Florida Academy of Psychical Sciences

Copyright, Miami Paranormal Research Society

Has the ghost of the Lizard King been caught on film? The now famous ghostly photograph taken by Tom Petty has made the news again. Apparently some “experts” have declared the photo authentic, meaning that it does not appear that the photograph has been altered in any sort of way. Interestingly, I tried to find a comment of some sort to back up the claim that Tom Petty took this photograph. Tom Petty has never made any such statement that I or anyone else has been able to find. Secondly, Mr. Meisner (the man who has racked up all the publicity over the photo) does not come across as a credible witness. He seems to have too great a motive for having faked this photograph.

There is issue with the photograph itself. The magnified image reveals this so-called ghost. Notice the breaks in the “arms” of this ghost. If you study it closely, you will see that this looks like the revenge Pepper’s Ghost. It is clearly a projected image and not one that would have been accomplished by any graphics software or technique. With that in mind, of course the negatives would show no signs of alteration.

On his website, Meisner claims that he first came to Hollywood in 2002. Yet the photo he claims was snapped in 1997 in Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Point being that he did not have the famous connections such as Tom Petty, the alleged photographer at the time. This questionable photograph in fact, seems to be the reason for his notoriety. Mr. Meisner claims to have been a famed music journalist and critic and yet prior to going public about this photo, there is very little information on him and I have been unable to locate a single article published in Rolling Stone, Spin, or the long list of credentials he claims to have.

As a result of this photo being taken, Meisner claims his life has been cursed and he was offered the chance to film a reality show called “24 Hours In Hell” in room 32 of the Alta Cienega Motel on the 35th anniversary of Morrison’s death. On Brett’s Website, he makes this statement: “Jim Morrison’s ghost finally defeated by Brett Meisner. Rare footage from Alta Cienega Motel, Room 32 . Rock Critic Brett Meisner had the balls to spend 24 hours in Jim Morrison’s former motel room on the 35th anniversary of Jim’s death. FOX television was there to document the whole event for an upcoming TV special: Watch the promo clips now..”

Three videos uploaded to Mr. Meisner’s YouTube channel, are presented for your viewing pleasure. The first has had its audio disabled. Viewers have posted negative comments and in response, to part 3 of this fiasco, he fires back with ” You people are just jealous cause none of you have the balls? to spend a minute alone in that room. Especially the girls-Brett”

Yes, do watch these videos, because it appears that Meisner left his “Balls” elsewhere on the day of this filming. He wouldn’t last a minute on my team. I would go out to the Alta Cienega Motel with the members of the Miami Paranormal Research Society. I would stay there an entire week nobody runs out of there. Especially not the girls!

Two minutes into the filming, Meisner flees the hotel room leaving behind a bewildered film crew and producer.

Regarding this photograph which Meisner has attributed to bad luck, he has this to say:

“Meisner is currently trying to find a private and reputable organization to donate the photos and negative. So far he has no takers.”

The Miami Paranormal Research Society is more than reputable. They have sent Meisner a letter last year pertaining to this picture. The ghost team expressed desire to examine the negatives as they have photography experts in this organization. Furthermore, it is believed that since Jim Morrison was a Florida native, this photograph should rightfully call Florida its home.

I have worked as a professional model and photographer for more years than I care to say. Photographer Judi Schira is also available to review this evidence. The negatives need to be examined by a film expert, as a few photos taken by the Miami Paranormal Research Society have been. They should be examined by a third party who has nothing to do with the paranormal, no psychics, book writers, show producers, nobody who may have a vested interest in extending the truth. Too many of Jim Morrison’s friends and fans have been harmed by this story. The Miami Paranormal Research Society has never received any response from Mr. Meisner and in the letters, it was clearly stated that the research team is willing to take this photograph, if he wanted to give it away because of this supposed curse. Despite this, Meisner continues to claim that he hasn’t had any ” takers.”

“That’s a load of bunk,” said Rev. Thomas Myers, on of the founders of the research group. “We have sent him two letters expressing our interest in this photograph.”

One of the goals of the Miami Paranormal Research Society is to debunk some of the claims of paranormal activity. The group does a fine job but as you can imagine has made its share of enemies doing so during a time when everybody and their brother are trying to cash in on the ghost hunting craze. One of Miami Paranormal’s more recent achievements has been to study the Jim Morrison Ghost Photograph. In fact, that is one of the most popular articles on this website and theirs.

The group, which is one of the oldest in south Florida, determined that the photo was a hoax. Brett Meisner had generated a tremendous amount of publicity for himself as a result of being associated with this photo and yes, there were always critics who asserted that Meisner was profiting off of the rock legend’s fans.

The Miami Paranormal Research Society’s findings were published on July 7th, 2010 in a national news outlet. Some very curious things have transpired since that publication.

First of all, Meisner has always asserted that Tom Petty snapped the photo. Tom Petty was contacted by the Miami Paranormal Research Society to make sure he was aware of these allegations. Shortly after, someone named “Tom” posted a comment on the article stating that Meisner was “full of shit.”

Another person asserted that Meisner was never a real person, but instead just a fictional internet character. Despite his claims of being a music critic with articles published in Rolling Stone, we have been unable to find a single article.

The article got people talking and not only investigating the photograph but also the man behind this claim. We know that Mr. Meisner did know about these new findings as it was posted in the forums on his website back in July 2010! You can read it here “Meisner Couched again over Morrison Photo”
Now, just two months later, Meisner makes his hasty exit. Just saw this on his website:

All say, “How hard it is that we have to die” – a strange complaint to come from the mouths of people who have had to live. ~Mark Twain

It’s with great sadness that we inform people that Brett has passed away. He died in his sleep sometime during the evening of 09/13/2010. We don’t have a great deal of information at this time, but we can confirm his passing.

From what we are told, he did not suffer.

Thankfully, Brett had been able to make sense of his life in the last year. He was very happy and content.

As someone who knew Brett for over 15 years I can tell you firsthand that despite what may have been written on this site either in jest, for shock-value or otherwise, Brett genuinely loved people and was a kind decent person.

Anyone who met Brett over the years can vouch for him as a funny, caring and intelligent person. He will be missed. Remember him for his laughter and not for tears.

We are still somewhat in shock and will post more info as we have it.

Rest in Peace – Brett. We love you man.

Your friends,

This entry was posted by miamighost.