Eerie photo of 'ghost girl' has entire town spooked

A grainy photo of a little 'ghost girl' that was captured on a trail camera has spooked an entire town in upstate New York.

The image was captured after a landowner in Cambridge, New York, set up a camera in the woods.

The property owner didn't recognise the little girl in the eerie snap, so took the image to Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell. But, by that time, the photo has spread like wildfire on Facebook, with many locals speculating that it was the spirit of a little girl who had passed away in the area.

Police said they’d gotten a lot of phone calls and emails since the photo was shared, with many citing a local legend about a girl who was hit and killed on the train tracks that once ran through the area.

But it seems the 'ghost girl' isn't really a ghost at all, with a local man getting in contact with police to say he believed the girl in the photo was his granddaughter.

Chic Wilson, who runs a local ski resort, confirmed he was walking a trail with his granddaughter at around the time the photo was captured.

'Some people were really hoping this was a ghost story,' Wilson told ABC. 'I absolutely do.'