Sheffield Park Woman

Christopher Petty and his brother were out enjoying a warm Sussex day in Sheffield Park snapping pictures to commemorate the 2004 outing.  When they got the film developed, they saw something that neither of them expected.

Standing in the background of one of the shots stood what appeared to be the shadowy form of an elderly woman.  There are no statues in the park (confirmed by park rangers) and Mr. Petty told reporters from the BBC that no one was standing beside or behind him at the time that the photo was taken.

So, if this is a ghost who is she and why did she just appear now?

Not long after the BBC broadcast the story, they were contacted by the family of a woman named Mrs. Florence Bristow who appealed to them and to Mr. Petty to reveal if the picture was genuine or a hoax.

The family revealed details of a tragedy that happened in Sheffield Park on Saturday 4th August 2001. 87 year old Florence Bristow had gone to the gardens, with her son John and his wife, for an afternoon out.

Once there, they hired a motorized buggy, intending to travel around the edge of the lake. Unfortunately, Florence suffered a heart attack and fell across her son who lost control of the buggy, which then plunged into the water. John's wife dove into the lake in an attempt to save her and although first reports suggested Florence had drowned, later tests showed that she had died before entering the water. Resuscitation attempts were tried at the lake side but to no effect.

Understandably, when Mrs. Bristow's family spotted Mr. Petty's ghost picture on the BBC website, they were shocked at the spirit's resemblance to their departed matriarch even down to the top that she was wearing when she passed away.

Is this picture the result of a hoax grown out of control or is this the spirit of Florence Bristow piercing the veil that separates life and death?  Thus far, no one can say one way or the other.