Could these be the boots of a disembodied samurai soldier, lingering mysteriously behind this little girl?

A spooky dark visage that appears behind the child in this photograph has sparked online rumours of a ghost.

This photograph was captured in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan - 'nearby some samurai tombs', apparently - late last year.

The Reddit user who posted it online - a friend of the photographer - insisted it was 'not photoshopped' and that paranormal forces could be at work.

'I'm not saying it's anything - just that it looks an awful lot like disembodied boots and legs...' 'Obiaruf ' told users.

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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

He then suggested they appeared to be 'samurai boots to me'.

'I know there are several very old samurai tombs nearby.

'Again, not saying that this is what is there, just that, based on preliminary research, this is my best guess...'

Photographs from the same set show the little girl with nothing behind her and the snapper 'swears' there was nothing behind her at the time.

In this picture from the same set, no one appears to be standing behind this little girl

However, in this other picture, the black boots have returned

Another conspirator suggested they could be combat boots from the World War II era.

'My grandfather was in the pacific theater (Okinawa Japan) in WWII and I recognize what the man in the background is wearing. Its a US Navy Uniform from WWII.'

But not everyone was so convinced by the tricky picture.

Some users suggested it was likely an optical illusion - a trick of the light - or the presence of a real-life human being. Or both.

'Looks like a living person in boots and dark pants and a light blue, possibly denim colored shirt,' said Jack_Shid.

Sceptics have noted the presence of a blue piece of fabric lingering behind the little girl

'Because of the perspective, the rest of the person is hidden behind the girl

Last month, a chilling image emerged on the 'Toowoomba Ghost Chasers' Facebook past, with its owner claiming it showed the ghost on a young drowning victim.

The photograph, which was taken in 2014, was posted on Facebook by Australian Kim Davison, from Queensland.

Social media users are claiming that the white shape at the back of the image, circled, shows a ghostly face

Photo was taken at Murphy's Hole which is the same location 13-year-old Doreen O'Sullivan drowned in 1915

Was it Doreen O'Sullivan' ghost? Ms Davison claims her daughter's leg was grabbed by something in the water

The image appeared to show two women and four children swimming at Murphy's Hole in the Lockyer River, south-east Queensland.

But Ms Davison and Jessie Lu, the other adult in the photo, were adamant they were only accompanied by three children.

It provoked fierce discussion online after it was revealed a little girl had died in the watering hole a century prior.

A Brisbane Courier newspaper clipping from November 22 1913 included a death notice for a little girl who died in that watering hole.

'Doreen O Sullivan, aged 13 years, eldest daughter of Mr. James O'Sullivan was accidentally drowned whilst bathing in the Lockyer Creek on Friday afternoon,' the notice read.

'Nearly an hour elapsed, before the body was recovered. The spot, which has always been considered dangerous, is known as Murphy's Hole, and is over 20 foot deep.

Ms Davison insisted: 'At the time of taking this photo there was nothing between us.

'I'm holding the little girl and that white head next to me with horns is not human, I can promise you that.

'Its fingers are on my shoulder and on my daughter's arm. They are long skeletal type fingers.'

An admin from the Toowoomba Ghost Chasers Facebook page posted a negative version of the image, saying: 'Light flare will always show up as black shadowing when the photo is inverted.. and in this case the light flare is coming from full sunlight reflecting off the water onto the child'

Tragic Doreen O'Sullivan was only 13 when she accidentally drowned in the swimming hole in 1915

Disturbingly, Ms Davison claims that there had been strange occurrences that day as they swam in the water, which only firms her belief that a spirit was present.

'On this day my daughter had her leg grabbed two times by something in the water.'

'When I went back in for one last dip to cool off I did feel something behind me as I was walking out of water but tried to ignore it.

Ms Davison was convinced the shadowy visage in the photograph was Doreen O'Sullivan's photograph.

A sceptic responded to Ms Davison's claims, pointing out another possibility.

'The eye sees what it wants to see. In my opinion, it's nothing more than a splash of water,' wrote Max Meara.

'Notice the child facing away from the camera - their left arm has just surfaced, causing a splash.'

Brad Glynn had another explanation: 'I think it is another kid just the sun is over exposed more on the face as they are facing the sun.'

The 'Toowoomba Ghost Chasers' Facebook page administrators were not convinced by either explanation.

'We used to swim there all the time growing up and all I can say is just to be safe I'm never swimming there again!' they wrote.

Ms Davison posted the photo on the Toowoomba Ghost Chasers Facebook page

The administrators were shocked by the photo, writing 'We used to swim there all the time growing up and all I can say is just to be safe I'm never swimming there again!'

Ms Davison claims that two paranormal experts looked at the photograph and after extensive investigation came to the conclusion that the shape in the image is a child who drowned in the river in 1915

Ms Davison was also of the opinion that the figure in the photo was a demon who tried to take her daughter