The Houston Photograph

Picture taken in Houston, TX by Douglas Studios on January 24, 1950 In Houston, Texas, on January 24, 1950, an amazing photograph was taken by the Douglas Studios. In the photograph, there appeared a halo-like Light above the head of Rev. William Branham. The negative was taken to George J. Lacy, Examiner of Questioned Documents (who had acted as an external specialist for the FBI). George J. Lacy was asked to determine whether or not the light could have been the result of improper exposure, developing or retouching. This investigation served to completely authenticate the fact that the unusual brightness was definitely caused by a light striking the negative. It has been postulated that the out of focus light over the head of William Branham could have been caused by a floodlight in the stadium that would have showed up as blurred in the photograph if the depth of field was narrow. There is, however, no way to prove or disprove this explanation. William Branham quoted Mr. Lacy as saying, "Rev. Branham, you will die like all other mortals, but as long as there is a Christian civilization, your picture will live on." However, this comment cannot be verified. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:3-5) Facts surrounding the picture It was about midway in the Houston campaign in 1950, and God was moving in a very powerful way. None could deny that there was an element of the Supernatural moving in the Sam Houston Coliseum. Most were convinced that it was Almighty God, but a few were skeptical. One of the skeptics was Rev. W. E. Best who opposed divine healing and became hostile against Rev. Branham and F.F. Bosworth (who spoke during many of the day services) teaching on the subject of divine healing. The hostile clergyman issued a public challenge through the newspapers, to debate with Rev. Bosworth on the subject of "Divine Healing Through the Atonement." Rev. Bosworth asked and received Bro. Branham's permission to accept the challenge. Bro. Branham cautioned Brother Bosworth against being argumentative over "the Word". The whole matter was given front-page publicity in the Houston newspapers. The January 24th, 1950 issue of The Houston Press hit the news stands with the headline: "Baptist Cleric To Challenge 'Miracle Man'". As the debate got under way, it was quite apparent that the sympathy of the vast audience was almost entirely on the side of the visiting evangelists. Large numbers of members from the same denomination as Rev. Best stood to their feet as witnesses that they believed in Divine healing and had in fact been healed. This sentiment became increasingly evident throughout the service. To record what he thought would be a great milestone in his career, the opposing Rev. Best secured the services of Mr. James Ayers and Mr. Ted Kipperman, professional photographers from Douglas Studios in Houston. They were to take a series of pictures of him while he was speaking. After taking several photos of Rev. Best, the photographer snapped only one picture of Rev. Branham, who spoke briefly just before the service closed. Immediately following the meeting Mr. Ayers went to the darkroom of his studio to develop the negatives that had been exposed. To his surprise every one of the negatives turned out to be absolutely blank with the exception of the one which had been taken of Rev. Branham. His surprise turned to amazement when he noticed that on this negative, immediately over the head of Rev. Branham, was apparently a supernatural halo of light. Mr. Ayers called the others of the studio to look at the negative; but when they did so, each was equally puzzled and no one could explain the presence of this halo. The following morning the photographer sent word to Rev. Branham to inform him of the strange phenomenon that had occurred in connection with the photograph he had taken the night before. Rev. Branham explained to the young man that he was not greatly surprised. He testified that just before the picture was taken he heard the Pillar of Fire descend into the building with a sound of rushing wind. Local newspaper reporting     Click here for a copy of the January 24th, 1950 issue of The Houston Press. The same morning that the photographer brought the news of the halo of light in the picture above Rev. Branham's head, the Houston newspapers carried full reports of the service on their front pages. Of course, the newspapers had heard nothing yet about the photograph. And it is interesting to note that Mr. Ayers, one of the photographers who had been secured by the opposing clergyman, himself had made skeptical remarks - which remarks were included in the reports by the newspapers. That the picture should come from this same photographer makes the whole matter the more astonishing, and confirms its absolute authenticity, if indeed any more evidence were needed. Below we include some greatly condensed reports of the meeting as they appeared that morning in the Houston newspapers: THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE - JAN. 25, 1950 (Abridged) "They lay on cots under the glare of the great lights of Sam Houston Coliseum Tuesday night - the lame, the sick, the infirm, the ones whose hopes for physical health had almost gone. They lay there quietly, some of them uncomprehendingly, as the theological argument swirled about and above them. For it was they who - Rev. F. F. Bosworth, an out-of-town evangelist, said - could be cured of their infirmities by the divine healing power passed on through Rev. William Branham, Rev. Mr. Bosworth's partner. But Rev. W. E. Best, pastor of the Houston Tabernacle Baptist Church, contended that any such "miraculous healing" had ceased with the apostles. And he challenged Rev. Mr. Bosworth to prove otherwise. When the Rev. Best shouted there were those "who used sorcery to bewitch people, so that people are sincerely misled and say it's the power of God," James Ayers, a commercial photographer of 1610 Rusk, agreed. "Branham puts on a show," said Mr. Ayers. "Somehow he never gets around to the cripples and the persons who have arthritis. He simply hypnotizes his audience." NOTE: Mr. Ayres mentioned above in the Houston Press was the photographer who hours later was to discover the supernatural light above Rev. Branham's head on the photograph. Authentication After conferring with Rev. Branham, Gordon Lindsay arranged for the negative to be turned over to George Lacy, considered the greatest authority on questioned documents in that area. Mr. Lacy then submitted the negative to exhaustive scientific tests. Rev. Branham was certain that the negative was genuine but considered it wise to have absolute scientific proof of its genuineness. After a most thorough examination, Mr. Lacy gave a certified statement indicating that every test showed that the negative was absolutely genuine, and had not been "doctored" or retouched or been given a double exposure of any kind. Today, the picture remains in the U.S Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. [1] Report by George J. Lacy Navigation Home Our Podcast The List of Problems Life Story Prophecies & Visions Seven Seals Was William Branham Honest? Doctrines Church Ages Jesus Languages Videos Print Resources Help! Facebook Contact Us