Many of us are familiar with pareidolia and often use it to describe unexplained images. Could this be the case regarding a recent photo taken in Hawaii? Maybe not.

While visiting the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor the De Vanny family took lots and lots of pictures. So many in fact that Susan De Vanny decided to clean house, or in this case, camera.

As Mrs. De Vanny scrolled through her pictures she happened across a photo that both shocked and amazed her. She immediately showed it to her husband and children without tipping her own opinion. However, just as she had recognized the strange face in the picture, so too did they.

The photo in question seems to depict a face in the rippling water above the wreckage of the Arizona. The face looks to be that of a sad young man, a tortured soul if you will.

Here’s the story from the Fox affiliate KHON-2 in Hawaii:

The De Vanny family visited the Arizona Memorial on Monday, and as usual, Susan took lots of photos.

“I was flicking through the photos and seeing how many do I really need, and take some of the bad ones out and then I came across this particular photo,” said Susan De Vanny.

The particular photo of the water over the wreckage, with oil shimmering, shows an image that looks like a face. Susan wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“I showed my husband and I didn’t say anything, I said just have a look at the photo and he said oh my gosh it’s a face, and then the kids saw it and they go oh wow.”

1,177 sailors died aboard the USS Arizona during the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. Most of the bodies were never recovered. The De Vanny family learned all this when they visited the memorial. And after getting over the shock, Susan says perhaps the image is a message from beyond.

“It just looked really sad, really sad and young. The face, to me looked young, which I don’t know if it represents the men at that time who perished.”

The De Vanny family will spend a few more days in the islands and take a lot more pictures. But probably nothing quite as memorable as this one.

“Definitely, it will certainly bring me back to Hawaii every time I look at it.”

Source: KHON-2

So, what do you think? Is this just another case of pareidolia or something more? One thing is for sure, it certainly is an eerie image.