The "FACE" Archive
WE HAVE DISCOVERED THE SECRET ARCHIVE
They appeared in the photos
RESTRICTED VISUAL FILES – LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE
Recovered Materials | [███] Location: Classified
Compiled by A.E.I. Surveillance Subdivision | Vault-913
Between 1883 and 1909, dozens of group photographs surfaced across the Eastern Hemisphere.
In each, one or two figures appeared… distorted.
Faceless. Shadowless.
But no one knew who they were
At first, experts blamed camera defects.
Then—deliberate retouching.
Now we know: they were not
human.
Then—deliberate retouching.
Now we know: they were not
human.
“We found an old family album. My great-grandmother’s wedding, 1898.
I’ve looked through the photo dozens of times… and I still can’t explain who that tall man in black is.
I’ve looked through the photo dozens of times… and I still can’t explain who that tall man in black is.
— Miles E. Copeland, archaeologist (field report, 1996)
Everyone’s looking at the camera—except him.
He’s looking at me. No eyes. No face.”
ARCHIVAL CASE FILES
Their faces can’t be described—only remembered
CASE FILE 017-A
Photo: Girls’ Seminary, London, 1958
CASE FILE 022-D
Photo: Adelstein Family Portrait, Vienna, 1905
Photo: Adelstein Family Portrait, Vienna, 1905
One figure in the center does not appear in the original negative, but is visible in the final print. The face is blurred. One student was later hospitalized with "severe perceptual dissociation."
"I can't remember her face. No one can."
"We showed the photo at a family gathering — 19 people.
One had a completely white face. No eyes. No mouth.
I asked, 'Who is that?' No one knew.
The photo was gone the next day." — Margaret F. West, USA, 1959
"We showed the photo at a family gathering — 19 people.
One had a completely white face. No eyes. No mouth.
I asked, 'Who is that?' No one knew.
The photo was gone the next day." — Margaret F. West, USA, 1959
Blurry group photo with distorted face (turn0image4)
- Part of one woman's face is blurred beyond recognition, sharp tension - as if "something was not used" in the frame.
- Part of one woman's face is blurred beyond recognition, sharp tension - as if "something was not used" in the frame.
Documents recovered from the 1930s reference a covert sect known as The Order of Replacements (Ersetzer, Germany).
Reports suggest its members had methods of “disengaging visual presence.”
All related records were destroyed during WWII.
All related records were destroyed during WWII.
Caution
the phenomenon may still be active.
“I work security at a museum.
During a night patrol, I saw someone in the 19th-century exhibit hall.
Facing a portrait.
The cameras showed nothing—but the motion sensor was triggered.
When I walked closer, he turned.
There was no face—just smooth skin like wax.”
— R.H., Boston, 2018
During a night patrol, I saw someone in the 19th-century exhibit hall.
Facing a portrait.
The cameras showed nothing—but the motion sensor was triggered.
When I walked closer, he turned.
There was no face—just smooth skin like wax.”
— R.H., Boston, 2018
“In a crowd, I noticed someone standing too still.
Everyone moved around him without reacting—like they didn’t even register him.
I tried to focus on his features, but my brain slid off.
The moment I looked away, I forgot what he looked like.
It was like trying to remember a dream while still in it.”
— Student report, Tokyo, 2020
Everyone moved around him without reacting—like they didn’t even register him.
I tried to focus on his features, but my brain slid off.
The moment I looked away, I forgot what he looked like.
It was like trying to remember a dream while still in it.”
— Student report, Tokyo, 2020
“A man came to my antique store, asked for ‘portraits that can’t be seen.’
I laughed—thought he was joking.
Then he pulled out a photo of a dinner party, 1903.
Everyone’s smiling, except one woman in the corner—blurry, pale, staring at the lens.
I blinked.
Her face was turned toward me.”
— B.T., New Orleans, 2022
I laughed—thought he was joking.
Then he pulled out a photo of a dinner party, 1903.
Everyone’s smiling, except one woman in the corner—blurry, pale, staring at the lens.
I blinked.
Her face was turned toward me.”
— B.T., New Orleans, 2022
“We found a photo at my grandfather’s house.
A military group from 1942.
One figure is standing too far in the background—almost like he’s hovering.
When we scanned it, the software flagged it as a ‘data corruption artifact.’
But the print is untouched.
My uncle said: ‘He was there. But we never talked about him.’”
— D. Walker, Liverpool, 2019
A military group from 1942.
One figure is standing too far in the background—almost like he’s hovering.
When we scanned it, the software flagged it as a ‘data corruption artifact.’
But the print is untouched.
My uncle said: ‘He was there. But we never talked about him.’”
— D. Walker, Liverpool, 2019
“I saw a man on the subway.
He wasn’t… fully here.
There was a ripple in the air around him—like time slowed.
I blinked—he was closer.
His face looked submerged.”
— Anonymous, Moscow, 2021