On September 7, 2020, Kristopher Levasaur took a family picnic to Lake Auburn in Maine. He had no idea that one photo from that afternoon would later become the center of a disturbing mystery.
Kristopher was sitting beside his young daughter when his fiancée, Stephanie, took a picture of them. They appeared to be alone near the lake.
But when Stephanie looked at the photo later that night, she noticed something strange in the top-left corner.
There appeared to be a woman’s face looking down at them.
The family did not remember seeing anyone nearby.
A week later, Kristopher posted the photo on Facebook to ask people if they could explain what they were seeing. One comment changed the story completely.
A woman named Jennifer Galant wrote, “It’s my daughter.”
Her daughter, Jessica, had drowned in Lake Auburn about two years earlier.
The Family Picnic at Lake Auburn
The afternoon of September 7 was warm and pleasant. Kristopher, Stephanie and their daughter wanted to spend some time outside after months of staying home during the COVID-19 shutdowns.
They chose Lake Auburn in Maine for a family picnic.
Kristopher sat on a bench with his daughter while Stephanie stood behind them, looking through the cooler they had brought.
The family ate snacks and spent time together.
At one point, Stephanie asked Kristopher and their daughter to turn around for a picture.
Kristopher did not particularly like having his picture taken. He preferred to enjoy the moment instead of stopping for photos.
Still, he turned around and gave a reluctant smile.
Stephanie took the picture.
That was the only photo she took during the picnic.
The family continued enjoying the afternoon for several hours. When the weather became colder, Kristopher told his daughter it was time to pack up and go home.
At the time, none of them noticed anything unusual.
Stephanie Notices Something Strange in the Photo
Later that night, the family was back home.
Their daughter was upstairs, while Kristopher watched television and Stephanie sat on the couch using her phone.
At first, everything was normal.
Then Kristopher noticed that Stephanie was staring closely at her phone.
She was no longer casually scrolling. Her expression changed from confusion to fear.
Kristopher asked what she was looking at.
Stephanie showed him the picture from Lake Auburn.
At first, Kristopher did not understand what had caught her attention.
Then Stephanie pointed toward the top-left corner of the image.
There appeared to be a woman’s face in the frame.
The discovery shocked both of them.
According to Kristopher and Stephanie, there had been nobody else around them when Stephanie took the picture.
They could not explain how the apparent figure had appeared in the photograph.
The Mysterious Woman in the Corner
The photograph showed Kristopher and his daughter sitting together near Lake Auburn.
Stephanie had taken the picture, so she was not visible.
But in the top-left corner was what appeared to be a woman looking downward toward them.
Her face was clearly visible enough to attract attention.
Kristopher and Stephanie did not recognize her.
They also said they had been alone at the location.
The photograph left the couple with more questions than answers.
Was it an actual person who had gone unnoticed?
Was the image caused by something in the background?
Could it have been a reflection, an optical effect or another photographic artifact?
Or was it something that could not be easily explained?
At that point, they had no answer.
Kristopher Posts the Photo on Facebook
The image continued to bother Kristopher and Stephanie.
About a week later, on September 15, Kristopher decided to ask other people for their opinions.
He posted the photograph on Facebook and asked users what they thought was visible in the top-left corner.
The post quickly attracted attention.
People offered different theories about the strange image. Many were disturbed by the apparent face.
Then one comment stood out.
A woman named Jennifer Galant wrote that the woman in the picture was her daughter.
Jennifer Galant Recognizes the Face
Jennifer’s daughter was named Jessica.
Jessica had drowned in Lake Auburn about two years before Kristopher and Stephanie took their photograph.
Her death was still surrounded by unanswered questions.
According to the story, investigators had not determined whether Jessica’s death was an accident or a homicide. Her case remained open.
When Jennifer saw the photograph, she believed she recognized Jessica’s face.
To Jennifer, the resemblance was unmistakable.
The location made the discovery even more disturbing.
The picture had been taken near the same lake where Jessica had died.
Jennifer believed the figure in the photograph was the ghost of her daughter.
She also believed Jessica’s spirit remained at Lake Auburn until the circumstances surrounding her death were resolved.
Is the Lake Auburn Photo Proof of a Ghost?
The photograph has been interpreted by some people as a possible ghost photo, but the image itself does not prove that a supernatural figure was present.
There are several possible explanations for an unusual image in a photograph.
A person could have been outside the family’s attention. Objects in the background can also resemble faces, a phenomenon known as pareidolia. Reflections, shadows, camera artifacts and image compression can create unusual shapes as well.
Without the original photograph, its metadata, the exact location and an independent investigation, it is impossible to determine from the story alone what appears in the corner of the image.
For Jennifer, however, the connection to her daughter was deeply personal.
She saw a familiar face at the place where Jessica had died.
Jessica Galant’s Unsolved Death
The most serious part of the story is not the photograph itself.
It is Jessica Galant’s death.
According to the account, Jessica drowned in Lake Auburn approximately two years before the photograph was taken. Her death had not been conclusively classified as an accident or homicide.
That uncertainty left her family without a clear explanation of what happened.
The photograph therefore took on a deeper meaning for Jennifer.
She did not simply see an unexplained shape.
She believed she saw her daughter.
And because the photograph was taken at Lake Auburn, the image became connected to the unresolved circumstances surrounding Jessica’s death.
A Photograph That Raised More Questions Than Answers
Kristopher initially took the picture as an ordinary family photo.
He did not even want to pose for it.
Stephanie took the picture anyway, and the family moved on with their afternoon.
It was only later, when they were home, that the strange figure became visible to them.
Then Kristopher shared the image online, where strangers began offering their own theories.
Jennifer’s comment added another layer to the mystery.
She connected the face to her daughter Jessica, who had died in the same lake years earlier.
Whether the image shows a ghost, an unnoticed person, a photographic effect or something else remains unresolved.
What is certain from the story is that a simple family photograph became linked to a tragic unsolved death.
And for Jennifer Galant, the image became a haunting reminder of the daughter she lost.
Final Thoughts
The Lake Auburn photograph remains a strange and unsettling story.
Kristopher and Stephanie believed they were alone when the picture was taken. Later, they noticed what appeared to be a woman’s face in the corner.
Jennifer Galant then claimed the woman was her daughter Jessica, who had drowned in Lake Auburn about two years earlier.
There is no confirmed evidence that the photograph captured a ghost. But the timing, location and resemblance gave the image a powerful meaning for Jessica’s family.
Most importantly, the story leaves behind a question that the photograph cannot answer:
What really happened to Jessica Galant?
Until her death is fully explained, the strange image from Lake Auburn will remain part of an unresolved mystery.