The father of the little girl who starred in a photograph that sent the internet into a frenzy because of a mystery pair of boots has 'no idea ' what the object could be . Martin Springall , 38 , photographed his young daughter - who he wished not be named - standing near a rocky outcrop in Zushi , Japan , in July 2014 . He said he was living and working in Tokyo , around an hour north , and wanted to send a picture 'to my wife , who was at work ' . ' I took a series of them , ' Mr Springall said via email . 'It was n't until I was checking them later in the evening that I just happened to notice the boots behind her in that one shot . ' ' I showed my wife immediately . She was considerably more upset by it than I was , to be honest . Martin Springall ( pictured with his daughter , who he wished not to be named ) said he had 'no idea ' what the item could be . A trick of the light or paranormal forces at play ? There is chatter online about what the cause of this apparent black boot apparition is . Eerie : A pair of black boots are clearly seen behind the little girl - even though her photographer father apparently does not recall a person standing there . The Reddit user who posted the controversial image online suggested they could be samurai boots - although others are not so sure . Mr Springall gave permission for his friend , Brian , to post the image to Reddit - where it became a topic of 'mostly negative ' discussion - until it resurfaced this week . ' I just kind of obsessed over that one photo for a couple of hours that evening and then tried to forget about it . ' I really do n't like dwelling on stuff like this , to be honest - it freaks me out . ' The photograph has sparked considerable debate on the website Reddit , with sceptics arguing whether the picture was modified , if there was a person standing behind the girl or if it was all a trick of the light . Mr Springall insisted there was 'no one ' else in the vicinity - and said it had not been Photoshopped , despite sceptics believing otherwise . ' I certainly would have noticed someone standing behind her in one of the shots , ' he said . 'She likely would n't even have posed for the picture in that case , because she 's incredibly shy ' . In this picture from the same set , no one appears to be standing behind this little girl . However , in this other supplied picture , the black boots have returned . ' I have no idea what the boots are , where they come from or what they could represent . 'All I can tell you is that I totally get the cynicism ... . If I saw that online I would view it exactly the same way . ' I can assure you , though , that it was just the two of us in the area and the photo is 100 % untouched . He said he showed his friend Brian Publicover , 38 , the picture on a camping trip around a month later . Mr Publicover , a Canadian , then posted it to Reddit under the username Obiaruf . 'We 're not saying it 's a ghost , ' said Mr Publicover , who is working in Japan , where his friend was also living until a few months ago . Friends : Brian ( left ) posted the picture to Reddit , where it took off . Both Martin and Brian . Sceptics have noted the presence of a blue piece of fabric lingering behind the little girl . He added that he had just been 'speculating ' previously when he said on Reddit that the boots appeared to be 'samurai boots ' . He said there were more convincing posts on Reddit that argued it was actually the image of an American World War II era uniform . Particularly given a flash of blue fabric that appeared above her left arm . ' I hope someone can put this through some sort of image-analysis software , ' he said . 'We are n't trying to pull some sort of scam here . We 're just saying `` we ca n't explain this , and it 's a bit unsettling '' . ' Mr Springall , who lives in Toronto with his wife and child , has an open mind . ' I 'm about as skeptical as they come when it comes to the paranormal , so your guess is as good as mine . '
Martin Springall showed mysterious pair of boots behind little girl . No one else was there , says the little girl 's father , who took the picture . Photograph said their picture was not Photoshopped . He also said no one was standing behind the girl . Sceptics believe it could be a rocky outcrop or trick of the light . ' I really do n't like dwelling on stuff like this , to be honest - it freaks me out ' ' I 'm about as skeptical as they come when it comes to the paranormal , so your guess is as good as mine '