From Psychology Today we get this less than riveting ghost story from sleep specialist Dennis Rosen, M.D. who determines that part of his patient’s sleeping disorder may be attributed to a ghost in the house. It starts off pretty good:

“Do you ever see or hear something you know isn’t there as you are falling asleep or waking up?” I asked her. “We have a ghost in our house” she answered. “His name is Simon”. I looked over to her father to see his response, and was surprised to see him nodding his head in agreement. The conversation then continued, with both the patient and her father taking part.

What happens next you ask? Not much. It’s less entertaining than a debunking…

Since then, I have met with the family a few more times. Besides helping my patient with her sleep apnea, sleep hygiene, and schedule, I have learned more about Simon (that he prefers to hang out in the basement, and that he likes to walk through people when they’re doing the laundry).

We’re not sure what to make of this. Are you saying he’s real? A figment of the families imagination that you’re patronizingly entertaining?

We understand you’re a sleep specialist, but we need more information or at least help Simon with his sleep hygiene.

link: A ghost in the house | Psychology Today

What’s better than a photo? A photo of a ghost. What’s even better than that? Capturing that photo on a friend’s iPhone. Of course the problem is, ghosts are never very cooperative and not likely to show themselves on demand. That’s why we’ve created this handy tutorial for faking a ghost image on a friend’s iPhone.

via http://www.iPodTricks.com

Want to see something spooky? Click on these slideshows and see some various ghost photos on Flickr.

The spirit photographs of William Hope

Vintage Spirit Photography

Seances

Got a spooky photo or video you want to share? Upload it to Flickr and tag it with #weirdthingscom

Previously, this week, on Weird Things.

• A few tips for the novice Bigfoot hunter.

• Could the Son of Sam, a UFO investigating Air Force base and the birth of popular science fiction have helped create the Dover Demon?

• Michael Jackson may be dead, but his ghost is on a world tour.

• What happens, when myriad ghosts, have chosen to haunt a house, stop beings polite and start getting real? They say some really kooky stuff, that’s what.

• Rhode Island has never had a Bigfoot sighting, but that might be about to change.

Enjoy the weekend, as always, send weird photos, stories, sounds and happenings to JustinRobertYoung@Gmail.

Recordings reportedly capturing the voices of the dead are nothing new, but we couldn’t help but wonder what some of the oddest things ever uttered via EVP were. We contacted Chris Page, the founder of Ohio Researchers of Banded Spirits to find out:

Most Common: TIED between “Help!” (including derivations ‘help me’ and ‘help us’) and “Get out!”

Chris Says: At times they’ve even gotten mixed messages from a single spot that is particularly packed with paranormal activity. For example it happened once while investigating an insane asylum. “There’s going to be more than one spirit running around,” Chris added. He stopped short of speculating that it might have just been one schizophrenic specter.

Whoops From Beyond The Grave: When asking one spirit how it shuffled this mortal coil, Mike’s team was answered with “accident.”

At Least They Used The Magic Word: Two or three ghosts have requested that the paranormal investigators “please check” into the circumstances of their demise.

Sassiest: While recording in an abondoned Victorian home, investigators asked a spirit if they were one of the maids who worked the residence. The response, “Hell No!”

Chris Says: “It was angry, like ‘how dare you!’”

Trust Me, I’m An Expert: During an investigation of a sprawling home built on an indian burial ground, investigators made their way to library where they recorded the words, “you’ll die.”

Chris Says: A family abandoned this house after hauntings (including visions of floating severed heads and being thrown out of bed by unseen forces) reportedly became too intense to ignore. Mike aded it was the scariest single quote they’ve captured.

Dead Language: Again, at the indian burial ground house, while trolling the grounds recorded a voice saying “Tuebor.” After much researching, the team discovered it meant “I will defend” in Latin.

Blue State: The team has recorded spirits mentioning Presidents Clinton and Roosevelt.

Double Talk: Once asked a group of spirits, “Can you see us?” only to receive the answer “Can you see us?”

Child’s Play: Often while the ghost of child is being investigated, researchers will record “mommy.”

Chris Says: Nothing is creepier than the child spirit recordings.

Thanks to Chris and the Ohio Researchers of Banded Spirits for help with this.

