same figure had even been supposedly caught on camera by a paranormal enthusiast in 2018.
Unable to explain how they had captured the same still silhouette as another ghost hunter, they decided to dig a little further. After pulling up Google Maps, Lee, 36, realised the ruins' wooden doors created a 'human-shape' that when struck by the moonlight produced the shape of a glowing monk - causing a 'spooky apparition' to appear.
Now Lee and Linzi, who run Project Reveal - Ghosts of Britain, are urging all amateur ghost hunters to 'question everything' and explained things can be 'very easy to mistake' for spirits. Lee, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said: "It's a bit of a legend. For years and years this abbey has had a reputation for being haunted by a monk.
"It goes to show how things can be mistaken in the dark. It's 100 percent that doorway without the shadow of a doubt. It just goes to show how easy it is to be mistaken and believe something is a ghost. It was our viewers who spotted the 'monk' and we tried to find a reason for it. My first reaction was it was too good to be true because it was just standing there.
"I did some research and found out loads of other people had captured that same figure in the exact same spot. It seemed strange to catch it in the same position. From the look of it it's definitely a white shape there. It stands out - like a white human shape. It could be the moon or the light from the abbey.
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"There are loads of things that can cause people to think they've captured something. Lights cast shadows and reflections. It's very easy to mistake things as spirits. We're encouraging people to question everything. It's always good to go back to a location when you've captured something to have a second look and verify if there's an explanation. Without going back you might not realise it's something explainable. In this case, Google Maps was the perfect tool."
The couple admit they were initially duped by the supernatural sighting at the stone church themselves. Lee said: "We do a lot of behind-the-scenes filming and on this night we were walking from the location of the hotel to the car which means we had to pass the amazing abbey.
"We started to get a lot of comments on our page and messages saying 'did you see the monk apparition?' We went to the time stamp and watched it. It was amazing. We wondered what it was. People spotted a monk-like figure on the ground level near a doorway - just standing there staring at us.
"Our viewers also pointed out something at the top above ground level in the window that looks a bit strange. They thought we'd captured something special. When we capture something like this, it makes us excited and want to go back and figure out what this could be.
"As investigators we need to be sure before we say it's a ghost. We need to go back and investigate the area and see if there are any possible causes to this apparition which other people are also capturing at this location.
"Many people have visited here and claimed to have captured the monk on their pictures - it appears in the windows, at the doors and on the grounds on their videos and pictures.
"There are many things we need to look into. Was this a trick of light or pareidolia [seeing faces in patterns] - or was it a ghost?"