We’ve all been there, you’re making a pastrami sandwich on toasted rye when you become enveloped in fear because a Civil War-era general’s spectral remains has come upon you seeking misguided vengeance because you’ve grown similar facial hair to a defected private who sealed the General’s fate when he gave away his position to the enemy in exchange for a bottle of rye.

Then you realize it’s just a mosquito that flew into the bug zapper. Don’t let this happen again!

Thanks to the Ohio Researcher of Banded Spirits who’ve published this handy checklist of tell-tale signs of a real-deal otherworldly infestation so you can know the difference between a genuine haunting and a stress-induced panic attack…

1- Unexplained Noises

2- Doors opening and closing

3- Lights turning on and off

4- Items Disappearing

5- Unexplained Shadows

6- Strange domestic animal behavior

7- Feeling of being watched

8- Psychokinetic phenomena–seeing a door open

9- Feeling of being touched

10- Whispers and Muffled voices

11- Cold or Hot spots–major temperature changes

12- Unexplained smells

13- Objects moving

14- Physical Assault

15- Hand or Foot prints

16- Apparitions

They also list mice, settling house noises, plumbing rattles and odd headlight reflections as natural phenomenon commonly mistaken for proof of the supernatural.

This video, filmed by the Greater Central Ohio Paranormal Society, is being touted on the main page of Ghost Videos as evidence of a ghost girl. Are we the only ones who don’t really see…..anything of interest at all?

Check out this dramatic investigation of St. Peter`s Church in Essex.

An Indonesian Paranormal TV show is touting the above video as the real deal. This ghost video starts off looking like it’s going to be incredibly lame, with a person in a white gown slowly crossing the screen. Then suddenly with no explanation the figure takes to the sky, jumping to a tree before mysteriously exiting via the top edge of the frame. Why the cameraman didn’t follow eagerly with his lens? We don’t know.

These clips were taken at a house on Cleveland’s historic Franklin Avenue. Investigate, inspect, let us know.

The Mayor of Newtown in the UK has called for a paranormal investigation at her Mayor’s Chambers after she apparently sensed an “otherworldly presence”. A British paranormal team was summoned to her office and found that they agreed with Mayor Sue Lawson’s assessment, read the full article in the County Times.

This ghost video has been circling around the internet since 2007. Do you think it’s real “100% proof” of ghosts, or just a bizarre man screaming like a baritone school girl?

Above is a photo snapped of a purported apparition at the Jenner Museum in Gloucester, England. It was taken by BBC journalist Chris Sandys. Edward Jenner is the man who pioneered the smallpox vaccine and the museum that bares his name has been claimed to be haunted for years.

It seems convenient that so much press attention has been given to the ghosts in the attic at Jenner Museum, especially because they have a new exhibition called ‘Ghosts in the Attic’: From Smallpox to MMR. But the proprietors of the museum swear that the title is metaphorical and they did not have a hand in any sort of publicity stunt.

We at Weirdthings believe the photo above could be of….anything.

Picture of Holton House Bead and Breakfast, the most haunted building in Kansas.

We know you Kansans have been waiting, and finally the Top 5 Most Haunted Places in Kansas have been announced! And unsurprisingly a former mortuary tops the list. Here are the results:

1. Holton House Bed and Breakfast- Holton
2. Constitution Hall- Topeka
3. St. Mary’s Church- Kansas City
4. Hotel Josephine- Holton
5. Holton Country Club- Holton

Hotels, Churches and Old Buildings, just like everywhere else. Now we’re expecting a lot of good investigations and pictures from you Middle of the Country folk, so get hunting. To find the original post on Ghost Tours of Kansas’ website click here.

Image Credit: Twinmama

Not one, but two paranormal conventions took place this last week in Salem, MA. The above photo shows serious paranormal enthusiasts and convention goers enjoying each others company (not really). Both Ghostock 7 and Witch School International’s “Three days of Wicca, Witchcraft and High Ritual” wrapped up a week long bout of investigating, speaking and witching it up. The town of Salem, which usually has no paranormal convention going on at any given time, had a perfect storm of conventions and doubled its paranormal population for the week.

The Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society, founded by Alison Smith, has been hunting ghosts since 1996. Is this video proof of a ghostly specter, or an effective demonstration of how we often misinterpret everyday occurrences as fantastic and paranormal?

-Hint: It’s the latter.